(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Kodak, Sanyo Tie Up on Organic Electroluminescent Display
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February 10, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Eastman Kodak Co. and Sanyo Electric Co.,
Ltd. reached an agreement to cooperate on organic electroluminescent
displays.
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Kodak will license to Sanyo its organic EL display technologies, including
its basic patents. Sanyo will be mainly in charge of manufacturing and
marketing organic EL display products.
Because an organic EL display needs no backlight, the device is suitable
for use in small and light mobile devices. The display features faster
response and wider viewing angles than those of liquid-crystal displays
(LCDs), and therefore, it is attracting attention as a next-generation
display.
Both companies specifically cooperate to develop and commercialize active
(active matrix structure based on thin-film transistor) organic EL displays.
The agreement comprises:
1) Using technologies of their own, both companies will jointly develop
and commercialize displays, drivers and control devices in succession,
2) Kodak will prepare materials, and Sanyo will make and sell the products,
and 3) Both companies will jointly conduct a business to license intellectual
property of organic EL displays to third parties.
Both companies plan to start developing monochrome, multi- and full-color,
passive-type (simple matrix structure) organic EL displays to commercialize
those products in 2000.
Then, they will develop full-color, active-type displays as early as
2001, and commercialize those products for use in digital cameras, digital
camcorders and car navigation systems.
Although Kodak already has licensed its organic EL display technologies
to Pioneer Electronic Corp. and other companies, this is Kodak's first
agreement with another company to transfer its active organic EL display
technologies.
Carl F. Kohrt, executive vice president of Eastman Kodak, said that Sanyo,
which has positive achievements of technology development and production
in low-temperature polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistor LCDs,
and Kodak can work for mutual benefits. That collaboration will be a
shortcut to commercialize active organic EL displays, he said.
Sadao Kondo, president of Sanyo, said the duo will be the strongest alliance
in the organic EL display business segment and would be a front runner
in the organic EL display market, which is expected to expand to a scale
of 300 billion yen (US$2.6 billion) in 2001.
More information in English is at: http://www.sanyo.co.jp/koho/hypertext4-eng/9902news-e/0204kdk.html
(BizTech News Dept.)
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