USDC EXTENDS FLEXIBLE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY WITH CONTRACT AWARD TO SENCERA LLC
SAN JOSE , Calif. , August 25, 2004- The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC), a private/public partnership developing the electronic display industry supply chain, today announced an award to Sencera LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina. The purpose of the $4.98M cost-shared R&D project is to build a plasma source capable of depositing high quality gate dielectrics at a low temperature on plastic substrates. The plasma source will be installed on a commercially available tool and a process will be developed for use in fabricating a variety of electronic display backplanes.
The Sencera contract continues a recent series of USDC awards directed at expanding the reach of display products. Virtually all displays are now fabricated on glass, which provides an optimum substrate for electronics manufacturing. Plastic substrates are only in the R&D stage, but could provide revolutionary capability for the display and imaging industries. Potential products include rollable computer screens, embedded displays, and refreshable newspapers. In order to enable flexible displays, however, manufacturing temperatures need to be brought near or below 100˚C.
Sencera is a hardware development company focused on high performance plasma and power delivery systems. In the past these sources were targeted at etch or cleaning applications. This USDC funded program will extend integrated power and plasma delivery sources to low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) applications. OEM's who adopt these integrated delivery systems will extend their processing capabilities beyond traditional semiconductor materials to plastic and other industrially relevant substrates.
Other partners in the award include Dr. Francis Chen, professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Dr. George Tynan, professor at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Upon completion of the contract, the deposition source developed will be integrated into a tool at the recently announced Flexible Display Center (FDC) at Arizona State University (ASU).
“Sencera is pleased to work with the USDC for this hardware and process development project,” stated Russell Jewett, President of Sencera. “It is our first partnership opportunity with the USDC, and we are eager to prove our sources and technology can be a key component in new tools for flexible display manufacturing.”
"The effort to develop flexible displays for our armed forces has my firm support," said Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I am so pleased that a North Carolina company has been chosen to develop the manufacturing technology that will help make flexible displays a reality for our military. This truly transformational technology will give our soldiers the critical information edge that is so necessary on today's battlefields."
"It's exciting to have a Charlotte-based company receive a USDC award and participate in a revolutionary industry. The U.S. Army is going to be one of the first to adopt flexible displays and it is great to know that Sencera will make a significant contribution in manufacturing these displays," said Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC), who represents the district in which Sencera is located. The USDC R&D program is a collaborative effort of private industry and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.
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
About Sencera LLC
Sencera is a privately funded hardware development company located in Charlotte, NC. It is managed by a team with a record of innovation, with over 20 years of plasma source development experience and 8 issued patents. For additional information, please contact Russell Jewett at (970) 227-7055 or visit www.sencera.com
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