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JULY 18th, 2005
Fujitsu Brings Out Flexible Displays, Electronic Paper Display
Offering similar characteristics as paper in terms of weight, dimensions
and flexibility, three of Fujitsu’s companies have jointly announced their film substrate-based bendable color electronic
paper. The new display technology features extremely low power, in part, because it only needs power when the screen is refreshed
with a new image. Fujitsu gives its power consumption rating in the range of the power of the radio waves used to drive contactless
IC cards.
Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., Fujitsu Frontech Limited, and Fujitsu
Limited developed the technology, which is planned for commercialization for a wide range of different applications sometime
in Fujitsu’s corporate fiscal year between April 2006 and March 2007. One of the initial target applications is poster
advertisements in public places such as rail stations. The company did not indicate the cost of the color electronic paper
that can also be placed on curved surfaces such as poles and cylindrical support structures.
JULY 14th, 2005
Brillian Corp. (NASDAQ: BRLC), a producer of LCoS (Liquid Crystal
on Silicon) microdisplays and the rear-projection HDTVs that they are a part of, has issued $5 million of 4% convertible debentures
and $2.0 million of 9% convertible debentures.
The funds are expected to go towards volume manufacturing. According
to, Vincent F. Sollitto Jr., Brillian's CEO, "Our momentum continues to build with volume manufacturing and supply chain progress,
excellent product reviews, and an earlier than expected ability to reduce MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) on the
Brillian 720p HDTV monitor. Closing this financing round is another very positive step forward. The proceeds from this transaction
will strengthen our cash position and provide added funding for volume manufacturing of our light engines and HDTVs."
JULY 8th, 2005
Soon, one may just put a pair of eyeglass- like devices on when the cell
phone rings. One will then be all set to play a lively video game with a far away friend or have a serious video teleconference
with a business partner. With Kopin’s nanotechnology based microdisplays, Orange’s video service, MicroOptical’s
Kopin-enabled eyewear and Samsung’s cell phone one may have all that one needs to both work and play in the modern world.
In this scenario, of the not to distant future, one will be delivered movies,
TV, photos, web sites or perhaps games through Orange SA mobile video service, then see the results with virtual big-screen
eyewear provided by MicroOptical Corporation. The infrastructure is just about there. The recent order from MicroOptical for
Kopin’s CyberDisplay 230 K microdisplays will provide the necessary hardware component to get the production lines moving.
Orange SA, a unit of French Telecom, which already has 52 million customers
in 16 countries, will bundle together the complete package. That package will include MicroOptical binocular video eyewear
and Samsung’s SGH-D600 cell phone as the “Orange World” wireless multimedia service. The complete system
has already been demonstrated at the European Research and Innovation Exhibition in Paris and will be available to Orange’s
customers in October of 2005.
Will the product be a hit? One plus is the dual eye display, consisting
of quarter-inch diagonals provides a 12 inch big screen virtual image. Another plus is that the eyewear itself only weighs
2.5 ounces. Finally, the device does accept composite video input (NTSC or PAL), so the eyewear can be plugged into devices
such as DVD players, and even perhaps screenless portable laptops.
Future applications may include special eyeglasses to adjust for even the
most severe vision problems. MicroOptical also has a strategic alliance with Essilor International, a company with over 25,000
employees, for ophthalmic eyewear devices. Essilor manufactured over 180 million lenses in 2004.
JUNE 20th, 2005
Lamina Ceramics has obtained a $2 million investment from SpaceVest.
The round C financing was led by Granite Global, which contributed $6 million to the $9 million in financing. Others involved
in the round included Morgenthaler Ventures
Lamina with the financing announcement also reported that it has also
broke the bright LED record with its brightest ever LED array with a 28,000 lumen solid-state white light engine. The company’s
Ultra-high lumen LEDs technology are also another LED achievement. Devices based on this technology are capable of producing
16 million colors in an area smaller than a small sized coat button.
