In this week's issue:
Plastic Logic secures a further $50 million investment
Plastic Logic has raised a further $50 million in equity finance, led by existing venture capital investors Oak Investment Partners and Amadeus Capital Partners. To date, Plastic Logic has raised more than $200 million.
Plastic Logic plans to enter the market with a consumer electronics device incorporating its display technology in early 2009.
Richard Archuleta, CEO, said, "This new investment will enable expanded business operations in support of our first commercial product early next year while we continue to develop our IP to deliver on our broader long-term vision."
www.plasticlogic.com
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Closing date for OSIA extended
Following numerous requests from candidates who just missed our earlier deadline, we have decided to extend the closing date for the Organic Semiconductor Industry Awards (OSIA) to 19 August.
So you still have time to make your nomination.
The third annual OSIA awards are open to all organisations operating in the organic semiconductor and organic electronics
industries. All entries will be reviewed by our
panel of judges which includes eminent representatives from academia, industry bodies, venture capital and management consultancy.
This year the nomination categories are: 'Start-up of Year', 'Product of the Year' and the 'Research & Development' award.
Nominations close on 19 August 2008
For more information, see www.cintelliq.com/osia
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MicroEmissive Displays looks for a buyer
MicroEmissive Displays (MED) has issued a statement in which it concedes that it needs to raise additional capital to strengthen its financial position and indicates that it is open to approaches from potential buyers.
The company believes that the outlook for its eyescreen™ display remains extremely positive and it is in discussion with leading camera manufacturers in conjunction with its Japanese partner, KAGA. MED says that its technology has the potential to place MED in a strong competitive position. However MED has found it hard to convert its technology into significant sales and has seen its share price tumble in recent months.
www.microemissive.com
Matsushita may sell 40-inch OLED TVs by 2011
Speculation about plans by Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) to produce OLED TVs continues. The Japanese newspapers are now reporting that the company has set internal directives to start offering OLED TVs by 2011.
Apparently the company intends to use its R&D centre in Kyoto as a base for a manufacturing plant solely for OLED panels. Prototype OLED TVs with a screen size of around 20 inches are expected to be produced there by early 2009. A new $2.8 billion plant is due to start production in 2010, with mass production of 40-inch OLED TVs scheduled for 2011.
It is said that Matsushita will assign 200 engineers exclusively for the development of AM-OLEDs.
A company spokesman confirmed that Matsushita was working on OLED development but declined to give further details.
panasonic.co.jp
AU Optronics considers re-opening OLED production line
According to a report in Digitimes, AU Optronics (AUO) is considering re-opening its OLED production line.
Since it shut down its production line in 2006, AUO has been monitoring the improvements in OLED technologies and is now interested in re-opening the line. The schedule for restarting production has not been revealed although HB Chen, vice-chairman and CEO said that it will not be in 2008. However the company plans to showcase its OLED developments in Yokohama, Japan in October.
Chen noted that AUO already has the equipment and technology to mass-produce small-size OLED panels, but will continue to study the market before moving to develop large-size panels. With the company's experience of working with large-size glass substrates, Chen believes that AUO should not experience too many problems in entering large-size OLED production.
www.auo.com
www.digitimes.com
7.1 million AM-OLED units shipped in the first half of 2008
According to Displaybank, shipments of AM-OLED panels reached 7.1 million units during the first half of 2008 and are predicted to reach 10 to 12 million units during the second half of the year. The growth is driven by the increase in AM-OLED applications in the mobile phone market.
Samsung SDI has a 90% share of AM-OLED shipments for Q2 2008. Displaybank predicts that LG Display, CMEL, Sony and especially Samsung SDI will lead the AM-OLED market for 2008. Displaybank forecasts that 3 million units per month will be shipped from early 2009 as more companies enter the AM-OLED market.
www.displaybank.com
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 Call for papers:
2009 Flexible Electronics & Displays Conference
2-5 February 2009, Phoenix, AZ
Submission Date Extended to: 25 August 2008
The conference has three distinct tracks and three separate Calls under which you can submit:
- Business, Markets and Applied Development Track
- Fundamental Research Track
- Student Poster Track
Please visit flextech.org/calendar_events.html
for more information and instructions and to download the Call for Papers documents.
