Thomson helps with active-matrix research

A Cambridge Display Technology product story

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team May 27, 2003

Cambridge Display Technology and Thomson are working to develop and evaluate technologies relative to full colour active matrix LEP displays.

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has entered a two-year joint research and development programme with Thomson to develop and evaluate technologies relative to full colour active matrix LEP displays.

The joint development programme will use CDT's technology development facilities and technical staff; it will incorporate CDT's knowledge of LEP materials, inkjet printing technology and display testing and Thomson's experience in display conception and testing.

The programme will develop leading technology in inkjet printing of full colour LEP displays and display device architectures.

It is anticipated that during this programme CDT will develop additional intellectual property in LEP inkjet printing technology that will be offered to CDT licensees who wish to manufacture high resolution, high brightness, and large form factor LEP displays.

David Fyfe, CEO of CDT, said, "We are very pleased to work with companies like Thomson to codevelop advanced technology and manufacturing devices with our LEP technology.

The combined advantages of inkjet deposited LEP materials and active matrix back planes will enable the next generation of LEP displays and could significantly improve the cost/performance of displays used in a wide array of product markets from cellphones to televisions".

Active matrix displays use semiconductor technology to incorporate one or more transistors into driving each display pixel individually and is used to reduce power consumption and improve image response time in LCD flat panel displays.

Active matrix is the dominant technology used in LCD displays for mainstream markets such as notebook displays, PC desktop monitors, televisions, and consumer electronics.

When used with LEP materials deposited using solution-processing techniques such as inkjet printing, scaling to large screen sizes for mainstream display markets using this lower cost deposition technique is possible.