Category Archives: FPDs and TFTs

July 25, 2012 – Marketwire — UniPixel, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNXL), engineered films provider for touch screen, flexible printed electronics, lighting and display applications, completed the production-level qualification of its Diamond Guard Hard Coat film with its manufacturing and distribution partner, Carestream Tollcoating.

With Carestream, UniPixel established the capacity to support 100 million+ square feet/year production of Diamond Guard, which is used as a cover glass replacement or protective cover film for displays.

Various pilot production orders from major electronic OEMs, ODMs, and film converters have been fulfilled.

Diamond Guard is a low-cost alternative to glass, with a 6H or higher hardness rating, scratch resistance, gloss finish and shatterproof composition. It is thin, light and flexible. This enables roll-based manufacturing, where Diamond Guard is die- or laser-cut to size. Users can print bezels, logos, borders, or other designs in a roll-to-roll processing method. Diamond Guard does not require special surface treatment for inks to adhere. The Diamond Guard line of protective cover films includes FPR (finger print resistant), AG (anti-glare), and DGU (Diamond Guard Ultra) Hard Coat (up to 9H rating) versions.

Widespread commercialization in the cover glass and protective cover markets will begin with this large-volume certification, said UniPixel CEO Reed Killion. The product will be marketed for small, medium, and large-size displays.

Carestream Tollcoating provides high-precision contract coating services and supplies optical-grade PET film, specializing in the application of aqueous and solvent coatings on flexible substrates.Carestream’s global logistics network boasts supply chain management and distribution capabilities in 56 countries. Diamond Guard can be provided as a raw coating material or as a resin for use in customer coating processes.

UniPixel also will work with OEMs and ODMs to combine Diamond Guard with its UniBoss touch sensor to produce a thinner, cost-effective touchscreen display. Functional prototypes have been developed with better than one-fifth the thickness of current touchscreen displays on the market and at a highly competitive cost. The company aims to market this touchscreen offering in 2013.

Carestream Tollcoating, a division of Carestream Health, Inc., is a premium contract coating services provider specializing in the application of aqueous and solvent coatings on flexible substrates. For additional information, please visit www.tollcoating.com or www.carestream.com.

UniPixel Inc. (NASDAQ:UNXL) delivers Performance Engineered Films to the Lighting, Display and Flexible Electronics markets. For further information, visit www.unipixel.com.

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July 23, 2012 — Researchers sponsored by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, developed new sensor-based metrology technology that can significantly reduce water and related energy usage during semiconductor manufacturing.

The sensor-based real-time monitoring approach showed 30% less water and energy used for ultra-clean chip production. The SRC Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing team at the University of Arizona (UA) calls this “the most significant metrology improvements for the rinse and cleaning of wafers in more than a decade.”

Figure. In-situ monitors provide unprecedented control of water and chemical usage during surface preparation for silicon wafers. Highly sensitive sensors, like those shown in this micrograph of a sensing channel, can reduce the amount of resources needed for the cleaning of surfaces.

Surface preparation, when semiconductor wafers are cleaned, rinsed, and dried to prevent defects between various front end of line and back end of line (FEOL/BEOL) steps, is one of the largest water-consuming processes in semiconductor manufacturing. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) identifies lower resource utilization at current and future fabrication steps among its goals.

Also read: Semiconductor fabs use significantly less energy today, but work remains from ISMI.

The ERC team’s real-time monitoring approach is applicable to current cleaning processes for 300mm silicon wafers, and the gain is expected to be especially beneficial when the industry transitions to 450mm wafers. At 450mm, chipmakers will need to clean and prep a wafer surface that is more than twice the size of current state-of-art wafers.

Current surface preparation practices are recipe-based and not controlled with real-time, in-line monitoring of the process steps. Surface prep is carried out without feedback or control, with a large cushion of safety to overcome lack of regulation. This sizeable safety factor creates unnecessary waste of chemicals, water and energy.

“The challenge is how to balance a minimal application of precious resources with the grave risk of allowing contamination to occur, which can kill huge investments made elsewhere in the fabrication process,” said Dr. Steve Hillenius, executive vice president for SRC.

The next step is to commercialize the monitoring technology, said Farhang Shadman, lead researcher and the ERC director at UA for the SRC-funded research. Semiconductor equipment and manufacturing companies, as well as other industries that use ultra-clean for planar or patterned surfaces and small structures could use the real-time metrology technology to improve resource management. Examples include optics, optoelectronics, and flat panel display (FPD) makers.

For more information about the research, please visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TSM.2010.2089542. Contributors for the joint effort include K. Dhane, J. Han, J. Yan, O. Mahdavi, D. Zamani, B. Vermeire and F. Shadman.

