CDT and Semprius Announce Agreement to Develop New OLED Backplane Technology

Durham, NC. – Semprius, Inc., announced today that it has entered a joint development agreement with Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) to develop new technology for the manufacture of OLED (organic light emitting diode) backplanes for flat panel displays.

The goal of the two-year collaboration is to apply Semprius’ patented semiconductor printing technology to improve performance of backplanes, which hold the electronic components that drive display screens for computers, televisions and a host of other devices. CDT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical, is a leader in the research and commercialization of polymer OLEDs and their application in displays.

Semprius’ micro-transfer printing process allows transfer printing of high-performance semiconductors onto virtually any surface, including glass, flexible and rigid plastic, metal and other semiconductor materials. Semprius will focus on using its patented process to transfer single crystal silicon semiconductors onto the backplane, thereby increasing overall display performance.

“Our technology provides higher performance at equal or lower cost,” said Joe Carr, CEO of Semprius. “The agreement with CDT gives us the opportunity to apply micro-transfer printing to advance backplane performance and manufacturing efficiencies.”

CDT will integrate this new backplane technology into their 14-inch development line at the company’s Godmanchester campus near Cambridge, UK.

“High-quality, high-mobility TFT backplanes are essential to achieve optimal
performance from OLEDs,” said David Fyfe, CEO of CDT. “The Semprius technology, using single crystal silicon semiconductors, offers potential for a low-capital, low-cost approach to achieving this, and we are very excited to be exploring its application to polymer OLED displays.”