CDT will transfer to Dupont Displays proprietary ink jet manufacturing technology for full color OLED Displays

Wilmington, Delaware, and Cambridge, UK,  – Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), the owner and licensor of the fundamental intellectual property in light emitting polymer (LEP) OLED technology and DuPont Displays, a business unit of DuPont (NYSE: DD) and a leading developer and manufacturer of OLED technology, have announced an agreement to provide CDT’s full color ink-jet printing manufacturing technology to Dupont for use in their LEP OLED manufacturing.

Under the terms of the agreement, CDT will transfer proprietary full color manufacturing process knowledge to DuPont to accelerate DuPont’s commercialization of LEP displays. The technology and process transfer agreement builds on the November 2001 LEP manufacturing and intellectual property licensing agreement between the two companies. 

CDT’s manufacturing process utilizes ink-jet technology developed by CDT on deposition tools supplied by its Litrex subsidiary.  CDT currently manufactures LEP displays on 350mm by 350mm substrates at its Godmanchester UK manufacturing technology development center and plans to shortly release the first commercially available LEP displays made using an ink-jet printing process. 

LEP technology utilizes organic materials to generate light with an applied electric current. Because LEPs are a thin film, emissive technology, they eliminate the cost, space, weight and power consumption associated with backlights needed by LCD displays. The image produced by LEPs has higher contrast and faster image response than LCDs while offering an unlimited viewing angle. These features offer advantages for display product markets ranging from televisions to emerging portable products with high demands on imaging quality for multimedia applications.

Unlike other OLED materials, LEPs can be placed in solution to allow deposition by a variety of methods, including ink-jetting. Ink-jetting LEPs allows full color display pixels to be formed directly onto glass substrates, and may ultimately lead to the possibility of roll-to-roll manufacturing of full color displays on flexible substrates.

“The transfer of this manufacturing process technology to Dupont Displays continues our business relationship and technology support of their manufacturing plans,” said David Fyfe, CEO of CDT. We are investing substantial human and capital resources to bring inkjet printing of LEPs into LEP display manufacturing. Litrex leads the design and commercialisation of the printers themselves and CDT is heavily involved in ink formulation, surface conditioning and manufacturing system development to allow high-resolution printing. We expect to transfer this know-how to other display makers in the near future.”

About CDT

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) is a privately held company leading the research, development and commercialisation of polymer technology for flat panel displays, lighting, and photovoltaics. CDT’s light emitting polymer (LEP) and dendrimer technologies are targeted for use in a wide range of electronic display products used for information management, communications and entertainment. Features include reduced power consumption, size, thickness and weight, very wide viewing angle, superior video imaging performance and the potential to produce displays on plastic substrates. To date, licenses have been granted to Delta Optoelectronics, DuPont Displays, MicroEmissive Displays, OSRAM, Philips, and Seiko-Epson.

CDT is promoting LEP and dendrimer technology development and speeding its commercialisation through a global business strategy including co-developments with leading companies in a wide range of display and related technology areas. Founded in 1992, the company is headquartered in Cambridge UK and has a manufacturing development centre in Godmanchester UK and dendrimer development facility in Oxford UK.

In 2002, CDT was awarded Britain’s most prestigious engineering prize, the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award for CDT’s developments in engineering the rapid commercialisation of LEP technology and contribution to establishing the UK as a hot bed for innovation in science and engineering on the world stage. Additional 2002 awards include Scientific American 50 – Scientific American Magazine – leader in the General Technology category for work over the last year in the development and commercialisation of LEPs, and a winner of the Wall Street Journal Europe Innovation Awards.