SRC defines industry needs, invests in and manages the research that gives its members a competitive advantage in the dynamic global marketplace. For more information, visit www.src.org.

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July 20, 2012 — IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries and JPCA (Japan Electronics Packaging and Circuits Association) released their first operational-level standard for the printed electronics industry, IPC/JPCA-4921, Requirements for Printed Electronics Base Materials (Substrates). The standard defines terms and establishes basic requirements for substrate materials used in printed electronics: ceramic, organic, metal, glass and other.

Printed electronics is still in its infancy, with commercialization spurts and lacking standard manufacturing practices. Printed electronics are generally made with long-established technologies combined with recent innovations, IPC and JPCA point out. Electronics can be printed on diverse materials, which both opens new opportunities and limits growth/targeted development programs. “It’s difficult to grasp the breadth of opportunities when a range of materials can be printed onto various substrates to produce from very simple electronic circuits to the highly complex,” said IPC Director of Technology Transfer Marc Carter.

For this technology to become a stand-alone industry, it must have some commonalities that help build a structure, said Carter. The standard aims to provide a common language for designers, equipment makers and manufacturers.

Individuals who have worked with flexible circuits are most likely to feel the most familiar with details in IPC/JPCA-4921, but they will also find a number of significant differences. “Some of the materials are similar or the same, but people are leveraging different intrinsic materials attributes to enable novel applications,” adds Carter.

Printed electronics are being developed for different tasks: the inner layers of a circuit board, printed electronic active components, advanced automotive applications, and low-cost displays for portable computing and mobile applications, among other applications.

IPC/JPCA-4921 provides a starting point for IPC’s Printed Electronics Initiative to establish a critical segment of the infrastructure that will help the industry expand more quickly. This initiative includes a dedicated management council for companies to discuss issues and to help develop tools and studies; a printed electronics conference track and exhibition area at IPC APEX EXPO 2013; and more industry standards, in continued partnership with JPCA.

Because the printed electronics industry is growing and evolving rapidly, IPC/JPCA-4921 may have to be updated at a more frequent pace than other industry standards.

IPC members may request a single-user download of IPC/JPCA-4921 by sending an e-mail to [email protected], free when requested within 90 days of the document’s publication. For more information, visit www.ipc.org/4921.

IPC is a global industry association dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of member companies which represent all facets of the electronics industry, including design, printed board manufacturing, electronics assembly and test. Learn more at www.IPC.org.

JPCA is a Tokyo-based trade association serving about 400 member companies in the electronic circuits industries. JPCA supports the industries through global trade shows, including JPCA Show, Large Electronics Show, Microelectronics Show and JISSO PROTEC; industry standards; management programs; market/statistics/technology research; and environment/ foreign trade/government relations programs. JPCA works cooperatively with other organizations of the World Electronic Circuits Council (WECC), including more than 40 years of friendship with IPC; Japan-China Relationship Council under JPCA/CPCA; MOU of JPCA/KPCA and JPCA/TPCA. Internet: www.jpca.org.

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July 20, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:PANL), OLED patent licensor and supplier of materials and technologies for energy-efficient OLED displays and lighting, formed a strategic alliance with Plextronics, Inc., maker of printed electronics technologies, to accelerate the development and commercialization of solution-based organic light-emitting diode (OLED) material systems. The companies will combine Plextronics’ hole injection and hole transport materials with Universal Display’s phosphorescent OLED emissive layer materials. The aim is to enable OLED manufacturing with ink-jet, nozzle, or other cost-effective, solution-processing techniques

The joint development agreement covers 3 years, and Universal Display made a $4 million investment in Plextronics.

Plextronics’ Plexcore HIL materials for phosphorescent OLED applications were developed with Universal Display for PANL’s UniversalP2OLED platform. The results of that collaboration compelled the companies to expand their joint work to cover hole transport layer materials.

The OLED materials systems will target display and lighting applications.

Plextronics, Inc. is an international technology company that specializes in conductive polymers and printable formulations that enable advanced electronic devices. The company develops customized inks to enhance the performance of OLEDs for next generation displays and lighting applications, lithium ion batteries, polymer metal capacitors, and emerging organic electronic devices. It was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Carnegie Mellon University based upon conductive polymer technology developed by Dr. Richard McCullough. For more information about Plextronics, visit www.plextronics.com.

Universal Display Corporation (Nasdaq: PANL) supplies state-of-the-art, OLED technologies, materials and services for the display and lighting industries. Universal Display licenses its proprietary technologies, including its breakthrough high-efficiency UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED technology that can enable the development of low power and eco-friendly displays and white lighting. The company also develops and offers high-quality, state-of-the-art UniversalPHOLED materials. In addition, Universal Display delivers customized solutions through technology transfer, collaborative technology development and on-site training. To learn more about Universal Display, please visit www.universaldisplay.com.

