Business briefs

17 Mar 2006

Including news from Seiko Epson, Novalux, Ocean Optics, Cree and more.

General company news:

•  Seiko Epson of Japan says it has developed the first print head to use an OLED light source. The firm partnered with Sumitomo Chemical to develop the OLED. Epson adds that tests using the prototype OLED print head have produced printouts with a quality comparable to or better than that of conventional laser printers.

•  JMAR Technologies has signed an OEM agreement with fellow US firm Portaqua. Based in Virginia, Portaqua is introducing a portable water monitoring system into the bottling market that will include a "BioSentry" as an optional feature. BioSentry uses a laser to provide continuous, online, real-time monitoring of harmful bacteria and protozoa.

•  Novalux of the US has entered into a joint development and license agreement with Seiko Epson of Japan. The companies plan to use Novalux's extended-cavity surface emitting lasers (NECSELs) as the RGB illumination source in microdisplay-based products such as projection TVs. As part of the deal, Novalux will license its RGB laser reference design to Epson as well as supply the Japanese firm with NECSEL chips.

•  US firms New Wave Research, a developer of laser ablation systems, and Ocean Optics, a maker of miniature fiber-optic spectrometers, have joined forces to develop a family of laser-induced-breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instruments. The partnership builds on the successful joint-development of the LIBS-ELITE, a turnkey LIBS system.

Funding:

•  Veneto Nanotech of Italy has launched its second Nanochallenge and is looking for applications. The Nanochallenge is an international business plan competition and is open to anyone who believes they have an innovative and high-growth nanotechnology business idea. The best project will be awarded a prize of EURO 300,000, of which EURO 200,000 acts as seed funding. The deadline for submissions is June 16.

Distribution:

•  Cree of the US has appointed Innovative LED Technologies to distribute Cree's XLamp power LEDs in Spain and Portugal. "The company's expertise with high-power LEDs and relationships with some of the most significant lighting and design companies in its region will help us to increase XLamp power LEDs penetration in important lighting applications and installations," said Mark McClear, Cree's director of marketing for lighting LEDs.

•  Photon of the US has appointed China Light to market its range of products in the People's Republic of China. China Light plans to establish a demonstration facility in the near future and a service centre within the next 12 months. "With China Light's commitment to a full-service distributorship for Photon's products, we believe that we can achieve market share for laser profilers in China similar to that which we hold in other parts of the world," said Allen Cary, sales and marketing manager at Photon.