Category Archives: LEDs

Jan. 18, 2007 — GE Global Research, the Niskayuna, N.Y.-based centralized research organization of the General Electric Company, announced what it claims is a promising breakthrough in nanotechnology that provides a direct pathway to making nanoceramic materials from polymeric precursors.

Developing processes and a greater understanding of nano-engineered ceramics could lead to future applications in aviation and energy, the company said, where products such as aircraft engines and gas turbines could one day achieve new levels of efficiency, reliability and environmental performance.

A cross-disciplinary team led by Patrick Malenfant and Julin Wan made the discovery, which is reported in the January issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

The team developed a very simple synthesis for the polymeric precursor, which enables a very efficient path towards ordered non-oxide ceramic nanostructures. The technology is based on a novel inorganic/organic block copolymer that forms ordered polymeric nanostructures via self-assembly.

The resulting material is subsequently pyrolized to yield the desired ceramic, in which the original nanostructure is retained. The unique aspect of the invention is that the desired composition and the ability to form ordered nanostructures are built in. No external template is needed, and the process is simple and robust.

“Drawing from recent developments in the literature, we were able to develop a robust synthesis of well-defined block copolymers that doesn’t require stringent atmospheric conditions and that readily assemble into ordered nanostructures upon solvent evaporation. Pyrolysis provides ceramic materials that retain their nanostructure up to 1400 °C,” Malenfant said in a prepared statement.

The development of nanoceramic materials is a key objective of GE’s nanotechnology program at Global Research. Ceramics are extremely heat resistant but brittle materials. However, nature has demonstrated that through nanotechnology, ceramic materials can be made more durable. Non-oxide ceramics with increased toughness, combined with their intrinsic heat-resistant properties, could have broad applications for GE’s aviation and energy businesses.

Malenfant and Wan point out that while damage tolerant high-temperature ceramics could revolutionize product development in aviation and energy, structural applications are still many years away. More immediate applications could result from the ability to prepare high surface area ceramics that could be exploited in catalysis.

January 16, 2007 – Rite Track, West Chester, OH, and Japan’s Tokyo Electron Ltd. have extended their existing partnership, adding the TEL Clean Track ACT 8 to the family of TEL Clean Track Mark 200mm track systems sold and serviced by Rite Track.

The ACT 8 expansion, covering the US territory only, extends a partnership formed in 2003, under which the company supplies and services TEL Clean Track Mark Vz and Mark 7/8 track systems.

“Our successful performance with the CLEAN TRACK MARK series product lines led to us having the opportunity to now offer Certified/Refurbished ACT 8 systems to the marketplace,” said Tim Hayden, Rite Track president and CEO, in a statement.

Unidym signs OLED agreement


January 15, 2007

Jan. 15, 2007 — Arrowhead Research Corp. of Pasadena, Calif., announced that its majority-owned subsidiary, Unidym, has entered into a collaborative agreement with the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore to develop organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) incorporating transparent electrodes made of carbon nanotubes.

Under the terms of the agreement, Unidym will provide IMRE researchers with access to its proprietary, carbon nanotube-based, transparent electrodes which IMRE will incorporate into its OLED devices.

According to iSuppli Corp., the market for OLEDs was $408 million in 2004 and is expected to reach $2.9 billion by 2011. Arrowhead says carbon nanotube-based transparent electrodes have the potential to improve the performance of OLEDs while also reducing their production costs.

“We believe IMRE is a world leader in OLED technology and are pleased that Unidym has entered this collaboration with such a distinguished institution,” said R. Bruce Stewart, Arrowhead Research chairman, in a prepared statement. “We will continue to look for strategic partners to integrate Unidym’s transparent electrodes into optoelectronic systems.” Arrowhead has an 88 percent ownership stake in Unidym.

Jan. 11, 2007 — Molecular Imprints Inc. (MII), an Austin, Texas, maker of nano-imprint lithography systems, announced the shipment of an Imprio 250 for Next Generation Lithography (NGL) to a leading semiconductor memory manufacturer.

The company says its Step and Flash Imprint Lithography (S-FIL) technology can replicate the ultra high resolution of e-beam lithography with the low cost of ownership of optical lithography to provide a manufacturing solution that can be extended through multiple technology generations. The expected initial use of the system will be process development and device prototyping at 32nm and below.

“MII has made tremendous progress over the last 12 months to provide an NGL solution to the semiconductor industry. This tool sale is a clear validation of our progress” said Mark Melliar-Smith, CEO of Molecular Imprints, in a prepared statement. “We believe MII’s S-FIL technology is an ideal complement to 193i optical lithography for critical layer applications at the 32nm generation and a complete solution at 22nm.”