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July 16, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Dr. Stephen Woo, president of Samsung Electronics’ Device Solutions will keynote the 2013 International CES, January 8-11 in Las Vegas, NV, hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).

Dr. Woo’s keynote will open the second day of the 2013 CES, presenting insights on the role of components in enabling consumer product innovations. Samsung Device Solutions provides advanced semiconductor and display solutions for the IT industry.

Samsung’s innovation in diverse product categories has solidified its leading role in technology, said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. Also read: Samsung, IBM and GlobalFoundries look to the future

At Samsung Electronics since 2003, Dr. Woo was appointed general manager of the System LSI Business in 2008. Dr. Woo currently oversees all activities surrounding the System LSI Business, including logic solutions that provide next-generation features in consumer and mobile products. Under his leadership, revenue has nearly tripled to more than $10 billion in 2011, making it one of the fastest-growing businesses in Samsung Electronics. Samsung’s System LSI Business has maintained its lead in global market share for several major products, including mobile application processors for smartphones, complementary metal oxide silicon-based camera image sensors, flat-panel display driver ICs (integrated circuits) and smart card ICs for SIM (subscriber identity module) cards.

Dr. Woo’s background in the electronics industry dates back to 1977. He spent more than 20 years in senior research and management positions at leading companies in the semiconductor industry, including Bell Laboratories, Sansearch (a start-up company he founded) and Texas Instruments. He worked as a research scientist focusing on areas of very large scale integration (VLSI) design, field programmable gate array (FPGA), computer architecture and parallel processing at Bell Laboratories. Dr. Woo also served as the business director and general manager of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) terminal chipset business at Texas Instruments.

The 2013 CES will feature 3,000 global technology companies unveiling the latest consumer technology products and services across 15 major categories including the latest in audio, automotive electronics, connected home technologies, digital imaging/photography, electronic gaming, entertainment/content and more. For more information on the 2013 International CES, visit CESweb.org.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $195 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.

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July 11, 2012 — Rudolph Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:RTEC), process characterization equipment and software provider for microelectronic manufacturers, launched the MetaPULSE FP thin film metrology system with an initial sale to a major manufacturer of flat panel displays (FPD) for handheld mobile devices.

This MetaPULSE FP tool is being used for measurements on Gen-4.5 substrates (790 x 930mm), which are used to make displays for e-readers, tablets, phones and other mobile devices. The FPD maker will qualify it on an R&D line then ramp to high-volume production.

Picosecond Ultrasonic Laser Sonar (PULSE) technology measures single and multi-layered opaque thin films and was developed to serve semiconductor manufacturing process control needs. MetaPULSE FP uses Rudolph’s PULSE Technology to measure the critical thickness of metal layers deposited during display manufacturing, thanks to collaborative development with FPD and light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturers and process tool providers.

The new tool measures metal film thickness on product structures without contacting the device, avoiding damage or destructive testing, said Dr. Avishai Kepten, VP and GM of Rudolph’s Metrology Business Unit. The MetaPULSE measurement head is coupled with customized glass substrate handling to meet the needs of displays makers, which work on panels much larger than semiconductor wafers, said Rudolph’s director of metrology product management, Tim Kryman.

The metrology tool inspects gate metal layers such as Cr, Ta, Al, Mo, Ta, as well as deposition of Ti and/or Al source and data lines in single or multi-layer stacks. These metal layers build up the thin-film transistors (TFT) in either amorphous or polycrystalline silicon applied to the rear of the glass.

Rudolph is engaging with FPD makers to install the tool on larger-generation display panel lines for TV apps. “Ongoing development activity is focused on repackaging the PULSE measurement head with larger substrate handling to accommodate the full range of FPD sizes currently in production.  Our goal is to provide this critical metal metrology for all generations of FPD manufacturing,” adds Kepten.

Rudolph Technologies, Inc. provides defect inspection, process control metrology, and data analysis systems and software used by semiconductor device manufacturers worldwide. The company’s yield management solutions are used in both the wafer processing and final manufacturing of ICs, as well as in emerging markets such as FPD, LED and Solar. Additional information can be found on the company’s web site at www.rudolphtech.com.

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July 10, 2012 – GLOBE NEWSWIRE — ATMI, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMI) introduced BrightPak, its next-generation liquid containment and delivery system for high-value liquid material transfers during advanced photolithography processes in semiconductor, flat panel display (FPD), and light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing.

