The company today announced a construction of a new roll-to-roll pilot coating line to manufacture OLED lighting within its Hino facility in Tokyo. The pilot line is dedicated to establish production technology toward mass-production and to sell the product on the limited [...]]]> Konica Minolta is planning a new roll-to-roll pilot manufacturing line for OLED lighting panels.

The company today announced a construction of a new roll-to-roll pilot coating line to manufacture OLED lighting within its Hino facility in Tokyo. The pilot line is dedicated to establish production technology toward mass-production and to sell the product on the limited basis. Spending 3.5 billion yen, the line will be completed in the autumn of 2010 and the product will be commercialized within the fiscal year 2010.

Such technologies as material, coating, multi-layer design, and optical design technologies, nurtured through the development of photographic film and optical lens, have been fully adopted in the development of the OLED lighting. For the pilot line, Konica Minolta designed and developed its own roll-to-roll coating method to manufacture flexible plastic-base OLED lighting. This method will serve as the key to accomplishing cost advantage when the OLED lighting flourishes in the future.

[Via Printed Electronics World]

[via OLED-Info]

The G24i photovoltaic panel will be integrated into a range of bags targeting the consumer market. The panel will harvest energy while used outdoors as well as in low light conditions indoors – [...]]]> G24 Innovations (G24i) and consumer electronics bag manufacturer Mascotte Industrial Associates are announcing the world’s first commercial product using Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC):

The G24i photovoltaic panel will be integrated into a range of bags targeting the consumer market. The panel will harvest energy while used outdoors as well as in low light conditions indoors – a unique advantage of the G24i DSSC module – and repower mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones, e-books, cameras, and portable LED lighting systems. The G24i module is based on a technology invented by the internationally acclaimed chemist, Prof. Michael Grätzel, Ph. D, Director, Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne.

announce that they have jointly manufactured fully functional re-writable polymer memory products in a high-volume roll-to-roll printing process. [...] The Thinfilm re-writable memory together with a reader/writer provides a platform for Toy and Game [...]]]> PolyIC and Thin Film Electronics

announce that they have jointly manufactured fully functional re-writable polymer memory products in a high-volume roll-to-roll printing process. [...]
The Thinfilm re-writable memory together with a reader/writer provides a platform for Toy and Game designers to create the next generation of interactive and evolvable toys and games where the memory could be linked to the online world.

Press Release (pdf)

Inspired by the human eye, Ma’s curved photodetector could eliminate that distortion. In the eye, light enters [...]]]> University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have developed flexible photodetectors consisting of 250 nm thick single-crystal germanium membranes transferred onto 175 µm thick PET substrates using a dry printing technique. This could allow distortion-free photos without the need for fancy lenses.

Inspired by the human eye, Ma’s curved photodetector could eliminate that distortion. In the eye, light enters though a single lens, but at the back of the eye, the image falls upon the curved retina, eliminating distortion. “If you can make a curved imaging plane, you just need one lens,” says Ma. “That’s why this development is extremely important.”

Ma and his group can create curved photodetectors with specially fabricated nanomembranes — extremely thin, flexible sheets of germanium, a very light-sensitive material often used in high-end imaging sensors. Researchers then can apply the nanomembranes to any polymer substrate, such as a thin, flexible piece of plastic. Currently, the group has demonstrated photodetectors curved in one direction, but Ma hopes next to develop hemispherical sensors.

The work has been published in Applied Physics Letters: Flexible photodetectors on plastic substrates by use of printing transferred single-crystal germanium membranes.

[via The Register]

The first practical demonstration of [...]]]> HP and the Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University (ASU) have demonstrated a protoype flexible display fabricated using HP’s self-aligned imprint lithography (SAIL). SAIL (3D resist mask on a multi-layer stack and several consecutive etching steps) enables the patterning of multiple layers without alignment issues in a roll-to-roll process.

The first practical demonstration of the flexible displays was achieved through collaborative efforts between the FDC and HP as well as other FDC partners including DuPont Teijin Films and E Ink. To create this display, the FDC produces stacks of semiconductor materials and metals on flexible Teonex® Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) substrates from DuPont Teijin Films.

HP then patterns the substrates using the SAIL process and subsequently integrates E Ink’s Vizplex™ imaging film to produce an actively addressed flexible display on plastic.

