ENERGY CONVERSION DEVICES OVONICS WINS CONTRACT FROM USDC TO BUILD INSPECTION SYSTEM
FOR WEB-BASED MANUFACTURING
San Jose, CA, March 23, 2006 -- The U.S. Display Consortium (USDC), a public/private partnership chartered with developing the supply chain for next-generation flat panel displays (FPDs), today announced that it has awarded a research and development contract to Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) of Rochester Hills, Mich. (ECD Ovonics). The $1.3-million contract was awarded in November 2005 for the design and construction of a system that will be able to identify surface defects on plastic material used in web-based manufacturing.
The award to ECD Ovonics, which is the second for the company, is the latest in a series of USDC development contracts aimed at transitioning certain microelectronics products from rigid substrates to more flexible and conformable materials. The target—displays and other electronics devices rugged enough for commercial and military applications that need to withstand harsh environmental conditions. Beyond this, web processing can also enable the low-cost manufacture of myriad, innovative electronic devices, such as large-area lighting, RFID tags, medical sensors and photovoltaic cells.
The purpose of this particular contract is to build a system capable of inspecting particle defects and blemishes on a moving web of plastic material. The initial target resolution is detection of defects 5 μm and above. Integral Vision of Wixom, Mich. (OTC BB: INVI) is a subcontractor to ECD Ovonics and will be responsible for designing and building the optical platform used within the ECD Ovonics tool. The beta site for the ECD Ovonics inspection tool will be the Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) at Binghamton University, N.Y., which was established early last year. The development project itself is expected to take 15 months to complete.
“Substrate defect inspection is a pivotal element associated with manufacturing development and qualification of processes,” explained Dr. M.R. Pinnel, USDC’s chief technical officer. “Add the element of a moving web, and we’re presented with some truly unique challenges. ECD Ovonics is providing a reasonably cost system that can further advance our web-based manufacturing knowledge base—ultimately enabling improved quality control within high-volume operations.”
“Congratulations are in order to ECD Ovonics as they win their second award from the U.S. Display Consortium,” stated Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). “The award to ECD Ovonics further confirms our state’s stature in advanced tool development and will help enable new communications products for our military services,” the Senator added. The USDC R&D program is a collaborative effort of private industry and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, located in Adelphi, Md.
Contact:
Heidi Hoffman
USDC
408.993.8111
heidi@usdc.org
Ghazaleh Koefod
Energy Conversion Devices
248.293.0440
gkoefod@ovonic.com
Marie Labrie
MCA
650.968.8900
mlabrie@mcapr.com
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 ECD Ovonics
ECD Ovonics is the leader in the synthesis of new materials and the development of advanced production technology and innovative products. It has invented, pioneered and developed its proprietary, enabling technologies in the fields of energy and information leading to new products and production processes based on amorphous, disordered and related materials. ECD Ovonics designs and builds manufacturing machinery that incorporates its proprietary production processes, maintains ongoing research and development programs to continually improve its products and develops new applications for its technologies. ECD More information on ECD Ovonics is available on www.ovonic.com.
About Integral Vision Inc.
Integral Vision Inc. is a leading supplier small flat panel display inspection equipment, machine vision-based systems, and applications development software used to ensure product quality by monitoring and controlling the manufacturing process. More information is available at www.iv-usa.com |