Lamina, founded in 2001, as a spin-off of Sarnoff Corporation, has
based its award winning ceramic on metal LED technology on over 12 years of research conducted at Sarnoff. Lamina received
the Best New LED Product and Technical Innovation Award at Lightfair International.
JUNE 14th, 2005
Self-Assembling Polymer Nanocomposites Reported
as Promising Solar Cell and Display Technology
The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory reports that polymer nanocomposites
may have broad implications for the development of solar cells with higher efficiency ratings, displays that are thinner,
and biosensors.
Polymer nanocomposites, the laboratory notes, have the natural ability
to self-organize or self-assemble into building blocks that have dimensions in the order of a nanometer. According to Tom
Vogt, a physicist at Brookhaven, "Polymer nanocomposites have been attracting a lot of attention because of their potential
to improve many technologies. The polymer imparts unique mechanical properties, such as the ability to bend and stretch, and
both components are good electrical conductors." The polymer component referred to here is polyaniline. Specifically for the
case cited, the polymer component was combined with the metal vanadium to form vanadium oxide.
Stratcor, Inc. based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a supplier
of high purity vanadium oxide. That company indicates that vanadium can be used to double the strength of steel.
JUNE 13th, 2005
Based on an array of vertically aligned collector nanostructures
that include nanotubes, nanowires, nanofibers or nanoparticle chains, NanoHorizons has now made available a new photovoltaic
cell design through a license program. The company indicates that the technology permits the production of solar cells on
common materials that can be inexpensively produced with low cost roll or spray based manufacturing processes. The company
also noted that because the design lengthens the light absorption path, the efficiency of solar cells has been "dramatically"
increased. According to one of the co-inventors, Dr. Ali Kaan Kalkan, the design overcomes the inefficiencies of the traditional
layered design approach, "Layered designs face an inherent paradox. Thicker light-absorbing layers are needed to capture sufficient
light energy, but their thickness makes it difficult for electrons to reach collection layers. Thinner layers reduce loss,
but thin layers absorb too little light. What's been needed is a new approach that allows the light absorption path to be
optimally long, while simultaneously moving efficient collection much closer to the source of energized electrons."
Stephen Fonash, PhD., founder of NanoHorizons and another co-inventor
elaborated further, "Solar energy development has been held up by barriers inherent in cell design. These barriers have now
been broken. Our nanoscale approach can enable collection lengths as small as a few tens of nanometers, opening the door to
the use of inexpensive materials and fabrication processes, while simultaneously enabling a truly optimized absorption length.
This technology is poised to greatly stimulate growth in the solar energy and Organic LED sectors."
NanoHorizons also indicates that the integration of its vertical
nano-spike collectors into the absorption material permits energy collection at 90 degrees to the absorption process, which
permits according to the company, "an optimally thick absorption layer while dramatically shortening collection distance by
as much as 1000-fold (tens of nanometers vs. tens of microns in today's best two-layer cells)."
NanoHorizons also reported that it has received notice of allowance
from the United States Patent Office for the technology.
MAY 26th, 2005
Silicon Works Lowers Cost of Smart LCD Drivers with PenTile
Silicon Works Co., Ltd, a mixed signal semiconductor company based in Daejeon, Korea, through
the integration of PenTile, a technology from Clairvoyante Incorporated, is now sampling its RGBW qVGA system on chip (SoC).
The new driver is expected to lower the cost and power of smart drivers and increase brightness perceived display resolution.
The first driver off the production floor offers 262,000 colors and a resolution of 240X320. The company notes also that its
driver only requires two-thirds of the memory of standard RGB stripe smart drivers. Furthermore the new driver is reported
to only require one-third the number of data drivers.
Mr. Dae-Keun Han, CEO of Silicon Works commented on PenTile in regards
to the handset and portable electronics market, "Building PenTile RGBW technology into our SoC driver enables us to offer
a power-efficient, single-chip solution that does not require customers to sacrifice performance for cost. Using our new smart
driver makes it possible for our customers to keep up with the market pressures that compel the design of competitively priced
displays for high-resolution, high-performance mobile products."