At ECN, organic photovoltaics are being researched for almost a decade. The knowledge of materials, system designs and production processes has come to a point where transition to large scale [...]]]> The ECN (Energy research Centre of the Netherlands) is teaming up with the Holst Centre to transfer their lab-scale solar cell processing to Roll-to-Roll production:

At ECN, organic photovoltaics are being researched for almost a decade. The knowledge of materials, system designs and production processes has come to a point where transition to large scale manufacturing has to be envisaged.
At Holst Centre, the recently opened Roll-to-Roll research line for printed electronics will be used to complement the knowledge of ECN and support the further research towards low-cost, large-area manufacturing. To guarantee the low-cost potential, the upscaling will initially be done with active materials that are abundantly available, although an eye will be kept on new high-performance materials. In a first phase the investigated processes will be slot-die coating and gravure printing. Within the ECN labs, efficiencies of over 4% have been obtained. Aim is to at least sustain this level of efficiency when going towards roll-to-roll production.
Being research centres, ECN and Holst Centre will not take any of the technology in production themselves. The open-innovation program aims at industrial parties to subscribe and assign resident researchers to join the research teams on site.

First products include displays for smart-cards, reconfigurable keypads for mobile devices, and optical-shutter windows.

In the future Citala also [...]]]> Citala are making flexible, reflective displays using roll-to-roll manufacturing. The Active Pixel Display (APD™) technology is based on their proprietary Onyx™ layer sandwiched between two ITO coated PET foils. A matel layer is added for reflective displays.

First products include displays for smart-cards, reconfigurable keypads for mobile devices, and optical-shutter windows.

In the future Citala also plans to manufacture high-resolution, active matrix displays:

Citala’s development strategy is to integrate Onyx™, the core of APD™ technology, and roll-to-roll manufacturing with an innovative partner capable of producing a flexible active-matrix backplane. The company expects to achieve a fully functional integration in the near future.

PolyIC leads the consortium engaged in the three-year joint project. The total investment sum amounts to [...]]]> “PolyIC, BASF, Evonik Industries, Elantas Beck and Siemens have announced the launch of a new German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)-sponsored alliance project called MaDriX to advance the development of high-performance printable Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. [...]

PolyIC leads the consortium engaged in the three-year joint project. The total investment sum amounts to some €15 million, with the BMBF contributing approximately €8 million. The project is funded as part of the BMBF’s 5th Framework Program “Key Technologies – Research for Innovations, Communications Technology Sector.” The German Aerospace Center, DLR, is acting as project sponsor. With MaDriX, the companies involved in the alliance and the federal ministry will secure Germany’s current leadership as a research base in the printable electronics sector. [...]

The close cooperation between the companies involved is a key to the success of the MaDriX project. PolyIC engages with the issues of component characterization, process development and setting up demonstrators. BASF, Evonik Industries and Elantas Beck will supply new materials to produce semiconductors and insulators for use in electronic circuits. Siemens is developing new real-time visual print inspection processes for quality control in the printing process. A number of universities and research institutes are also involved in the MaDriX project.”

The batteries were created by George Gruner and colleagues at the University of California in Los Angeles, US, and use the same zinc-carbon chemistry as ordinary non-rechargeable batteries.

To make the battery, a layer of nanotubes is first deposited in the form of “nanotube ink” [...]]]> New Scientist is reporting on printable batteries with carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes.

The batteries were created by George Gruner and colleagues at the University of California in Los Angeles, US, and use the same zinc-carbon chemistry as ordinary non-rechargeable batteries.

To make the battery, a layer of nanotubes is first deposited in the form of “nanotube ink” onto a surface. This layer acts as the charge collector, which removes current from the battery.
Next, a layer of nanotube ink mixed with manganese oxide powder and electrolytes, which carries charge within the cell, is applied on top. This layer acts as the cathode. Finally, a piece of zinc foil – the anode – is applied.
“The batteries are similar to conventional batteries,” says Gruner, “with the electrically conducting nanoscale networks replacing conventional metals and electrodes.”

The researchers also made supercapacitors using the inking technique and plan to combine these with batteries for applications requiring more power.
Furthermore, since both printed batteries and supercapacitors can be made entirely at room temperature, it should be possible to mass-produce them using established printing methods, Gruner says.

IDTechEx points out that

Professor Gruner is also Chief Technical Officer of Unidym Inc a company he funded in 2005 which focuses on nano-structured materials applications for flexible/transparent electronics.

