February 23, 2006 – Vitex Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, a developer of equipment and films used for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, says it is changing its business model to focus on licensing IP for its thin-film encapsulation technology. The company’s portfolio includes a monomer condensation and ceramic deposition system (named “Guardian”) to deposit alternating layers of polymer and ceramic films (called “Barix”).

As a result of the move, Vitex will close its Windsor, T pilot production facility, where it had manufactured its roll-to-roll “Flexible Glass” technology, and will licensing the core IP to substrate manufacturers who possess high-volume roll-to-roll manufacturing capabilities.

“Since our strengths lie with our patent portfolio and engineering services capabilities, it makes perfect sense to shift all of our efforts to this approach, which will subsequently allow us to reduce our operating and manufacturing costs and maximize profitability,” stated Robert Jan Visser, Vitex’s CTO.

OLED displays are the target market — Visser noted that displays leveraging Vitex’s Barix and Flexible Glass technologies could be up to 50%-90% thinner and lighter in weight and significantly lower in cost, with added benefits of various degrees of flexibility. However, the company also sees applications for its thin-film encapsulation technology in a wide array of organic optoelectronics markets, including smart labels/ID tags, thin-film batteries, solid-state lighting, optical networks, solar cells, and smart cards