Cabot Superior MicroPowders Facilitates Fabrication Of World's First Inkjet Printed Plastic Electronics Active-Matrix Display
The display was developed using CSMP proprietary digital electronic materials technology. CSMP's digital electronic materials are conductive, resistive and dielectric materials designed specifically for digital deposition, such as inkjet printing, and processing at very low temperatures making them suitable for use with plastic electronics. The technology is expected to greatly simplify the manufacture of a wide range electronics products for industrial and commercial use.
To create the display, a low-temperature, digitally dispensable silver ink, one of several CSMP's digital electronic materials, was successfully integrated into an inkjet printed plastic electronics display backplane produced by Plastic Logic Limited (www.plasticlogic.com). Plastic Logic, the leading developer of plastic electronics technology, is developing active matrix backplanes for flat panel displays. Its technology is compatible with glass and flexible substrates as well as large area applications.
According to Dr. Toivo Kodas, CSMP Technical Director, " SMP has been developing several exciting new classes of conductor, resistor and dielectric materials and their associated printing technologies for the last 5 years. In the next few years, we expect to see the emergence of a variety of applications for these materials, and are excited about the potential. These results for silver conductors were made possible with assistance from CSMP's partners in this area and with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) vision and funding from the Mesoscopic Integrated Conformal Electronics (MICE) program," Dr. Kodas said.
Dr. James Caruso, New Business Development Manager, CSMP siad, "The successful construction of this Plastic Logic display points directly to the capability of CSMP's low temperature, digitally dispensable metallic conductors . The ability to digitally print high conductivity pure metals on low temperature substrates adds significant functionality to this display. With the incorporation of these conductive features, the display can operate a higher video rate, and has improved contrast."
John Mills, VP Engineering, Plastic Logic said, "We are delighted to be working with SMP; their unique materials have enabled us to print key parts of our display backplane. The combination of CSMP materials and our proprietary technology highly simplifies the backplane manufacturing process and will enable low-cost customizable displays on large and flexible substrates to be produced."
About Cabot
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. These particles enhance the performance of a variety of products, including rubber reinforcement, rheology control in adhesives, pigmentation in inks, polishing and capacitance for microelectronics uses, and UV protection and electrostatic dissipation in plastics. Cabot has approximately 4,500 employees in 45 manufacturing plants located in 23 countries around the world. The Company's web site address is: www.cabot-corp.com.
About Plastic Logic
Plastic Logic was founded in 2000 to develop and exploit new technology and processes that combine the power of electronics with the pervasiveness of printing. The company has a growing portfolio of patents based on inkjet printing of active electronic circuits using advanced plastic materials. The company's technology has the potential to change radically the economics of key segments of the semiconductor industry. Capital costs will be significantly lower than for silicon by eliminating conventional photolithography, vacuum processing and high temperatures. The technology will greatly simplify manufacturing large area electronics and flexible substrates.
Contacts:
Dr. James Caruso
New Business Development Mgr.
505-342-1942
caruso@smp1.com
Cranch Lamble
Marketing Executive
Plastics Logic Unlimited
Cranch.lamble@plasticlogic.com