MICROCONTINUUM, INC AWARDED R&D CONTRACT BY USDC
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 23, 2005 — MicroContinuum, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Display Consortium (USDC) to begin development of a process for patterning conductors on flexible substrates for electronic displays. The $929,000 cost-shared project will utilize MicroContinuum’s roll-to-roll processing technology for forming patterns in indium tin oxide (ITO), an optically transparent, conductive material used in display manufacturing.
Creating electrical pathways is at the core of all electronic circuit manufacturing. Photoresist patterning technology is widely used to make these paths and requires a number of processing steps to produce a single pattern layer. MicroContinuum’s technology has the potential to replace many of these steps with a simpler process that is compatible with high volume roll-to-roll manufacturing and should offer significant cost advantages in the future. The transition of electronics from silicon or glass to plastic will require etching and deposition processes at lower temperatures (for example, below 150 degrees C) than are common for manufacturing on silicon or glass substrates. USDC member companies will work closely with MicroContinuum during the evaluation stages of this project to lend expertise on display requirements in order to optimize the process.
“The R&D contract with USDC allows us to explore areas of application for our technology that were previously further out in our strategic plan,” stated Dr. Dennis Slafer, President of MicroContinuum. “Our company’s unique process has the potential to radically change the way that flexible microelectronics are manufactured by eliminating many of the expensive, time and material-consuming steps that are otherwise required. We are very excited to be so closely engaged in the early stages of the flexible microelectronics industry.”
"Congratulations to MicroContinuum for receiving this award from USDC," said Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)."This is the latest example of Massachusetts’s key role in helping the U.S. apply the newest scientific and technological advances to electronics manufacturing.” The USDC R&D program is a collaborative effort of private industry and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, located in Adelphi, Maryland.
For more information, please contact:
US Display Consortium
Heidi Hoffman
84 W. Santa Clara Street, Ste. 790
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 993-8111
heidi@usdc.org
About the U.S. Display Consortium
The U.S. Display Consortium is an industry-led public/private partnership providing a common platform for flat panel display and flexible microelectronics manufacturers and developers, FPD users, and the supplier base. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the consortium’s primary mission is to fund supply-chain projects and share the results with USDC member companies. The USDC also provides a communication channel among industry, government and the financial communities for display issues; sponsors workshops to broaden the impact of technological developments; and educates consumers on the importance of displays in providing access to information technology. More information about the USDC can be found at www.usdc.org
MicroContinuum is a technology development company whose mission is to devise, develop, and commercialize products that exploit it’s unique and proprietary roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. Founded in 1998 in Cambridge, MA by former Polaroid Corp employees, MicroContinuum’s innovative technology brings the benefits of low-cost, large scale, high volume manufacturing to a broad range of applications, including flexible electronics, displays, data storage and photonics. For more information, please contact info@microcontinuum.com.
|