BrightPak bottle systems are created first as a small plastic pre-form that includes both an external overpack and an internal ‘hard’ or rigid liner. It is then blow-molded into a larger bottle form with a capacity of just under five liters. The final product is a double-containment bottle system with a rigid, yet collapsible, interior liner. With its advanced design, the BrightPak bottle system offers approximately 21% additional volume compared to the typical one-gallon glass bottle used in lithography applications today. In fact, BrightPak bottles allow this higher fill volume without impacting the customer’s labeling surface, the handle location or the physical dimension of the chemical cabinet.

From filling and shipping to storing and dispensing, the system’s double-containment design and materials of construction deliver exceptional chemical protection from environmental factors, as well as accidents and operator errors. Unlike glass bottles, BrightPak bottles are made from shatterproof materials and will not easily break if dropped, especially when filled. The ergonomic design of the bottle and handle allows for easy and safe operator handling. The bottle shape, connectors and diptube were designed together for superior material delivery with an optimum utilization.

"We are offering the industry much-improved benefits with our new BrightPak systems and we’re working to make the transition as easy as possible," commented Garth Su, ATMI’s senior director of the packaging business group and global product marketing. "All BrightPak systems work with connectors for widely used glass bottle systems, as well as existing ATMI connectors and caps. Of course, that includes our misconnect prevention capability to eliminate human connection errors."

BrightPak systems are cleanroom-manufactured, particle certified and provide superior chemical protection from UV light exposure. Moreover, the wetted surface is made of high-purity, chemical-resistant materials. BrightPak systems also offer improved flexibility for customers looking for both pump-enabled and pressure-dispense solutions. The rigid, collapsible liner provides improved isolation of drive gas when pressure is applied between the liner and overpack. This creates a safer environment for the materials that can help reduce the formation of micro-bubbles and other defects. BrightPak systems are also cost-effective, providing utilization rates of up to 99.9% of filled product which minimizes product waste. In addition, the system’s small footprint can help free-up facility space and its light weight can reduce shipping costs. BrightPak overpacks are recyclable and the interior rigid liners are more disposable-friendly, yielding a much smaller carbon footprint than glass bottles.

ATMI is exhibiting at SEMICON West, July 10-12 in San Francisco, Moscone Center, South Hall, Booth 2446.

ATMI Inc. provides specialty semiconductor materials, and safe, high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions designed to increase process efficiencies for the worldwide semiconductor, flat panel, and life sciences industries. For more information, please visit http://www.atmi.com.

Check out Solid State Technology’s coverage of SEMICON West 2012!

July 8, 2012 — Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays have been deployed in small- and medium-size display applications since 2009, pushed by smartphone integration. While large-size AMOLED panels have been used in TVs since Sony’s 11” AMOLED TV debuted in 2008, they currently hold <0.1% market share, according to the new report, “AMOLED TV Development Trend and Competitiveness Analysis,” from Displaybank.

This may change, now that Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics each exhibited 55" AMOLED TVs at the International CES in January 2012.

AMOLED TVs will target the LCD TV market by offering fast response time, higher color gamut, and better contrast ratio. However, AMOLED TVs do carry slightly higher production costs, at least in the initial period of mass production ramp-up, reports Displaybank.

Panel makers such as Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) and LG Display (LGD) will likely drive productivity and performance improvements to large-area AMOLED manufacturing technology. Areas for improvement include the thin-film transistors (TFT), deposition, encapsulation, and more. Materials costs may also fall when AMOLED ramps to higher volumes.

With higher production yields, large-size AMOLED display panels will improve cost competitiveness with LCDs. This will allow AMOLED TVs to lead in global TV growth, hitting 72 million units by 2020 and capturing more than 64% market share in the 45"+ global TV market.

“AMOLED TV Development Trend and Competitiveness Analysis” from Displaybank covers development status by major panel makers, analysis of the competitiveness of performance and process, a forecast of 55" AMOLED panel production costs and TV ASPs, a forecast of AMOLED TV and TV-use panel market (~2020), and a forecast of the overall AMOLED panel market by size/application(~2016). Learn more at http://www.displaybank.com/_eng/research/report_view.html?id=869&cate=

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July 5, 2012 — Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the basis of more than 90% of transparent conductive films (TCFs), used in displays, flexible photovoltaics, and other devices, reports Cathleen Thiele, technology analyst, IDTechEx. With indium prices rising, and technical challenges related to indium’s brittle nature, manufacturers are looking to new technologies, such as finely printed conductive meshes, layers of silver or copper that are highly transparent, organic transparent conductors and variations such as carbon nanotubes and graphene.

