Sumitomo Chemical Announces Plans to Build a P-OLED Manufacturing Process Development Line At Ehime, Japan

Sumitomo Chemical announced it will build a new P-OLED manufacturing process development line at its Ehime works in Shikoku, Japan. The new line, which is to be installed in existing clean rooms, will be used to develop and demonstrate fully integrated manufacturing processes required for the production of low cost, full colour P-OLED panels in high yield.
    
Process technology, including device design, equipment specifications, and fabrication know-how, will be transferred to Ehime from Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), UK. Sumitomo and CDT will further refine and demonstrate process capabilities at the pilot line in Ehime. Sumitomo Chemical began working on P-OLED technology in 1989.

In 2001, Sumitomo Chemical and CDT Ltd. of Cambridge, England, entered into a technical assistance agreement, including technology licensing for light-emitting materials, and in September, 2007 Sumitomo Chemical acquired CDT Ltd. to ensure and accelerate the commercialisation of P-OLEDs. Sumitomo and CDT also previously formed a joint venture – Sumation – to develop and commercialise the P-OLED materials.

The investment in a manufacturing process development line will bring together process technology from CDT, latest light emitting polymer materials from Sumation, and engineering and manufacturing know-how from Sumitomo’s colour filter and IT-related materials business to demonstrate the full potential of P-OLED technology in terms of display resolution, substrate scaleability, and manufacturing cost and yield.