The Flexible Electronics and Displays Conference and Exhibition 2009 is the premier North American event on flexible, printed electronics and displays.
The conference addresses technical and business issues, and advancements impacting the flexible electronics and display market. Conference sessions will
focus on the emerging field of flexible, printed, and organic electronics manufacturing, including solar, solid state lighting, RFID, sensors, and
flexible display applications.
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UDC awarded $1.9 million contract to develop white OLED lighting
Universal Display Corporation (UDC) has been awarded a $1.9 million, US Department of Energy (DOE) contract to develop a ceiling-based white OLED lighting system. UDC plans to use Armstrong World Industries as a key subcontractor.
During the two-year project, UDC and Armstrong will develop and deliver an integrated ceiling illumination system that will exceed the US DOE's 2010 performance goals. The white OLED lighting panels will be designed and fabricated by UDC using its high-efficiency phosphorescent OLED technology. The panels will then be integrated by Armstrong into its TechZone™ open-architecture ceiling system. In addition, the team will deliver a white OLED lighting panel fabricated on a thin metallic foil substrate using UDC's UniversalPHOLED and other OLED technologies, to demonstrate the commercial product potential of white OLEDs with a flexible form factor.
Steven Abramson, UDC president and CEO, said, "With white OLED performance rapidly approaching commercial targets, we are delighted to be collaborating with Armstrong World Industries, a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative building systems, to develop and demonstrate a novel product concept using white OLEDs. Together, our goal is to make energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly, and economical white OLED lighting a commercial reality."
www.universaldisplay.com
www.armstrong.com
www.doe.gov
FlexTech Alliance announces advisory council
The FlexTech Alliance (formerly the US Display Consortium) has created an advisory group to help develop the programme for the 8th annual Flexible Electronics & Displays Conference and Exhibition. With an expanded conference agenda, FlexTech has called on experts in the various fields of flexible and printed electronics to help shape the conference and leverage their expertise in specific fields. The conference will be held on 2-5 February 2009 at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.
Newly appointed advisors to the Flex Conference include Alien Technology, Applied Materials Germany, California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, Clemson University, GSI Technologies, iNEMI, Mark Andy Inc., University of California at Berkeley and Unidym.
More than 70 presentations will be given over the span of three days offering the latest and most significant information on the advancements in technology, materials, manufacturing and markets/applications. The business plans of major corporations and research institutes that are leading the effort to commercialise flexible electronics and display-based products are another key element of the conference.
www.flextech.org
New management appointments at Plastic Logic
Plastic Logic has recently appointed new members to its management team at its Mountain View, California, headquarters.
- Daren Benzi joins as Vice President, Business Development. Benzi previously served as VP of sales development and strategy at DirecTV, and held senior business development, sales and strategy positions with News Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.
- Frank Canova joins as Vice President, Product Engineering. Canova has previously worked for IBM, Cirrus Logic, Palm, Wheels of Zeus, Reactrix and Livescribe. At IBM, he managed mobile products, including the ThinkPad. At Palm he was in charge of worldwide product engineering.
- Joe Eschbach joins as Vice President, Marketing. Eschbach has held marketing positions with Apple, Radius, Mitsubishi, Adobe, and Microsoft. Most recently he served as VP of Adobe's ePaper Division.
- Raphaël Gernez joins as Vice President, Supply Chain. Gernez served as VP of Global Sourcing for Circuit City and spent 19 years at Hewlett-Packard, where he was General Manager of the HP Flat Panel TV global business unit.
www.plasticlogic.com
Organic semiconductor industry market watch
Week ending 1 August 2008
Thin Film Electronics priced in Norwegian Kroner
www.nasdaq.com
www.otcbb.com
www.londonstockexchange.com
www.osloaxess.no
