Ink-jet OLEDs: Universal Display Corporation (Ewing, NJ), a developer of organic light emitting diode (OLED) technologies for flat panel displays, lighting, and other opto-electronic applications, signed a multi-year technology development program with Seiko Epson Corporation. The program will focus on the development of technology for the future production of phosphorescent OLED displays by ink-jet printing. During this multi-year program, the two companies will work to apply Universal Display's OLED technology to the high-speed ink-jet printing process developed by Epson. This collaborative effort is designed to facilitate the low-cost production of large-area OLED displays in the future.
Honored: On behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Lutz Stratmann, the Minister of Science and Culture for Lower Saxony, awarded the Order of Merit to the founder of Lambda Physik, Dr. Dirk Basting, in Berlin. Basting co-founded Lambda Physik 1971 and served as the CEO and president until 2003. In 1981 and 1992 subsidiaries in the US and Japan were founded. In 1987 Basting was also one of the co-founders of the Laser Laboratorium Goettingen eV. He holds nearly 100 patents in the laser field and currently performing numerous honorary functions in science and economics, including theMax Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich and the German Industry Association.
IR partners: Japan Laser Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) and Jenoptik Laser, Optik, Systeme (Jena, Germany) have decided to bundle their activities in the Japanese market for thermographic cameras. An agreement to this effect was signed by the two companies at the International Imaging Exhibition in Yokohama, Japan. Japan Laser will distribute all thermographic cameras of the VarioCAM, VarioTHERM, and VARIOSCAN series in Japan and will also be involved sin the development of new IR camera products.
LCD glass: Speaking at the Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Conference in Scottsdale, AZ, in early December, James Flaws, vice chairman and CFO of Corning (Corning, NY), told analysts that while the company's fourth-quarter guidance was still $950 million to $1 billion in revenues, its shipments of liquid crystal display (LCD) glass in Taiwan weakened in November. He also said Corning expects to finish 2004 with LCD volume up 65% compared to the prior year.
"We now believe our fourth quarter sequential LCD volume growth will be up 3% at best and could be flat with the previous quarter," Flaws said. "This weakness in Taiwan is not uniform among customers, and we are reallocating some glass to other customers. However, the lower fourth-quarter volume does indicate that we are no longer sold out of manufacturing capacity. Shipments of LCD glass at our equity venture, Samsung Corning Precision Glass Co. Ltd. in Korea, continue to be strong, with expected sequential volume growth in the low teens."
U.S. distributor: Bright Solutions (Cura Carpignano, Italy), a manufacturer of continuous-wave diode-pumped lasers and OEM fiber-coupled laser diode products, has selected RPMC Lasers (O'Fallon, MO), a distributor of multimode laser diode products, as its North American distributor. RPMC also sells LDX Optronics laser diodes, is the North American rep for Lumera Lasers picosecond lasers, and handles sales and marketing for JP Innovations LLC, a manufacturer of custom solid-state laser systems.
Marking partners: Sherwood Technology (Widnes, Chesire, England) signed a supply license agreement with Domino, a producer of CO2 laser-marking systems, to supply Sherwood's DataLase and Masterbatch marking technologies to the global market. The agreement will enable Domino to supply a coding and printing solution to a number of sectors worldwide, including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and product security. Under terms of the agreement, the two companies will share the benefit of Domino selling its lasers along with the DataLase consumables to Domino's customers. DataLase combines chemistry, substrate conversion and laser energy, using very low power laser light for the high speed printing of images. DataLase Masterbatch is specifically aimed at the plastics industry and can be added directly to the polymer to be extruded or injection molded.
Dip-pen patent: NanoInk (Chicago, IL) has been issued United States Patent #6,827,979, the third US patent related to its Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN) technology and the sixth issued or allowed worldwide. According to the company, Patent #6,827,979 expands the scope of patent protection for the DPN process in the United States. DPN is a revolutionary process for building nanoscale structures by directly printing them onto surfaces. The patent rights to this and many other DPN inventions are owned by Northwestern University and licensed exclusively to NanoInk.
Nd:YAG distributor: Radiant Dyes (Wermelskirchen, Germany) is now selling the new line of Nd:YAG laser systems developed by Innolas (Krailling, Germany). In addition, Peter Menzenbach has joined the Innolas team as sales manager.
U.S. rep: Kylia (Paris, France), a supplier of high performance optical components based on crystal on silica technology, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Bizzen (San Francisco, CA), a unique sales and marketing firm, to develop its business and distribute its products in North America. According to Frederic Verluise, CEO of Kylia, Bizzen's experience in delivering the high quality optical components, combined with its reputation in delivering outstanding customer support, makes Bizzen a valuable partner for Kylia', especially for offering high performance components such as the MICS DWDM multiplexers and demultipexers.
Done deal: Carl Zeiss AG (Oberkochen, Germany) has acquired Palm Microlaser Technologies AG (Bernried, Germany), a manufacturer of microdissection and micromanipulation systems using laser microdissection and pressure catapulting technology. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Carl Zeiss makes a variety of optical and related products, including medical equipment, eyeglass lenses and frames, camera lenses, surveying equipment and riflescope lenses. Its microscopy systems are used for biomolecular research and drug development.
Private funding: Syntune AB (Stockholm, Sweden), a developer of innovative single-chip tunable lasers, raised SEK 42 million (US$6.2 million) in a private equity financing round led by InnovationsKapital of Sweden and co-led by Teknoinvest of Norway. Other investors include US firm Vision Capital and private investors.Syntune produces tunable lasers using a design known as "modulated grating Y-branch," which the company says allows the laser chip manufacture to be outsourced since it eliminates the need for dedicated fab facilities. Syntune's tunable lasers are used in fiberoptic communications and sensor systems, enabling universal DWDM transceivers with low power consumption in a small form factor.