This subsidiary of Arrowhead Research is developing printed carbon nanotube (CNT) technology for applications such as transparent electrodes, thin film transistors, and fuel cells.
The work has been published in Applied Physics Letters.

today announced it has raised $45 million in private capital financing. The financing was led by Mackenzie Financial Corporation, a leading investment management firm with over $60 billion in assets under management, and was co-led by existing investor, Good Energies, a leading investor in the renewable energy industry. Lead investors from [...]]]> Konarka, developers of organic photovoltaics,

today announced it has raised $45 million in private capital financing. The financing was led by Mackenzie Financial Corporation, a leading investment management firm with over $60 billion in assets under management, and was co-led by existing investor, Good Energies, a leading investor in the renewable energy industry. Lead investors from prior rounds also participated, including Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Asenqua Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and 3i. Other participating current investors include Vanguard Ventures, Chevron Ventures, Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, NGEN Partners and Angeleno Group. The financing was agented by Lehman Brothers.

Applications of products from the PolyID® and PolyLogo® lines will be presented at OEC [Organic Electronics Conference] 2007. PolyIC presents applications in the fields of brand protection, voucher systems, marketing, and logistics.

Within the PRISMA (Printed Smart Labels) project, [...]]]> PolyIC, “The chip printers”, are announcing two product lines: PolyID® (RFID) and PolyLogo® (with additional display function).

Applications of products from the PolyID® and PolyLogo® lines will be presented at OEC [Organic Electronics Conference] 2007. PolyIC presents applications in the fields of brand protection, voucher systems, marketing, and logistics.

Within the PRISMA (Printed Smart Labels) project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and has PolyIC as its consortium manager, all tickets to the Organic Electronics Conference will have a PolyID® tag attached to them. The tickets will be evaluated with a radio frequency reader at 13.56 MHz. This ticketing field test is being coordinated by Bartsch GmbH.

The steady progress en route to products at PolyIC can also be seen with the results in the laboratory. Thus, 32- and 64-bit RFID chips have been produced in the clean room. This success shows that the production of RFID chips with more memory capacity on the basis of the polymer semiconductor polythiophene is possible.

have signed a joint agreement to accelerate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies for consumer and electronic applications. Under the agreement, the mutual goal is to bring Konarka’a organic photovoltaic material, Power Plastic®, to market.

“Konarka’s Power Plastic is [...]]]> Konarka (organic photovoltaics) and Toppan Forms (Data Print Services and information management services)

have signed a joint agreement to accelerate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies for consumer and electronic applications. Under the agreement, the mutual goal is to bring Konarka’a organic photovoltaic material, Power Plastic®, to market.

“Konarka’s Power Plastic is flexible, thin, printable and low in cost, providing our organization with promising new business opportunities as we strive to become an integrated information management service company,” commented Masanori Akiyama, president and CEO of Toppan Forms. “With the full-fledged advent of the ubiquitous society under way, we need an ever-present power technology that can be integrated with pervasive networked devices for information collection and distribution. We are delighted to collaborate with Konarka, the world leader in OPV technologies, to accelerate the commercialization of this transformational power technology to the market place.” [...]

“The partnership with Toppan Forms represents a key milestone for the commercialization of Power Plastic,” commented Rick Hess, president and CEO of Konarka. “This relationship enables each company to focus its expertise and resources on key product development processes, continuing our go-to-market strategy of partnering with leading global companies for a variety of applications.”

The researchers stretch the crystals by bonding them to an electroactive polymer that [...]]]> According to the NewScientist, full-colour photonic crystal displays could be on the market within two years. A team of Canadian researchers have developed a reflective display based on silica microspheres which can produce the whole visible spectrum without the need for colour filters.

The researchers stretch the crystals by bonding them to an electroactive polymer that expands when a voltage is applied to it, causing a change in the crystal structure. “By gradually increasing the voltage, we can span the whole visible spectrum, and even the UV and IR ranges. Such full-colour tuning is unprecedented,” says Arsenault, who has co-founded a start-up company called Opalux to commercialise the technology.
The crystals could be used to make full-colour flexible electronic paper, small displays, and large roadside billboards, say the researchers. But this will involve scaling up the process, a task that has proven challenging for other display technologies.

The work was published in Nature Photonics.

[Update:]
The Opalux web page has a few more details on the P-Ink (photonic ink) display technology:

The materials are based on highly reflective synthetic opal. Colors produced are brilliant and pure. Other features:

1. Full color display from single material for low materials and production cost.
2. Meet signage needs in size from shelf edge to highway billboards.
3. High brightness, peak reflectivity up to 95%.
4. Low power consumption.
Low voltage and current during switching.
Minimal power consumption when image is static.
5. Sub-second switching speed.
6. Heat management through controllable IR reflectivity.
7. Applicable on rigid or flexible substrates.
8. Lightweight, rugged, durable, and damage tolerant.
9. Costs scales only linearly with size.