In addition to semiconductor applications, Molecular Imprints says its high resolution and low cost S-FIL technology is gaining broader market acceptance by enabling advances in high performance hard disk drives (HDD) and light emitting diodes (LED), which further validates the capability and value of its Imprio products.

January 9, 2007 – AXT Inc. says it closed a sale of an additional 862,500 shares for an overallotment option in its Dec. 19 public offering, at a price of $4.50/share. Net proceeds from the option were approximately $3.6 million, after deducting an underwriting discount and estimating offering expenses. The offering was led by Needham & Co. LLC as the sole underwriter.

January 8, 2006 – Months after being rescued by a new credit line following a “going concern” warning, Therma-Wave Inc. has found a new savior — KLA-Tencor Corp., which has agreed to acquire the process control metrology system provider for $75 million in cash.

Robert Castellano, president of market research firm The Information Network, noted that despite having just 1.5% share of the overall metrology inspection market in 2005 and a little less than that in 2006, Therma-Wave does bring some technology to the table for KLA-Tencor. The company had 10% share in the thin-film metrology sector in 2005, an area led by KLA-Tencor with 19%, ahead of Rudolph Technologies’ 15%.

Therma-Wave also has experience in implant metrology, the subject of previous litigation between the two companies. In 1998-1999 they were engaged in a dispute over two patents regarding optical measurement systems that include a calibrating ellipsometer. That litigation was settled in 2001 with an exchange of technology licensing agreements, plus an undisclosed payment and pledge by Therma-Wave to modify its products to avoid using certain technologies.

“KLA-Tencor has a global reach and in-depth customer relationships that will extend our latest metrology technologies to a broader market,” said Boris Lipkin, Therma-Wave’s CEO, in a statement. Rick Wallace, CEO of KLA-Tencor, added that the acquisition expands KLA-Tencor’s portfolio of metrology tools with Therma-Wave’s advanced measurement capabilities.

The deal, which is expected to close during 1Q07 pending regulatory approvals, has been approved by Therma-Wave’s board of directors and has received commitment from 25% of the controlling stock held by company directors, executive officers, and Series B Preferred stockholders.

Therma-Wave was among a list of potential speculative buyout candidates in early 2005, following a bidding war for August Technologies among KLA-Tencor, Rudolph Technologies, and Nanometrics. But part of its potential attraction as a takeover target has been its financial situation.

In June 2006 Therma-Wave was cited the company as a “going concern” by its independent accounting firm, its second such designation within a year, regarding its financial reports for the fiscal year ended in March, due to recurring net losses (losses of $9.2 million, $6.8 million, and $18.1 million in its fiscal years 2006, 2005, and 2004, respectively) and negative cash flows ($16.2 million cash burn in FY06 and accumulated deficit of $317.0 million). Meanwhile, revenues slid 20% from the prior year, with nearly a fourth of those to a single customer, AMD.

In August 2006, Therma-Wave tacked on a year to its $15 million line of credit from SVB Silicon Valley Bank, to finance working capital needs through June 2008.

January 4, 2007 – Plastic Logic, Cambridge, UK, says it has closed $100 million in equity financing, one of the largest VC deals ever in Europe, to help it build a new facility to produce commercial volumes of flexible active-matrix display modules by 2008.

The new facility, to be located in Dresden, Germany, will produce up to a million display modules/year for portable electronic reader devices, a market projected to grow to 41.6 million units by 2010, the company noted.

John Mills, COO of Plastic Logic, said in a statement, that the company’s displays will enable electronic readers “that are as comfortable and natural to read as paper,” with wireless connectivity to download books or articles, and battery life lasting for thousands of page-reads.

Simon Jones, VP of product development, added that the company’s research indicates that people are consciously trying to remove the bulk and weight of paper in their everyday lives, but remain reluctant to read on laptops, phones, or PDAs. “We believe there is a substantial unfulfilled need that Plastic Logic can meet by making digital reading a comfortable and pleasurable experience,” he stated.

The VC round was led by Oak Investment Partners and Tudor Investment Corp., with participation from existing investors Amadeus, Intel Capital, Bank of America, BASF Venture Capital, Quest for Growth, and Merifin Capital.


Plastic Logic’s “take anywhere, read anywhere” displays use imaging film from
E Ink. (Photo: Business Wire)

Jan. 4, 2007 — Plastic Logic of Cambridge, England, announced that it will build one of the first factories to manufacture plastic electronics on a commercial scale. The facility will produce flexible active-matrix display modules for ‘take anywhere, read anywhere’ electronic reader products. It will utilize Plastic Logic’s unique process to fabricate active-matrix displays that are thin, light and robust — potentially enabling a reading experience closer to paper than any other technology.