The TCF market is valued at more than $2 billion in 2012. ITO is an entrenched technology for displays manufacturing, said Thiele.

Figure. The commonly used options (excluding uses of transparent conductors that are not in displays, photovoltaics or touchscreens) with their market share. 

Transparent conductor Main uses 2012 value ($M) 2012 market share (%)
Indium tin oxide (ITO Displays (LCD, e-paper, OLED)
Photovoltaics
Capacitive touchscreens		 1527 93
Other metal oxides (FTO, AZO) Photovoltaics (CdTe, a-Si, Silicon PV) 106 6
Transparent organic conductors (PEDOT:PSS), CNTs, graphene Flexible photovoltaics, bi-stable displays 0.6 <0.1
Metals, composites (Metal grids or nanowires) Flexible devices 1.4 0.9

Source: IDTechEx http://www.IDTechEx.com/TCF 

Transparent conductors based on nanosilver and PEDOT:PSS are getting a lot of interest, in addition to carbon nanotubes and graphene. There are also hybrid approaches – using nanosilver to print fine lines, filled with a transparent conductor such as PEDOT:PSS.

Most of the focus is on use as a transparent conductor for display, solar and touchscreen applications – representing the biggest need and opportunity.

In comparison to other types of transparent conductors ITO has a very competitive conductivity-transparency-ratio. However, an issue not only for ITO, but also many other types of TCF, is that they are not particularly flexible. Sputtered ITO and other TCO layers on plastic films are known to be brittle, and they crack upon a few percent strain.

As more and more flexible devices are required, the market for transparent conductive films increases. The trade-off between conductivity, transmittance, and flexibility is best met with materials other than the traditional conductive oxides, which are expected to get more expensive as in the case of ITO, and many companies and research institutes work on alternate technologies.

Flexible E-readers and touchscreens

The recent developments in the e-Reader market are a good example of the interest to move to flexible displays: While the first devices where rigid and based on glass, new versions are intended to eventually be somewhat flexible, though a rollable device is still a dream.

In addition, some are targeting to replace ITO in applications where high conductivity is not needed – e-readers are an excellent example of that.

Eastman Kodak sees the opportunity for their PEDOT formulation in applications where customers seek cheaper alternatives than ITO and where a more resistive film is acceptable. Together with Heraeus they presented a milestone at the Printed Electronics USA 2011 Show – a polymer-based 14" touch screen panel featuring completely invisible conductive patterns. Fabricated by GSI Technologies the panel features Kodak HCF-225 Film/ESTAR™ Base and transparent Clevios™ PEDOT:PSS coating with a surface resistivity of 225 ohms/sq.

Flexible photovoltaics

The same is true for photovoltaics; thin-film solar cells based on compound semiconductors or amorphous silicon (a-Si) are manufactured in industrial scales on glass, but flexible versions on plastic substrates are available and will open new applications and markets.

Moreover, the PV market seeks very large areas of transparent conductive material and therefore must reduce cost as much as possible to maintain competitive cost/watt pricing. Therefore some in the PV market have moved away from ITO already: a-Si manufacturers for example use ITO, FTO and AZO, First Solar (CdTe solar cells) is using FTO and most CIGS PV manufacturers use AZO.

This report focuses on the requirements and achievements to date on the topic of transparent conductors, where high transparency and high conductivity are required, particularly flexible versions. Worldwide research and design efforts are presented, both from research institutes and companies that are developing the necessary materials and processes – in total 53 organizations are profiled. Several technical solutions available are compared, and forecasts are given for the next 10 years, based on assessing the need from different applications.

To learn more about the topic please read Transparent Conductive Films 2012-2022 

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July 5, 2012 — Air Liquide will supply the ultra-pure carrier and electronic specialty gases to 3 new cutting-edge flat panel display (FPD) fabs manufacturing advanced active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED), low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS), micro electo mechanical systems (MEMS), and OLED displays. Those technologies are currently under commercial development.

These display fabs are located in Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan, making display panels for next-generation smartphones and tablets.

Electronics specialty gases (ESG) and carrier gases are used to deposit, clean, and functionalize material layers for thin film transistor (TFT) displays. Air Liquide is partnering with leading customers to develop novel precursors, gases and innovative packaging solutions that help resolve industry challenges in deposition, ion implantation and encapsulation.

Air Liquide will supply electronic specialty gases, equipment and installation, and on-site total gas management services for 2 new large-scale fabs in China that manufacture large Gen 8.5 panels. These gases will be provided by Air Liquide Electronic Centers strategically located in Asia. Air Liquide recently strengthened its position with each of the flat panel market innovation segments, signing multiple contracts and enlarging its gases & services offer.

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