Tuesday 9 September 2014

SmartKem Moving to Market Following €3 million Financing Round

UK start-up SmartKem is planning to take its organic thin-film transistor (TFT) technology to product prototype stage following the completion of a Series A financing round raising €3 million.

SmartKem is developing materials for flexible TFTs that could drive wearables and other consumer electronics – Source: SmartKemThe funding was secured from BASF Venture Capital, Octopus Investments and the Entrepreneurs Fund. Finance Wales, the company's principal shareholder, supplied additional funding. Finance Wales has invested £3 million (€3.8 million) to date in the St Asaph-headquartered firm.
SmartKem, a materials supplier for organic semiconductors and TFTs, has already announced a number of joint development agreements with Asian display makers. The latest funds will be invested in the company's in-house capability and expansion of its TFT development team, to take its technology to prototype stage with its partners.
Investment
In an exclusive interview with +Plastic Electronics, Mike Cowin, head of product development and marketing at SmartKem, comments: 'We are making SmartKem more responsive to customer needs - we're talking about responding in a matter of weeks.'
SmartKem's tru-Flex semiconductor technology, has been developed to offer industry-grade TFT performance in a flexible form factor, the company claims. The target is to enable applications for bendable and foldable mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as conformable wearable products.

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Merck Gives Update on AZ Electronic Materials Acquisition

Speciality chemicals firm Merck is on track with its integration of AZ Electronic Materials, a chemicals supplier for the flat-panel display industry and silicon technologies. The company announced the $2.6 billion (€2 billion) purchase in May 2014.


Merck has expanded its electronic materials capabilities, in particular relating to the displays industry, with the purchase of AZ – Source: MerckSince then, the company has announced in late June the transition of all remaining AZ shares to Merck, exercising its compulsory acquisition right.
Merck discussed the purchase during a presentation at LOPEC 2014 on 28 May. Bjorn Hofman, senior vice president for performance materials - advanced technologies at Merck, spoke about the strategic fit of AZ's technologies while presenting on 'Partnering - the key enabler to develop the printed electronics industry.'
In an exclusive interview with +Plastic Electronics, Markus Kaiser, business partner for group communications in Merck's performance materials business, provides an update on the integration process and outlines the rationale for the acquisition.

Tuesday 2 September 2014

LG releases 77-inch and 66-inch 4K OLED TVs

LG Electronics has unveiled its first 4K OLED televisions at a launch event in Seoul on 26 August. These boast a 3840 x 2160-pixel resolution.


Game changer
LG has achieved another first in plastic electronic displays with the world’s first 4K OLED commercial television – Source LG Display Two models were shown, the 77-inch 77EG9700, and the 66-inch 66EG9700. Both incorporate an advanced curved panel mounting LG's four-pixel WRGB technology. This gives infinite contrast, a more natural picture and a response rate that is faster than competing technologies according to the manufacturer.
Hyun-hwoi Ha, president and CEO of LG's Home Entertainment says: 'As the next evolutionary step in display technology, OLED will play a major role in reshaping our industry.
'LG's 4K OLED TV is the pinnacle of technological achievement and a new paradigm that will change the dynamics of the next generation TV market. I feel confident when I say that 4K OLED is a bona fide game changer.'
Premium price
LG is now taking orders for the 4K OLED screens from consumers in Korea. It plans to make them available to the US and European markets later in 2014. Display models will be shown at the IFA 2014 consumer electronics show in Berlin on 5-10 September.
It is reported that the 4K screens will command a premium price [http://news.yahoo.com/lg-bets-pricey-oled-technology-060536835.html] - with the 66EG9700 costing 12 million won (€9,020). This is likely to confine it to high-end home cinema market and limit the technology's penetration to the wider consumer market.
$3500 models
LG has moved to make non-4K OLED technology more affordable too, cutting the price of 55-inch models. These cost over €11,000 when they were first offered for sale in July 2013. In August 2014, it started selling its 55-inch 55EC9300 model televisions for $3,500 (€2,615) on the US market for the first time. This low price is encouraging general electronics stores, like Best Buy to stock the screens.
The price drop has been enabled by improving yields from LG's OLED manufacturing lines. It is potentially a more important development from a business point of view. As tapping the mainstream market will be the key goal for LG to realise returns from its undoubted lead in OLED screen technology.