DappCon '00: Lesker Scores USDC Contract for OLED Manufacturing Development

Intel CorporationA—The U.S. Display Consortium (Intel CorporationA) has awarded a contract to the Kurt J. Lesker Co. (Clairton, PA) to develop an advanced linear organic materials deposition process for use in the manufacture of organic light-emitting displays (OLEDs). The contract is valued at $354,000, with each organization investing a 50% stake. The new deposition source is expected to speed the development of flexible display products that incorporate OLEDs.

In order to manufacture the displays, organic materials must be uniformly deposited across the substrate. The cluster tools currently used for this process are inherently based on batch processing and a point deposition source. This has prompted the display industry to turn toward alternative deposition approaches that can provide high-film uniformity at a higher throughput over a large area.

According to the terms of the contract, the Kurt J. Lesker Co. will initially develop an in-line compatible linear deposition source that can provide a film thickness uniformity of less than ±2.5% across a 12 in x 12 in substrate. Since the linear source deposits material simultaneously across the entire width of a substrate as the substrate passes above the source, the result is a much higher throughput than a point source. The linear source is compatible with a reel-to-reel process, which will eventually enable lower display fabrication costs.

A team of representatives from eMagin Corp. (Hopewell Junction, NY), Universal Display (Ewing, NJ), Kodak (Rochester, NY), and <%=company%> (Santa Clara, CA) will manage the USDC contract award. Duration of the project is expected to be 12 months.

OLEDs have a number of valuable features, such as low operating voltages, high luminance and good lifetime that enable them to be incorporated into a wide variety of products such as VCRs, automobiles and consumer appliances. Stanford Resources estimates the OLED market to grow from $3 million in 1999 to more than $700 million in 2005.

Edited by Kristin Lewotsky