Vitex expands ANS agreement, Samsung SDI uses their systems
Vitex System today announced that it has
expanded its license agreement with Korea-based Advanced Neotech Systems
(ANS), granting ANS rights to develop and manufacture roll-to-roll coating
equipment used in the production of Barix⢠Barrier Film.
Vitex made the first agreement with ANS in 2006, allowing ANS to make Barix encapsulation equipment, the Guardian⢠System.
ANS has successfully sold eight Guardian systems to produce Vitex's
proprietary Barix technology, including: a pilot system being used by
Samsung SDI to make the world's first foldable OLED and the thinnest OLED
display that was shown at FPD International 2008 in Yokohama; the first
mass production system; and the first Gen 2 (370mm x 470mm) system.
Over the past year, Vitex has made excellent progress demonstrating the
unique capabilities of its Barix Barrier Film for encapsulation of
thin-film photovoltaic cells. Multiple companies have been able to verify
that, when protected by Vitex's Barix Barrier Film, their thin film
photovoltaic (PV) cells fabricated using either CIGS or CdTe can pass the
damp heat test required by the IEC 61646 standard.
Vitex compiled a short video presentation with OLED displays that use their technology
Vitex has produced a nice video of several OLED products that use their thin film encapsulation technology. Among those products you can see the Samsung's flapping display, foldable phone and curved displays. Several UDC OLED prototypes are in there as well, including their flexible displays, developed together by LGDisplay.
Vitex told us that their tech is used on AMOLED and PMOLED displays, on glass, silicon or metal foil. Some of those products use direct encapsulation, and some use barrier substrate. A few of the photos seen show products that use flexible CIGS PV cells laminated with Vitex's barrier.
Vitex and Novaled Will Cooperate on OLED Thin Film Encapsulation
Vitex and Novaled are going to combine advantages of the Vitex Barix
thin film technology with the Novaled doping technology and
materials targeting very thin and high efficiency long lifetime OLED
products.
The majority of OLEDs are currently processed on glass substrate and
encapsulated with glass for protection against air and moisture. The
glass represents more than 90% of the device thickness. Vitex has developed an innovative thin film encapsulation targeting
ultra thin OLED devices.
Vitex Systems Receives First Order for Its Second-Generation Guardian(TM) Thin-Film Encapsulation System
Vitex Systems today announced that its equipment licensee, Advanced Neotech Systems (ANS) in Korea, has secured the order for the first Generation 2 (370mm x 470mm) Guardian thin-film encapsulation system."This order win not only serves as another milestone for ANS, but also for the thin-film encapsulation market overall, indicating heightened technology adoption for the manufacture of OLED displays and organic optoelectronics," said BK Chun, general manager of sales, ANS. "The growing momentum we have seen over the past year has been exciting. In addition to our first Generation 2 thin-film encapsulation tool order we have just secured, we also received three additional purchase orders for thin-film encapsulation systems during the fourth quarter of 2007. The potential for Vitex's thin-film encapsulation technology is vast, and we are committed to servicing this emerging market opportunity. In fact, with the increased number of discussions we have been engaging in, we are looking to expand our engineering team to continue to effectively meet demand."
Commenting on its recent successes, Chyi-Shan Suen, director of sales and marketing for Vitex, said, "We are delighted to see that the thin-film encapsulation market is gaining traction. This is our first, Gen. 2 Guardian system to be delivered to a customer, demonstrating the movement of thin-film encapsulation technology from the labs to the production floors -- a truly significant step for the industry. In addition, we have seen an increased volume of inquiries for an encapsulation system to address applications larger than Gen. 2, signifying the technology's shift to mass production. We also have a customer who has placed a purchase order for an additional tool to increase their capability and capacity. All of these factors, including the mounting adoption we have seen, give evidence to the rise in customer confidence for our technology."
Vitex Systems Signs Licensing Agreement With Sunic System
Vitex Systems announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Sunic System. The agreement includes a technology transfer package from Vitex to Sunic, and gives Sunic the non-exclusive rights to make and sell Guardian(TM) thin-film encapsulation systems, which can be used to encapsulate various electronic components and devices, including organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, thin film solar cells and thin film batteries. While the financial terms of agreement were not disclosed, the license includes an upfront fee and on-going royalty payments based on tool sales.
Vitex granted several new patents recently
Vitex was granted six new patents recently. These new patent grants bring Vitex's owned or controlled patents to a total of 127. This solidifies the company's IP portfolio following its successful reinvention as a licensing and technology development company-a move achieved by leveraging its leadership position in thin-film encapsulation for flexible substrates and organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays.