To fund the program, Plastic Logic has completed a first closing of $100 million of equity finance led by Oak Investment Partners and Tudor Investment Corporation. Existing investors Amadeus, which led the seed financing of Plastic Logic, Intel Capital, Bank of America, BASF Venture Capital, Quest for Growth and Merifin Capital also participated. The financing is one of the largest in the history of European venture capital.

Bandel Carano, managing partner at Oak, said “Plastic Logic has created a pioneering technology that will revolutionize the way that people interact with their media on the move. This investment is a perfect fit with Oak’s vision of future media interaction through handheld devices.”

The facility will produce display modules for portable electronic reader devices — a product category that is predicted to grow to 41.6 million units in 2010. It will have an initial capacity of more than a million display modules per year and production will start in 2008. Dresden in the ‘Silicon Saxony’ region of eastern Germany has been chosen as the facility location following an extensive worldwide site selection process.

“Our displays will enable electronic reader products that are as comfortable and natural to read as paper whether you’re on a beach, in a train or relaxing on the sofa at home.” stated John Mills, chief operating officer at Plastic Logic. “Wireless connectivity will allow you to purchase and download a book or pick up the latest edition of your newspaper wherever you are and whenever you need it. The battery will last for thousands of pages so you can leave your charger at home.”

“Even in this age of pervasive digital content, our research shows that consumers are very reluctant to read on laptops, phones and PDAs,” said Simon Jones, vice president of product development at Plastic Logic.

“We still carry around enormous amounts of paper. However, people are making less room in their lives for the weight and bulk of paper and are becoming more sensitive to the environmental impact of printing to read. We believe there is a substantial unfulfilled need that Plastic Logic can meet by making digital reading a comfortable and pleasurable experience.”

January 3, 2007 – Universal Display Corp., a developer of OLED technologies and materials, and Nippon Steel Chemical Co. Ltd., a provider of super-purified OLED materials, say they have achieved a “significant enhancement” in the performance of green phosphorescent OLEDs, doubling the device’s operational lifetime while maintaining existing color and efficiency characteristics.

The device, encompassing UDC’s green phosphorescent emitter and proprietary blocking layer material with Nippon Steel’s new green host material, achieved 60,000 hours operational lifetime with initial luminance of 1000 candelas/sq. m. It also exhibits high luminous efficiency of 65 candela/ampere and external quantum efficiency of 18% (also at 1000 candelas/sq. m). The lifetime represents more than a two-fold increase in stability compared with previously reported performance, the companies noted.

UDC and Nippon Steel already collaborated for vacuum-deposited phosphorescent red OLEDs, and are now working on blue phosphorescent materials. “We are determined to realize full-color phosphorescent OLED materials, including blue phosphorescent OLED materials, which is the next milestone of the collaboration,” said Yasuhiro Shimoura, executive officer and GM at Nippon Steel’s organic display materials division.

January 3, 2007 – The Taiwanese government’s recent approval to allow domestic chipmakers to transfer more leading-edge technology to mainland China is necessary to maintain global prospects for the island’s chip industry, according to statements from Premier Su Tsen-chang, reported by several media outlets. However, he also reiterated that wider policies regarding “Taiwan priority” and “Taiwan sovereignty” remain intact.

The government recently lowered its restrictions on chip technology transfers to 0.18 microns, vs. 0.25-microns which had been the policy for several years. But in fact, the revised policy was ready to be adopted two years ago, but was shelved when China’s government passed the Anti-Secession Law, noted Su, according to a report in the Taiwan Economic News.

Mainstream chipmaking in Taiwan has already progressed to 90nm and below on 300mm wafers, so the move of 0.18-micron process technologies is seen as a cost-cutting move and an effort to tap new business opportunities in China. Liu Teh-hsun, vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, added that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry already has 10 300mm fabs, one-quarter of the world’s total. “Impact of the liberalization on domestic semiconductor industry is, therefore, minimal,” said Chen, quoted by the Taiwan paper.

Still, China’s chip industry boasts the highest growth of any region (reaching $335 billion in 2005), with chip firms, led by flagship foundry SMIC, rapidly advancing to 0.18-micron, 0.13-micron, and even 90nm processes. Thus, maintaining the high bar for chip technology transfers constrains the development of Taiwan’s chip industry, Su maintained.

TSMC has been operating 0.25-micron processes on the mainland; applications from Powerchip and ProMOS were yet to be reviewed. TSMC is expected to shift 0.18-micron technology to its 200mm fab in Shanghai, for which it applied in January 2005; Powerchip and ProMOS are expected to quickly apply to the MOEA to set up their own 200mm fabs across the strait.