USDC Awards Contract to Cabot Superior MicroPowders To Develop Printable Metallic Inks For Display Industry
$1.25M project to enable inkjet printing of metal electrodes and interconnects on plastic substrates
SAN JOSE, Calif. -October 21, 2003 - The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC), a public-private partnership developing the electronic display industry supply chain, announced an award to Cabot Superior MicroPowders (CSMP), a division of Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT), for the development of metallic inks for printing high conductivity, fine-feature size lines on low temperature substrates. The $1.25M project award will be shared equally between CSMP, located in Albuquerque, NM, and the USDC.
In order to demonstrate the feasibility of inkjet printing or other forms of printing, CSMP will develop ink formulations and explore inkjet head operating conditions, as well as printing processes for patterning metallic interconnect features in the 75-100 um range. Current industry practice is to employ lithographic and vacuum deposition techniques to create metallic interconnects on substrates. These types of tools are expensive, however, and the vacuum deposition tools currently operate at too high a temperature for plastic substrates.
The award to CSMP will address two specific challenges:
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develop ink formulation chemistry that will provide a baseline for application-specific printing of metal electrodes and interconnects on polymer substrate materials, such as PET and PEN; and,
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develop printing and materials (ink) processing technology that will enable high-resolution, maskless direct ink deposition on rigid and plastic substrates.
Direct write patterning can provide an enabling and cost effective alternative for manufacturing flexible flat panel displays. This is because it will combine several process steps - including deposition of metallic films and photo resists, lithography, etch and strip - into one process step that can be implemented at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. "The award to CSMP follows an earlier award to Litrex Corporation to develop a production scale inkjet printing tool. This tool, while originally focused on printing polymer organic light emitting materials, should be applicable to high volume manufacturing using these metallic metals," explained Dr. M. Robert Pinnel, chief technical officer for USDC. "This project further supports USDC's program to develop manufacturing capabilities for organic light emitting diode displays (OLEDs) and for display fabrication on flexible substrates," he added.
"Over the past few years, CSMP has been working on several new classes of conductor, resistor and dielectric materials and their associated printing technologies," said Dr. Karel Vanheusden, CSMP Manager of R&D. "Last year, CSMP developed digital electronic materials that were successfully used in the fabrication of the first fully functional, inkjet printed, plastic electronics, active-matrix display."
Dr. Toivo Kodas, CSMP Technical Director, stated, "We're pleased to be collaborating with the U.S. Display Consortium, a pioneer in supporting advanced display technology, and we expect that the success of this project will create a wide range of technical and market opportunities for a host of specialized applications."
"I have supported the effort to develop military displays that are better suited to the needs of our soldiers on today's battlefields," said Senator Pete DOMENICI (R-NM), who serves on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. "I am very pleased to also see a high technology company in New Mexico playing a part in this critical development effort."
Added U.S. Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA), "As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have observed firsthand the evolution of display technology and its critical impact on the armed services. I continue to support this innovative project for the armed services, which will help bring the best technology to the field." The USDC R&D program is a collaborative effort of private industry and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, located in Adelphi, MD.
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 Cabot Corporation
Cabot Superior MicroPowders, a division of Cabot Corporation, is an enabling materials solutions provider. CSMP leverages its technical core competencies delivering advanced materials systems for a variety of markets and applications. Cabot Corporation is a global specialty chemicals and materials company and is headquartered in Boston, MA. Cabot's major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, and capacitor materials. Cabot is also a leader in the production of nano-structured, sub-micron particles, comprising carbon, metals and metal oxides developed to enhance the performance of a variety of products, including rubber, adhesives, inks, microelectronics, and plastics. Cabot has approximately 4,500 employees in 45 manufacturing plants located in 23 countries around the world. More information can be found at www.cabot-corp.com
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