Category Archives: Displays

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 19, 2012 — FlexTech Alliance, focused on developing the electronic display and flexible, printed electronics industry supply chains, completed a project with Polyera Corporation to develop printable n-type organic semiconductors. FlexTech Alliance provided $300 thousand in funding.

Polyera’s aim was to develop printable materials that worked on flexible, lightweight substrates, enabling the manufacture of electronics with novel form factors such as roll-up displays and flexible solar panels. 

Historically, only p-type organic semiconductors have been viable when deposited on flexible substrates. With Polyera’s advances in n-type organic semiconductors, CMOS devices from displays to RFID tags can be printed.

These new organic materials function similarly to traditional inorganic materials, but can be dissolved into solution, like ink. CMOS circuits are therefore manufactured via ink-jet, rotogravure, and other roll-to-roll printing processes.

“There is a growing list of novel applications previously impractical due to the limitations of traditional materials,” said Brendan Florez, Assistant General Manger, Polyera.  “During the project we have developed and optimized several new n-channel organic semiconductors for printed thin film transistors demonstrating unprecedented performance. These environmentally friendly formulations are now available to customers."

“In addition to achieving targeted performance metrics, Polyera has successfully printed functional thin film transistors, CMOS inverters, and complementary ring oscillators — basic building blocks for consumer devices, displays and photovoltaics,” said Nick Colaneri, Director of Flexible Display Center, Arizona State University.

The FlexTech Alliance is devoted to fostering the growth, profitability and success of the electronic display and the flexible, printed electronics supply chain.  FlexTech Alliance offers expanded collaboration between and among industry, academia, government, and research organizations for advancing displays and flexible, printed electronics from R&D to commercialization.  To this end, the FlexTech Alliance, based in San Jose, Calif., fosters development of the supply chain required to support a world-class, manufacturing capability for displays and flexible, printed electronics.  More information about the FlexTech Alliance can be found at www.flextech.org.

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July 17, 2012 — Total touchscreen module revenue will reach $16 billion in 2012, and nearly double in six years, reaching $31.9 billion by 2018, according to the most recent NPD DisplaySearch 2012 Touch Panel Market Analysis. The market growth is being driven by increased demand from display applications such as iPads and other tablet PCs, smart phones, and emerging notebook PC designs.

Touch screen penetration has rapidly increased in mobile phones, handheld games, and game consoles, as well as in tablet PC applications, which are forecast to collectively account for more than $13.6 billion in touch screen revenues this year. In addition, NPD DisplaySearch forecasts strong touch screen growth over the next several years driven by demand in larger display applications such as convertible/hybrid notebook PCs.

Mobile phones are the biggest application for touch screens in terms of unit shipments, accounting for three-fourths of units shipped in 2011. NPD DisplaySearch forecasts that 1.2 billion touch screens will ship for mobile phone applications in 2012, up 68% Y/Y.

Tablet PC is a fast-growing application for touch screens. Shipments tripled in 2010 and reached 79.6 million in 2011. Growth continues to be strong, with NPD DisplaySearch forecasting more than 130 million touch screens for tablet PCs in 2012, and more than 190 million in 2013. Revenues for touch screens in tablet PCs are expected to grow by more than $3 billion in 2013.

Touch penetration is expected to increase dramatically in convertible/hybrid notebook PCs. The Ultrabook by Intel will start to adopt touch screens by end of this year, and Microsoft Surface tablets will also integrate touch screens. NPD DisplaySearch forecasts touch screen penetration on notebook PCs will increase from 2% in 2011 to about 8% in 2013.

Over the next few years, all-in-one PCs and automobile monitors are expected to contribute to touch screen market growth as well. Touch technologies with high transmittance, low power consumption, multi-touch or gesture recognition will benefit the most.

Currently, the leading touch technology is projected capacitive touch; however demand for other technologies is on the rise.

“Demand is growing for thinner, light weight, and lower cost touch panels and devices. In addition, we see strong touch screen growth over the next several years in larger display applications such as convertible/hybrid notebook PCs and all-in-one PCs,” noted Jennifer Colegrove, PhD, Vice President of Emerging Display Technologies at NPD DisplaySearch. “Over the next few years, in-cell, on-cell, and sensor-on-cover touch technologies will surpass the add-on type projected capacitive touch.”

Figure. Touchscreen module revenue forecast. SOURCE: NPD DisplaySearch 2012 Touch Panel Market Analysis.

The NPD DisplaySearch 2012 Touch Panel Market Analysis report is a comprehensive analysis of the touch panel technologies and their market forecasts through 2018. This report has detail breakdown of 23 applications (with TV application added this year), with 12 touch technology categories (including sensor-on-cover and gesture-in-air) and 9 size categories. It also has details on touch controller ICs, the sensor market, shipments by area, and forecasts for multi-touch through 2018. NPD DisplaySearch surveyed over 200 suppliers of touch screen modules, controller ICs, ITO film, and other components.

NPD DisplaySearch is a global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries. Learn more and access reports at www.displaysearch.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.

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July 9, 2012 — Ushio Inc. (TOKYO:6925) launched its thinnest ultraviolet (UV) irradiance meter "UIT-q365 (UIT-Theta365)." The meter is 4.9mm thick, used to keep major UV processes within spec. It can be used during optical film manufacturing for flexible electronics, as well as during adhesion of precision optical parts.

The meter is launching at SEMICON West 2012. USHIO will also demonstrate its dedicated Android application “BladeNavi,” used for measurement, monitoring, and analysis of UV irradiance, which is set to launch in October 2012.

More SEMICON West product previews: Metrology, inspection, and process control products, Lithography products, packaging products, Wafer processing and handling products

The UIT-q365’s thin unibody design incorporates a meter, sensor, and secondary battery to allow measurement of UV irradiance in hard-to-reach locations or in-situ setups. Measurements are reportedly highly accurate and repetitive measurement even for scattered continuous light. With a rechargeable battery, re-use is unlimited.

The product operates in- or off-line. In off-line data-logging mode, it can be placed on a film running on a production line to log measured data, then removed from the line for processing measured data. In on-line mode, it provides real-time measurement of irradiance of a spot UV light. With “BladeNavi” the tool can be operated with one hand.

Visit USHIO at SEMICON WEST, July 10-12 in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, South Hall, Booth 2544.

USHIO INC. handles a variety of light sources for a broad range of industrial applications, including high-brightness discharge lamps for cinema projectors and data projectors as well as halogen lamps for general lighting and OA equipment and UV irradiance meters. It also manufactures and markets products incorporating its own light sources, such as optical systems for manufacturing FPDs and other electronic components and devices as well as imaging equipment led by digital cinema projectors. Visit www.ushio.co.jp/en.

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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