Clairvoyante, Inc., which licenses PenTile Matrix, develops pixel
architectures and algorithms specific to the flat-panel display market. That company was founded in 2000 and has two offices
in California, one in Sebastopol and another in Cupertino, CA.
MAY 24th, 2005
Tomato LSI Selects DongbuAnam Process for LCD Driver Chip Production
Tomato LSI Inc. (TLSI) has selected DongbuAnam Semiconductor, the main foundry in Korea, for
the production of its Display Driver chips. The chips are planned to be produced with Dongbu's high-voltage 0.18 micron
process this month. According to the President of TLSI, Seon-ho Choi, the chips will be used to drive video displays in cellular
phone applications. From the third quarter of this year, somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 eight inch wafers per month will
be produced for TLSI, according to the Executive Vice President of Dongbu, Jae Song.
Tomato LSI, founded in 1999, is considered one of the fastest growing
companies in Asia.
MAY 19th, 2005
World Gold Council Funds Solaris' Ocular Nanorod Efforts - Gold
Base Noted
Just shortly after Solaris has announced one round of funding, the company has revealed that
the World Gold Council, a organization funded by the world's leading gold mining companies, has also provided funding for
its anisotropic gold nanorod technology. The golden nanorods are planned to improve the quality of all types electronic
displays and to restore vision to those with retinal diseases. Dr. Nabil M. Lawandy, CEO of Solaris Nanosciences mentioned
specifically that the funding would benefit the development effort for the retinal disease known in short as AMD, "We are
excited to be working with the support of the World Gold Council in this application of our nanomaterials for improved LCDs,
The funding will accelerate the commercialization of our nanostructure additives for higher performance displays. This effort
will also directly benefit the development of our gold-based materials for restoring visual acuity in patients suffering from
retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD)." Solaris Nanosciences is developing biologically active nanostructures,
which require gold, that may be able to restore the vision of those with Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy. Solaris
reports that over 50 million people are afflicted with these two diseases.
Dr Richard Holliday, Industrial Sector Manager of the World Gold
Council explained the rationale for the investment, "Supporting the development of new technologies based on gold will lead
to important new applications for the metal in industry. Solaris Nanosciences has a powerful nanotechnology platform and an
experienced team to successfully commercialize this technology. This will lead to exciting new applications for gold in electronic
products."
The World Council is actively seeking new ways to promote the use
of gold in order to increase industrial demand, which is currently estimated between 350 to 400 tonnes a year - considered
low when compared to other metals.
MAY 19th, 2005
ChipMOS Furthers Ties With Himax
ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES LTD. ((NASDAQ:IMOS) announced its subsidiary ChipMOS Technologies, Inc.,
based in Taiwan, will extend its assembly and test services to Himax Technologies, Inc. until the end of 2008. Under the agreement
ChipMOS will increase the number of LCD Driver chips it will package.
Himax , also based in Taiwan, is a fabless semiconductor company
that focuses on driver technology for displays used in a variety of consumer applications. Founded in 2001, the company employs
about 350.
MAY 12th, 2005
Motorola Seeks Partners to Commercialize Disruptive Low-Cost Nanotube Displays
Motorola Labs, a research
unit of Motorola, Inc., (NYSE:MOT), has developed a display technology that could displace current technology used for HDTVs.
With the announced the company showed a 5-inch prototype color video display prototype based on Motorola's Nano Emissive Display
(NED) technology - which is built with carbon nanotube technology (CNT).
Jim O'Connor, Vice President
for Motorola's Technology Incubation and Commercialization implied the product was ready for commercialization, "With over
15 years experience and 160 patents in CNT and flat panel displays, we have developed a technology that could enable the next
generation of large size flat panel displays to deliver an extraordinary visual experience at a fraction of current prices.
