Kodak, eMagin extends OLED licensing agreement

Eastman Kodak Co.ht-emitting diode (OLED) display manufacturers <%=company%> (Rochester, NY) and eMagin Corp. (Hopewell Junction, NY) have extended their existing cross-licensing agreement by two years, through March 2002. The scope of the agreement has also been expanded to include sharing of viewfinder optics technology.

Under terms of the agreement, eMagin will continue to license OLED technology for incorporation into microdisplays that are optically magnified to produce virtual images of data or video with the apparent size of a regular desktop computer monitor. Because eMagin's microdisplay is built directly upon silicon chips, a variety of functions can be integrated into a display.

eMagin recently unveiled the world's first OLED-on-silicon microdisplay, which featured over a million tiny 12 µm pixels in an area smaller than a postage stamp demonstrating real time video with 256 gray shades at less than 400 mW, with a brightness of 200 cd/m².

OLEDs are seen as a promising technology for virtual imaging systems due to their brightness, large viewing area, low power consumption, and potential for low cost manufacturing processes (see DappCon '00: OLEDs Move Into the Spotlight). Kodak holds more than 50 patents for OLED technology. eMagin holds over 39 of its own patents issued and more than 50 pending in flat panel display technology as well as in related fields of optics, active matrix integrated circuits, and systems integration.

Edited by Kristin Lewotsky, Photonics Online