One of the brave band of tiny US companies pioneering flat panel displays using new technologies is heading East: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd is to buy Plasmaco Inc, Wetsport, Connecticut start-up developing a 21 plasma display panel that runs off alternating current (CI Nos 2,105, 2,636). Terms were not disclosed. Matsushita wants to develop the AC panels to production; it already has DC plasma displays developed with DuPont Co and the Japanese subsidiary of Texas Instruments Inc, and plans to start sample shipments of 40 DC plasma panels in June. Matsushita plans to invest some $600m in the things by 2000.
