Konarka raises the bar for printed solar cells
Fujifilm Dimatix (Santa Clara, CA), supplier of drop-on-demand inkjet printheads for industrial applications, announced that its cartridge-based Dimatix Materials Printer was used in the first demonstration of inkjet technology for manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells. “Demonstrating the use of inkjet printing technology as a fabrication tool for highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements is a major milestone,” said Rick Hess, president and CEO of Konarka Technologies (Lowell, MA), which developed and commercialized Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy. “This essential breakthrough in the field of printed solar cells positions Konarka as an emerging leader in printed photovoltaics.”
Inventor of smart pixel arrays wins Fritz Medal
Kristina M. Johnson, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) was selected to receive the John Fritz Medal, widely considered the highest award in the engineering profession. The honor, established more than a century ago, has been given to such innovators as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Westinghouse, and Orville Wright. “This is really special because it recognizes inventors, and I am happiest when inventing,” said Johnson. With more than 140 published articles, Johnson is known for pioneering work in “smart pixel arrays,” a field that has applications in displays, pattern recognition, and high-resolution sensors, including cameras.
Acquisition grows OLED display business
Rohm and Haas Company (Philadelphia, PA) acquired Gracel Display (Seoul, South Korea), a developer and manufacturer of organic light-emitting-diode display materials. The transaction, worth approximately $40 million, gives Rohm and Haas controlling interest in Gracel and broadens Rohm and Haas’s growing display technologies business. Rohm and Haas manufactures thin-film-transistor photoresists and related materials as part of its Display Chemicals group, and added optical display films when it acquired Eastman Kodak’s Light Management Films business in June 2007. Rohm and Haas launched SKC Haas Display Films in December 2007, a new joint venture that develops and manufactures advanced films and filters for LCD and plasma displays.
ESA and Thales sign satellite contract
The European Space Agency and Thales Alenia Space (France) signed a $472 million contract to provide the first Sentinel-3 Earth-observation satellite, devoted to oceanography and land-vegetation monitoring, as part of the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security program. Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the satellite’s design, development, and integration. Sentinel-3 will determine parameters such as sea surface topography, sea/land surface temperature, ocean color, and land color with high accuracy and reliability. It carries an advanced radar altimeter and a multichannel optical imaging instrument.
Consortium to bring 3-D displays home
The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC; San Jose, CA) and Insight Media (Norwalk, CT) have officially announced the formation of the 3D@Home Consortium, a nonprofit alliance of high-tech industry leaders mobilizing to provide consumers with quality, yet affordable, in-home three-dimensional (3-D) display entertainment. “This strong international group of founding companies is a testament to the wide spread interest and possibilities in stereoscopic 3-D home entertainment,” noted USDC CEO Michael Ciesinski.
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Also in the news . . .
Thermoteknix Systems (Cambridge, England) won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for the success of its MIRICLE thermal-imaging cameras. . . . Photon (San Jose, CA) was awarded U.S. Patent 7,321,423 titled “Real-Time Goniospectrophotometer” to characterize the spectra of light as a function of angle for measuring light sources such as white LEDs and light reflected from materials with gonio-apparent or pearlescent paint or ink. . . . Sofradir (Veurey-Voroize, France), a developer and manufacturer of cooled infrared detectors, announced that General Electric will become a minority shareholder in Ulis, a subsidiary of Sofradir that makes uncooled IR detectors mainly for commercial applications. . . . In early March, e2v (Chelmsford, England) image sensors were launched into space on board the European Space Agency’s Jules Verne spacecraft, the first Automated Transfer Vehicle to be sent to the International Space Station. . . . Kopin (Taunton, MA) was awarded the first phase of an anticipated three-phase, $4.2 million U.S. Army program to accelerate production capability and improve the performance of its CyberDisplay SXGA LVR microdisplay.