We now look forward to aligning with display manufacturers and enabling them to further this technology and develop commercially
available solutions."
MAY 9th, 2005
eMagin Corporation (AMEX:EMA), with the announcement of preliminary
financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2005, indicated that its plans to significantly increase its monthly
output of microdisplay devices. The company states that it anticipates that its average output to go from 1,000 to 2,000 units
per month in 2004 to 15,000 to 20,000 units per month in 2005.
Gary Jones, CEO at eMagin discussed at length about the revitalized
production capacity and the company's OLED-on-silicon based products, "I'm pleased to report that we believe that we've completed
the first phase of the critical step of updating our Hopewell Junction fabrication facility to accommodate the much higher
output levels we anticipate requiring this year. With production resuming in May we've initially restarted the line to accommodate
moderate throughput. We anticipate that we will generate between $1.0 million and $2 million of revenue during Q2, ramping
production output upward throughout the remainder of the year. Our first shipments of microdisplays from our consumer OEM
backlog are now occurring and we are projecting initial shipping availability of our first commercial Z800 3D Visor units
to begin by the end of the quarter. Our Z800 3D visor combines our easy to view OLED-on-silicon technology with our new large
view lenses, head-tracking capability, flicker-free 3D stereovision capability, built-in noise canceling microphone, hi-fi
sound, and low power USB compatibility. The effect is equivalent to viewing a 105-inch screen at 12 ft, but with an image
that moves as your head moves to completely surround you with a screen. The product continues to receive outstanding reviews
from press, partners, and prospective customers and we believe will be one of the more eagerly anticipated new products of
2005."
eMagin also reported preliminary estimates of its revenue for the
three months ended March 31, 2005. For that period the company reports $0.7 million in revenue, compared to $0.5 million in
the first quarter of 2004 - an increase of 28 percent.
MAY 5th, 2005
Solaris Nanosciences Corporation, a company that plans to improve
solar cell technology efficiency with its nanomaterial technology, announced today that it has closed on an investment made
by the Slater Technology Fund. The investment came in the form of a $150,000 convertible note.
Ron Unterman, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Slater Technology
Fund was impressed not only with the solar cell technology but applications of Solaris' technology for eyewear and displays,
"Solaris' technology is one of the most innovative approaches I have seen for improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness
of solar energy. In addition, their core nanotechnology holds tremendous opportunity for other market sectors, including improved
viewing angle for video displays, and enhanced vision for patients with macular degeneration. With its strong IP position
and creative technology team, Solaris will continue to expand on its nanotechnology platform which underlies these and other
potential products for both commercial and military markets."
Solaris's technology is based on an optical absorption phenomena
called plasmons. Plasmons, a type of optical absorption, occurs when metals are dissolved into the glass. Colors different
than the dissolved metals appear in the glass when a plasmon occurs. For a plasmon to occur, the dimensions of the metal particles
must be smaller than the wavelength of light.
APRIL 27th, 2005
Brillian's Completes $2.5 Million Convertible Offering
Brillian Corp. (NASDAQ: BRLC), an OLED microdisplay company and producer of rear projection
HDTVs, obtained $2.5 million through a 7% Convertible Debentures and $2.0 million of 9% Senior Secured Debentures offered
to select investors. Vincent Sollitto, Brillian's CEO indicated that funds would allow the company's traction to continue
and to further its manufacturing capabilities, "Closing this financing round is another positive step in our progress. The
proceeds from this transaction will provide financial support to the momentum we have built in recent weeks with the announcement
of two distribution deals and our manufacturing partnership with Suntron."
APRIL 26th, 2005
California Micro Devices (NASDAQ: CAMD) has introduced its PhotonIC
series of high integration LED drivers that, according to the company, can achieve a 50 percent space savings and a 40 percent
cost savings for the design of handset and display modules - compared to alternative solutions, which can require up to two
or three chips. Applications for the CM4600 include main displays, sub-displays, keypads, RGB and camera flash LED based multimedia
handsets.
