WILMINGTON, Del., and KYOTO, Japan — DuPont and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co. Ltd. announced in May their intention to form a strategic alliance to develop integrated manufacturing equipment for printed organic-light-emitting-diode (OLED) displays. The companies also have signed an agreement relating to their intention to bring together the elements needed – materials, technology and equipment – to mass-produce OLED displays, delivering higher performance at a lower cost.

Small-size active-matrix OLED displays have recently become available from several manufacturers, but the current high cost of manufacturing limits market adoption, and constrains OLED manufacturing of large-size displays, according to a DuPont press release.

"The flat-panel-display market is about $100 billion annually and growing. DuPont is applying its science to make possible more vivid displays that are lower cost than current LCDs," said David B. Miller, group vice president, DuPont Electronic & Communication Technologies. "We are excited to combine our strengths with Dainippon Screen's unique printing technology to bring to market the core technology that will enable improved high-definition televisions and other flat-panel displays."

The companies are developing integrated coating and printing equipment for the fabrication of OLED displays from solution, an approach which is unique in the industry and can significantly reduce manufacturing costs for OLED displays, according to DuPont. DuPont brings to the alliance its small-molecule-based OLED solution materials and proprietary process technology from which excellent performance has been obtained in testing, stated the press release.

Dainippon Screen has developed a unique printing technology, called nozzle printing, in which the OLED materials can be printed accurately at very high speed. The goal of the alliance is to develop integrated OLED printing and coating equipment that will significantly reduce the production costs of flat-panel displays, with the aim of extending OLED technology to large-size displays and making them cost-competitive with LCDs. The companies have been working together over the past three years to jointly develop nozzle printers as an efficient method for printing OLED displays from solution. The first production scale printer is currently being constructed.

"We were interested in extending our deep LCD equipment experience into the OLED marketplace, and we felt that DuPont had developed a much needed, viable approach to OLED materials and technology that could expedite the commercialization of cost-effective OLED manufacturing," said Yoshinari Yaoi, corporate senior executive officer and president, FPD Equipment Company, Dainippon Screen. "We believe that this alliance could be the key for manufacturers to be able to produce affordable, high-quality larger-sized OLEDs using our unique nozzle printer technology."

— Staff Reports

NEW YORK — Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and other electronics companies sued television maker Vizio Inc. for refusing to license patents for video-compression technology used in high-definition TVs, various media outlets reported June 3. Vizio is accused of violating 15 patents in the lawsuit filed June 2 in federal court in Manhattan.

Among the other parties joining the suit against Vizio were Sony Corp., Royal Philips Electronics NV, Thomson, Victor Co. of Japan Ltd. (JVC), and Columbia University of New York. They seek a court order to stop use of their inventions, plus cash compensation.

"For many years, the defendant has had an opportunity to license the patents," from individual companies or industry group MPEG LA, according to the complaint as reported by Bloomberg. "Vizio refused."

The patents are "essential" to an industry standard known as MPEG-2, which compresses movies so they can be broadcast and stored on DVDs, according to the complaint. According to the Bloomberg report, the electronics companies made similar claims in an April lawsuit against Target Corp. over its Trutech-brand TVs.

Irvine, California-based Vizio makes high-definition TVs sold by Circuit City Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers. Jim Noyd, an outside spokesman for Vizio, said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation, according to Bloomberg.

The case is Mitsubishi Electric v. Vizio, 08-cv-5055, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

— Staff Reports