MANCHESTER, England,
Sept. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- Smartkem (Nasdaq: SMTK), a company that has the potential
to power the next generation of displays using its disruptive
organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), today announced that it has
entered into a joint development agreement with Shanghai Chip
Foundation Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. ("Chip Foundation"),
a manufacturer of semiconductor and integrated circuit devices, to
co-develop a new generation of microLED-based backlight technology
for Liquid Crystal Displays.
The joint development agreement provides that Smartkem will
supply its proprietary organic dielectric single layer material, or
Redistribution Layer (RDL), to Chip Foundation to combine with its
own microLED devices, for the joint development of microLED based
device structures. As part of the co-development project, Smartkem
will develop insulator materials that can be used by Chip
Foundation to combine its own proprietary microLED devices into a
high performance miniLED package containing four microLEDs wired in
series. The resulting manufactured chip is expected to have the
properties of high brightness coupled with high current efficiency,
reducing power losses in driving backlights and improving
uniformity of illumination.
Smartkem Chairman and CEO, Ian
Jenks, comments, "The JDA with Chip Foundation is expected
to further demonstrate the commercial viability of our dielectric
single layer materials to customers in the display industry. This
JDA follows closely on the heels of our technology collaboration
agreement with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
in Taiwan to enable product
prototyping on its Gen 2.5 hybrid pilot line and reflects the
continuing advance of our commercialization strategy."
Dr. Maosheng Hao, Chairman of
Chip Foundation, comments, "Smartkem is widely recognized as a
leading provider of OTFT solutions, with deep expertise and
extensive experience in organic dielectric materials, organic
semiconductor materials, and related processes. Their solution
coating process technology is a perfect fit with Chip Foundation's
specialized processes and techniques in the Mini/MicroLED domain.
We believe that this collaboration between our two companies has
the potential to expedite the advancement and widespread adoption
of this technology by the display industry."
Information relating to Smartkem can be found on the Nasdaq
website: https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/smtk.
About Smartkem
Smartkem is seeking to reshape the world of electronics
with its disruptive organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) that have
the potential to drive the next generation of displays. Smartkem's
patented TRUFLEX® semiconductor and dielectric inks, or liquid
electronic polymers, can be used to make a new type of transistor
that has the potential to revolutionize the display industry.
Smartkem's inks enable low temperature printing processes that are
compatible with existing manufacturing infrastructure to deliver
low-cost displays that outperform existing models. The company's
electronic polymer platform can be used in a number of display
technologies including microLED, miniLED and AMOLED displays for
next generation televisions, laptops, virtual reality (VR)
headsets, smartwatches and smartphones.
Smartkem develops its materials at its research and
development facility in Manchester,
UK and its semiconductor manufacturing processes at the
Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) at Sedgefield, UK. It also has
a field application office in Taiwan. The company has an extensive IP
portfolio including 125 granted patents across 19 patent families
and 40 codified trade secrets. For more information, visit:
www.smartkem.com and follow us on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/company/smartkem-limited and Twitter
@SmartkemOTFT.
About Shanghai Chip Foundation Semiconductor Technology
Co., Ltd.
Shanghai
Chip Foundation Semiconductor Technology Co.,
Ltd. has developed a comprehensive Chemical Lift-off (CLO)
technology for Gallium Nitride (GaN) growth substrates through
years of continuous research and practice, achieving mass
production. The substrate, as the core support for GaN materials
and chips, plays a crucial role. Chip
Foundation have successfully developed a new type of
composite patterned sapphire substrate, namely Dielectric Patterned
Sapphire Substrate (DPSS), which is significantly different from
the industry-standard Patterned Sapphire Substrate (PSS). Utilizing
precise facet controlled epitaxial lateral over growth
technology, Chip Foundation can reduce
the dislocation density of the GaN epitaxial layer on the DPSS
substrate to the level of 10^7/cm². For large-size LED
chips, the effect of dislocations can be ignored, but for Micro LED
chips, the negative effects of dislocations will become
increasingly prominent. Relying on the DPSS substrate,
Chip Foundation have further innovated the
processing technology of chemical lift-off growth substrates.
Compared with the traditional laser lift-off method, chemical
lift-off shows superior performance in cost-effectiveness and
product yield. The laser lift-off process has an adverse effect on
the leakage performance of the chip, while the chemical lift-off
process can effectively improve the leakage performance of the
chip, a conclusion that has been experimentally verified and its
physical mechanism clearly explained.
These technologies can effectively promote the mass
production of Micro LED chips and can be used to produce Mini
Thin-film Flip-chip LED chips. Due to the omission of substrate
thinning, laser scribing, and cracking processes, and the fact that
almost no scribe channels are needed between chips, the cost
advantage is very significant. Chip Foundation
have developed wafer-level packaging technology based on
thin-film chips and Mini LED backlight technology that can fully
leverage the superior performance of thin-film chips.
The advantages of GaN materials in electronic power and
radio frequency chips are also unparalleled. Our core technologies
(DPSS substrate, lateral epitaxial growth technology, chemical
lift-off substrate technology) can effectively solve the
reliability and heat dissipation issues of electronic power and
radio frequency chips, and Chip Foundation
look forward to cooperating with various parties in these
fields in various forms.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not
historical are forward-looking statements, including, among other
things, statements relating to the Smartkem's expectations
regarding its market position and market opportunity, expectations
and plans as to its product development, manufacturing and sales,
and relations with its partners and investors. These statements are
not historical facts but rather are based on Smartkem Inc.'s
current expectations, estimates, and projections regarding its
business, operations and other similar or related factors. Words
such as "may," will," "could," "would," "should," "anticipate,"
"predict," "potential," "continue," "expect," "intend," "plan,"
"project," "believe," "estimate," and other similar or elated
expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these words.
You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements
because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions that are difficult or impossible to predict and, in
some cases, beyond the Company's control. Actual results may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result
of a number of factors, including those described in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company
undertakes no obligation to revise or update information in this
release to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if
new information becomes available.
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