Olivier Brecheteau, Director of Marketing for Mobile Products at
CMD noted the companies plan to expand the offering, "The PhotonIC(TM) CM4600 is the first member of the PhotonIC(TM) product
family of highly integrated solutions for handset LED lighting applications, offering designers of the latest multimedia handsets
a compelling value proposition. We will be expanding the PhotonIC(TM) portfolio of products with additional product announcements
in coming quarters."
The PhotonIC CM4600 is priced $2.20 each in 1,000 units. and comes
in a 4mm x 4mm TQFN 24 lead package. Sample parts, available now, can be ordered with a reference design kit. Production has
been scheduled for Q3 2005.
APRIL 21, 2005
MicroEmissive Displays plc, a relatively new public company that
designs and manufacturers full-color microdisplays, announced first time revenues for the year ended December 31, 2005. The
company reported turnover for the year as GBP 12 thousand compared to GBP 12 thousand last year. For the fourth quarter revenue
included sales of the company's QVGA resolution microdisplay products. The company also reported it now has three customers
and has proceeded on work for a pilot production line.
Bill Campbell, Chief Executive at MicroEmissive commented on the
company's orders and commercialization effort, "MED is making solid progress in commercialising its microdisplays for portable
consumer electronics products. The Company enters 2005 with an encouraging order book and is on track to meet Directors' expectations.
We are excited by the new opportunities being presented to us." The company's products are targeted at portable consumer electronic
products such as digital cameras, mobile phones and night viewers.
Earlier this year, MicroEmissive entered into an agreement with
United Microelectronics Corp. to start the wafer fabrication of its low-power OLED microdisplays. MicroEmissive Display licensed
microdisplay technology from Cambridge Display Technology in 2002.
APRIL 14th, 2005
World's First Paper Watch Demonstrated - Watch Display Market
Targeted
Electronic paper is a display technology that developers hope will
replace current LCD and OLED display technology for cell phone, PC applications and watch applications. E Ink Corporation,
Seiko Epson Corporation, and Seiko Watch Corporation have demonstrated the first paper watch just recently at the Baselworld
Watch and Jewelry Show in Basel, Switzerland. Seiko plans to bring the watch, called 'Future Now', to market sometime in 2006.
The watches benefits include ultra high contrast, an ultra thin and ultra flexible design, and low power consumption.
The acceptance of the product could result in a large market for ink driver chips.
MARCH 31st, 2005
QUALCOMM MEMS Technologies Enters
Into MEMS Display Agreement With PVI
QUALCOMM MEMS Technologies (QMT), a unit of QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) has entered
into an agreement with Prime View International (PVI). As part of the agreement, the two companies are expected to commercialize
QMT's iMoD display technology. PVI is expected to play a significant role as a mass producer of iMoD displays.
QUALCOMM's iMoD display technology enables lower display power consumption
and permit displays to be viewed in bright sunlight and over an extended temperature range. The display technology should
compliment QUALCOM's position as one of the world's largest cellular integrated circuit companies.
QMT develops display technology based on MEMS technology it obtained
through QUALCOMM's acquisition of Iridigm Display Corporation in September 2004. PVI is a manufacturer of TFT LCD modules
based in Taiwan.
MARCH 29th, 2005
Microvision (NASDAQ:MVIS), a company with operations in scanners,
displays and optics, announced that it had filed a patent to protect its low-cost, high resolution display technology architecture.
According to Steve Willey, President at Microvision, "This potential architecture represents a major breakthrough in the design
of near-eye display systems, because the approach overcomes optical limitations that are fundamental to any system based on
a miniature screen. Essentially the optical design of such systems is a close analogy to a wide angle lens system for a camera,
and comprises several - as many as six - complex lenses in a single enclosure that is often several inches deep. As a consequence,
you end up with a system that is not only bulky and unsightly, but also one that has a lot of the weight in front of the head.
