Cambridge Display Technologies Ltd, the UK pioneer of light emitting polymer technology slated one day to replace cathode ray tubes in television sets, has named its as yet secret Japanese partner and demonstrated what it claims is the world’s first plastic miniature television screen (CI No 3,241). The Japanese partner is Seiko-Epson Corp, and the two have jointly developed a tiny display screen using the LEP technology, measuring only 2 inches square and 0.07 inches thick. The prototype is monochrome, and can show full television pictures with no restrictions on viewing angles or blurring of fast action shots, unlike LCD liquid crystal display screens. The companies say the screen has the potential to be used as a monitor for portable VCR’s and digital cameras. Later this year the two hope to announce a full size colour display screen. However, commercial versions of such products are still a long way off. The companies do not expect to see them widely available in the immediate future, but say they should be in production within the next five years. Danny Chapchal, Cambridge Display’s chief executive says It is hard to over-estimate the significance of this announcement, not only for CDT, but also for the global display industry. The company, which spun out of a research project at Cambridge University, has, under Chapchal’s guidance, been readying its technology for licensing deals, and two years ago won Philips Electronics NV as its first licensee (CI No 2,993). The Philips license is for ‘low information’ content, typically for mobile phone displays and the like. Television screens would require a ‘high information’ license, of which Cambridge Display has so far signed only one (CI No 3,230).
