Business briefs

02 Dec 2005

Including news from Novaled, Philips, Oxford Instruments and Sony.

General company news:

Schering and Philips have teamed up to develop optical imaging equipment for identifying breast cancer. The first project will feature Schering's omocianine (SF-64) dye, which is currently in Phase I trials. Philips spin-off Anteryon is also involved and will supply fiber optic components.

Dutch firm ASM International has licensed its atomic layer deposition technology to Oxford Instruments of the UK. The technique allows the controlled manufacture of ultra-thin films on an atomic layer by atomic layer basis and suits products such as opto electronics and micro mechanical devices.

Lumenis, the Israeli medical laser firm, has been granted FDA clearance for its Novus 3000 laser system, a 532 nm diode-pumped solid-state photocoagulator. The system is used by ophthalmologists to treat retinal detachment, tears and vein occlusion, which can lead to vision loss and blindness.

Lasertel has signed a 15 year contract that makes it preferred supplier of laser diode arrays for military applications to SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems. The agreement is valued at more than $15 million and formalizes the strategic alliance announced back in July.

AXSYS Technologies has received a $3.8 million follow-on order from BAE Systems for infrared lenses. The contract is part of the US Army's Thermal Weapon Sight II program and could be worth up to $24 million over five years.

Nanoident of Austria has built what it claims is the world's first factory dedicated to the manufacture of organic semiconductor sensors. Production is due to commence in 2006 and the firm hopes to make more than 100,000 m² of its thin-film, ink-jet printed photodetectors per year.

OLEDs:

Novaled of Germany has secured EURO 15 million second round financing to commercialize its PIN OLED technology. The company, a spin-off from Technical University Dresden (IAPP) and the Fraunhofer Institute (IPMS), was founded in 2001 and began operations in 2003.

Idemitsu Kosan and Sony have agreed to jointly develop luminous materials for OLEDs. Idemitsu developed the world's brightest blue-light organic material in 1997 and is currently working on mid to large sized OLEDs. By pooling IP and expertise, the Japanese firms hope to accelerate device development and improve properties such as brightness, colour reproduction, power consumption and lifetime.

Plextronics has received an R&D contract worth $1.8 million from the US Display Consortium to increase the performance of OLED displays. Plextronics has developed a non-acidic, solvent-based conductive polymer layer that it believes will boost device efficiency and also enable the low-cost printing of displays.