The recently granted patents are directed at protecting the unique technology Vitex has developed for edge sealing on OLED displays and other electronic devices, as well as for unique tool apparatus needed for the deposition of the proprietary thin-film encapsulation. The six patent wins comprise two each in Europe and China, and one each in the United States and Taiwan.
While the display market continues to be Vitex's primary focus, the company is applying parallel applications to the rapidly emerging thin-film photovoltaic market, which has a strong need for a superior low-cost, thin-film encapsulation.
Vitex's Barix Solution Maintains Superior Moisture and Oxygen Barrier Integrity at High Temperatures
Vitex Systems today announced its proprietary moisture and oxygen barrier solution demonstrated impressive reliability results when used for high-temperature applications. The company's revolutionary Barix(TM) thin-film barrier was continuously tested at 100 degrees C, 120 degrees C and as high as 140 degrees C for more than 500 hours without losing its barrier integrity. Moreover, results indicated that the barrier can maintain its integrity for more than 1,000 hours in this severe environment.
Vitex's Barix thin-film barrier uses an organic and inorganic multi-layer structure. To demonstrate product compatibility, it was used to create the world's first high-resolution AMOLED, which leverages an amorphous silicon backplane on a flexible metal foil. This flexible display -- jointly developed by Universal Display Corp. and LG. Philips LCD -- was showcased at last month's Society for Information Display (SID) conference in Long Beach, Calif. Similar encapsulation was shown by Samsung SDI on the world's first, and thinnest, full-color top emission AMOLED on a metal foil during last year's show.
OLED-Info Q&A with Toshiki Mizoe, overseas sales manager, Tokki Corporation
Ron Mertens from OLED-Info.com recently had the opportunity to interview Toshiki Mizoe, overseas sales manager, Tokki Corporation. Tokki manufactures vacuum process equipment and factory automation system, and developed the first OLED mass production system in 1999, which processed both OLED / electrode material deposition and encapsulation by one system. Tokki's OLED production system has been delivered to most of small molecular OLED manufactures in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
Q: First of all, thank you for agreeing to conduct this interview. Can you describe your production system (ELVESS)?
ELVESS is cluster tool OLED production system, and it has evaporation chambers for organic materials and metal (for cathode), and automatic encapsulation unit is connected to the system. Total system can be run for 5 to 6 days without stop, with tact time of
Vitex and Samsung America Enter Strategic Relationship to Promote and License Vitex Technology
Vitex Systems today announced a strategic relationship with Samsung America. Under the agreement, Samsung America will gain exclusive rights to distribute to Samsung-affiliated companies licenses for Vitex's proprietary Flexible Glass and thin-film encapsulation technologies.
Vitex continues to conduct research and development in the ultra-barrier film and thin-film encapsulation fields to enhance its technology and strengthen its IP portfolio while it pursues its new business model.
Vitex unveils latest thin-film encapsulation tool (Guardian 200E)
Vitex Systems together with Advanced Neotech Systems (ANS), Pyungtaek, Korea, today unveiled a lower cost version of its proven Guardian⢠thin-film encapsulation system, the G200E. Designed to extend the company’s reach into markets where price may be a gating factor, the G200E will enable institutions, universities and industrial development groups to also explore the myriad benefits associated with Vitex’s proprietary Barix⢠encapsulation process. Based on Vitex’s flagship Guardian System, the G200E can provide basic thin-thin encapsulation capabilities without sacrificing the quality and performance that has become a trademark of the Guardian platform.
Thin-film encapsulation is a fundamental technology that can be used in the production of OLEDs, photovoltaics, thin-film batteries, organic semiconductors, bio sensors, etc. Specifically, Vitex’s Barix technologyâapplied via the Guardian toolâcan eliminate the packaging components used within the manufacture of these devices by delivering the moisture/oxygen protection, or barrier, necessary to ensure integrity. It also offers added flexibility and enables new design opportunities. Since different applications (e.g. cell phone vs. photovoltaics) have different lifetime requirements, they require different barrier properties. Vitex’s unique ability to customize its technology to address various barrier requirements opens up a number of new markets. At the same time, Vitex and ANS recognized early on that the extensive capital required for thin-film encapsulation made it difficult for some organizations, such as universities, to procure the necessary equipment needed for further research in this area. This prompted the development of the low cost G200Eâthereby, expanding the company’s potential customer base.
