Kodak Licenses OLED Technology To Ritek Corporation of Taiwan
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2000--Eastman Kodak Company has licensed its innovative Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology to Ritek Corporation of Taiwan for use in flat panel passive OLED displays.
OLED, also referred to as Organic Electroluminescence (OEL), is a new type of flat panel display technology in which electric current is converted to luminescent light in device structures made from specially designed organic thin film materials. The emitted light can be individual colors of red, green or blue. Or they can be combined to create full-color, high-resolution image displays. Advantages over conventional LCD technology include lower power consumption, faster response time, higher brightness levels in a variety of lighting conditions, unlimited viewing angle and thinner design.
``This agreement between Kodak and Ritek is a further confirmation that OLED technology is uniquely suited for advanced electronic display applications,'' said James C. Stoffel, Director of Research and Development, Chief Technical Officer and Senior Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. ``Kodak's novel, patented technology combined with Ritek's strength in the design and manufacture of high-technology electronic products is a further step toward establishing OLED technology as the worldwide standard for advanced displays.''
The royalty-bearing license to Ritek covers passive monochrome and multi-color displays. These include displays for use in cell phones, PDA's, Audio/Video boards, high value-added toys/games and other devices. The agreement also gives Ritek the opportunity to purchase Kodak's patented OLED materials for use in manufacturing the displays. This represents another example of how Kodak intends to drive growth for the company by delivering innovative technology to the digital imaging marketplace.
Ritek is a leading global company based in Taiwan. It was established in 1988 to commercialize optical disks. The current product line of Ritek includes CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, and MO/MD. Ritek is currently the biggest maker of storage media in the world. Its corporate head office is in Hsin Chu Industrial Park, Taiwan.
Mr. Chwei Jing Yeh, President and CEO of Ritek Corporation, commented: ``I am extremely pleased that Ritek has signed this agreement with Kodak which allows Ritek to participate in creating a new generation of flat panel display technology. Ritek started its R&D and process development of OLED more than two years ago. We are confident that our strengths in mass production, quality assurance, process improvement and cost control will enable us to make it another successful venture of Ritek. And we look forward to working closely with customers in order to jointly explore the great opportunities of this new technology.''
OLED technology was pioneered by Kodak in the late 1980s. Development of the technology for practical applications has generated more than 50 Kodak OLED patents. Besides Ritek, Kodak's announced OLED licensees include Nippon Seiki Co., Pioneer Corporation, TDK Corporation, eMagin Corporation and Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., a Kodak joint development partner.
Kodak is a global manufacturer and marketer of traditional photographic and digital imaging products and services. Its customers include consumers, photofinishers, professional photographers, printers, publishers, health care providers, motion picture and television producers and office information managers. The company's worldwide manufacturing and R&D operations involve engineers and scientists working in a range of disciplines such as chemistry, physics, optics, digital science as well as electrical, mechanical and software engineering. Kodak sales in 1999 totaled $14 billion.
Editor's Note: For additional information about Eastman Kodak, visit our web site at: www.kodak.com.
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Good partnership.
jack |
