So I'm up past midnight - look what shows up 18 minutes later
Three-Five Systems Acquires Equity Stake in Siliscape, Accelerating Company's Move into 'Virtual Display' Market
BusinessWire, Monday, April 13, 1998 at 00:18
(Published on Sunday, April 12, 1998 at 00:02)
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 1998--
Three-Five Will Use Siliscape's Technology to Build
Microdisplays Offering Optics for Mobile Communications Devices
Three-Five Systems Inc. (NYSE:TFS), a leading U.S. supplier of
custom liquid crystal displays (LCDs), has acquired an approximate 20
percent interest in Siliscape, Inc., a Palo Alto-based company that
combines silicon processing techniques with unique viewing optics to
develop new display technologies for next-generation consumer
electronics applications.
Three-Five's investment brings together two innovative companies
whose technologies are key to the development of extremely small, low
power consumption displays capable of showing e-mail, Web sites and
even full-motion video on tiny portable communication devices.
The displays can be contained in such small packages because they
create "virtual" images that look larger to the eye than they
actually are.
Other Siliscape investors include Microsoft co-founder Paul
Allen's Vulcan Ventures Group; AVI Venture Partners and its
affiliates; Arch Venture Fund II; Gordon Moore, founder of Intel and
well-known Silicon Valley investors Arthur Rock and James Guzy.
Three-Five and Siliscape each offer complementary strengths.
Three-Five has high volume LCD and module manufacturing capabilities
and an advanced LCD research and development lab dedicated to
developing LCoS(TM) (liquid crystal on silicon) microdisplays.
In fact, Three-Five has the highest volume, fully-automated LCD
manufacturing line outside of Asia. Three-Five also has high volume
module manufacturing capabilities in the Philippines and is
constructing an additional facility in the People's Republic of
China.
"The strategic partnership between our two companies marries
Siliscape's superior optic technology with a company that knows how
to produce advanced display products in high volume, at low cost, and
market them globally," David Buchanan, president and chief executive
officer, Three-Five Systems, said.
"Siliscape's patented optical approach is innovative and provides
a wide field of view as well as significant eye relief in an
incredibly thin package. Siliscape has also developed an approach
for the silicon backplane used in a microdisplay that would result in
the lowest power consumption of any microdisplay system on the
market. We are excited about the possibilities the two companies can
offer in advancing portable display technology."
Alfred Hildebrand, chairman and CEO, Siliscape, is also
enthusiastic about the relationship.
"Three-Five is one of the premier LCD and module manufacturing
companies in the world. The company has developed a proprietary,
wafer-based processing methodology on their LCoS (TM) microdisplay
LCD manufacturing line which should result in the lowest cost
microdisplay on a per pixel basis.
"Three-Five also has an extensive team of systems engineers and
advanced module manufacturing capabilities which will allow our
products, like OptiScape(TM), to be brought to market quickly,"
Hildebrand said.
Industry analysts predict the market for high resolution
microdisplays could explode over the next few years. As displays and
optics get smaller and less costly, manufacturers will be able to
bring products to the market at prices attractive to the mass
consumer.
"Microdisplays have the potential to change the mobile product
landscape by providing high resolution and low power in small
packages such as cellular telephones and other handheld devices,"
said Barry Young, vice president of Display Search, a leading market
research firm for the flat panel display industry. "Consumers may
quickly adapt to these high information content devices and demand
them on new products."
Three-Five and Siliscape have both focused on microdisplays based
on reflective technology. Light enters the open face of the display
and is reflected from an underlying silicon backplane which also
controls the liquid crystals to form a viewable pattern.
This image is then either projected through an optical system or
viewed directly through an optical system for handheld applications.
Both companies have demonstrated one-half inch microdisplays
delivering SVGA resolution of 800 columns x 600 rows
(480,000 pixels).
Three-Five also has a .8 inch microdisplay delivering SXGA
resolution of 1,280 columns x 1,024 rows (over 1.3 million pixels)
and a VGA resolution microdisplay under development.
Three-Five previously announced a strategic relationship with
National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:NSM) for the development of
liquid crystal on silicon microdisplays with Three-Five providing the
LCD technology and National providing the silicon technology.
Under that alliance, Three-Five and National have focused on the
front and rear projection marketplace. Three-Five's relationship
with Siliscape allows the company to extend its reach in the portable
marketplace.
Siliscape, which was formed in 1994, holds several patents on
advanced optics viewers and has developed silicon backplane
technologies for high resolution display devices critical to next
generation cellular phone, digital camera, PDA, laptop computer and
other consumer electronics applications.
Currently, the company is focused on the development of
OptiScape(TM) I and II, complete display modules that offer SVGA
resolution in the thinnest, lightest packaging available today. The
modules, which include the LCD display component as well as the
display illumination and magnification system, can be embedded in a
space as small as one inch by one inch with a thickness of only
one-half inch. Siliscape's Web site is located at www.siliscape.com.
Three-Five Systems Inc. designs and manufactures user interface
devices for operational control and information display in products
manufactured by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
The company specializes in liquid crystal display (LCD)
technologies and provides its custom design and manufacturing
services for customers in the communications, medical electronics,
industrial process control, wireless data collection and office
automation marketplaces. Three-Five's Web site is located at
www.threefive.com.
CONTACT: The Bohle Company
Laura Kraft or Joseph Riser, 310/785-0515
lk@bohle.com
or
Three-Five Systems Inc., Tempe
Elizabeth Sharp, 602/389-8837
lsharp@mail.35sys.com
KEYWORD: ARIZONA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS MEDICINE RETAIL
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