Microvision's new system design is pretty radical and we think represents a potential breakthrough technology. Our invention
would use an array of conventional, inexpensive LEDs (light emitting diodes) and a very simple optical system consisting of
only one or two elements to achieve the combination of more compact size, reduced weight and dramatically lower cost that
are key to consumer electronics applications. As a result of the LED array, the system is designed to afford significant image
quality advantages in brightness, resolution and color quality. We have previously used LED arrays to demonstrate displays
containing more than 9 million pixel elements."
The technology is specifically well-suited for near-eye display
systems, such as microdisplay glasses. Mr. Wiley clarified the subject further, "What is particularly exciting about this
is that there really is no other way to achieve this effect in a reasonable package using miniature flat panel displays. Our
prospective customers have done considerable work in this area and found that fundamentally you're up against the constraints
of optics. Because of how our current system works, we have the ability to simplify and fold optics in a way that others have
not discovered. It appears that this is potentially very important to developers of media and gaming systems because it would
not only overcome the problem of small displays in handheld devices, but it could get one into the realm of high-end cinema
and simulation. I think it's something that someone could really lie back and enjoy on a long flight."
MARCH
16th, 2005
SpatiaLight, LCoS Microdisplay Company, Increases Revenue Over Five Fold
Indicative of a market
receptive to liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) microdisplays, SpatiaLight, Inc. (NASDAQ:HDTV), has reported that its revenue
for 2004 increased to $1.16 million, up from $0.22 million in 2003. The company reports that at the end of 2004 it had $9.1
million in cash and cash equivalents.
MARCH 2, 2005
Kopin Reports Record Revenue – Microdisplay Technology Cited
Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ:KOPN) reported revenues of $87.4 million for the year ended December 25, 2004 up 14 percent
from its 2003 level of $76.6 million The company said that 2004 saw record revenue
for its CyberDisplay products as well as strong performance from its HBT transistor product line.
Kopin's 922k color filter VGA CyberDisplay
may help break new revenue records as a result of a line of multimedia video eyewear glasses launched by Icuiti and Oriscape. Icuiti's V920 3D video eyewear is based on Kopin's Color Filter VGA microdisplays. These unusual eyeglasses, intended for the consumer "mobile" market, provide a complete
computer and multimedia experience in either darkness or sunlight. The eyewear creates a virtual image that is the equivalent
of a 54 inch flat panel screen viewed from a distance of nine feet. The eyewear
can also be used to check your email.
JANUARY 20th, 2005
Microdisplay Chip Orders Turn into Shipments
Spatialight, which entered into a supply agreement for its LCOS silicon
microdisplays in July of 2004, now anticipates that it will deliver these products to LG Electronics in March 2005. LG Electronics,
which has designed the microdisplays into its latest rear projection television sets, expects to roll out its televisions
in the second quarter of 2005.
JANUARY 19th, 2005
IXYS Believes in Electronic Ink Displays
IXYS announced that its semiconductor products can now be found in Vossloh IT’s and Samsung’s display products.
Its PolarHT power MOSFETs have been included into Samsung’s Plasma Display Panels and its electronic ink display technology
can be found in Vossloh IT’s passenger information displays. IXYS offers electronic ink display driver chips through
its Micronix division. The electronic ink technology found in Vossloh’s passenger displays are from E Ink Corp. E Ink displays are electronic paper displays, which have a paper like appearance.
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Brillian |
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CRLO Displays |
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Cypress Semiconductor |
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Displaytech |
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eLCOS Microdisplay |
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Emagin |
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FLIXEL LTD. |
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JVC Company of America |
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Kopin Corp |
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LCOS Microdisplay Technology |
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Microdisplay Corp. |
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MicroVision |
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Pixelworks |
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Scipher PLC |
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Spatialight |
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Texas Instruments |
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United Microdisplay Optronics |
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