ORFID Corporation Awarded University of California Discovery Grant for Organic Transistor
Public-Private Partnership Supports Technology Development at UCLA
LOS ANGELES, CA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 8, 2005--ORFID Corporation, a company
developing an entirely new class of organic electronic technology that will enable manufacturing of
new products such as thin-film flat panel displays, smart labels and intelligent packaging, announced
today that is has been awarded a University of California Discovery Grant. ORFID will use the
Discovery Grant to fund further development of its proprietary vertical organic transistor, which was
invented in the labs of UCLA Professor Yang Yang.
"ORFID’s Discovery Grant is an excellent opportunity for us to partner with the University of California
on the development of technology that was invented at UCLA," said Dr. Jonathan G. Lasch, Chairman,
President and CEO of ORFID. "Our company benefits from the expertise and facilities we can only find
in Dr. Yang’s labs, and the State of California benefits by keeping home-grown technology and jobs
right where they belong—in California."
By sponsoring applied research at UCLA, ORFID is able to leverage its own R&D funding with
matching funds provided by the University of California’s Industry-University Cooperative Research
Program (IUCRP). The IUCRP provides up to $60 million annually in joint university, state and
industry investments in five fields, including biotechnology, communications and networking, digital
media, electronics manufacturing and new materials, and information technology for the life sciences.
ORFID’s Discovery Grant will be used specifically to fund work at UCLA on the Company’s
revolutionary Vertical Organic Thin-Film Transistor (VOTFT) technology. The VOTFT technology
outperforms other organic transistors by orders of magnitude, with the requisite current-carrying
capacity to make organic transistors commercially viable. This disruptive technology uniquely
positions ORFID as the sole company with the potential to displace silicon thin-film transistors as
drivers for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. ORFID’s proprietary transistor utilizes novel
operating principles and device architecture to generate adequate current to operate an OLED.
Initially, ORFID intends its VOTFT technology to be used in the manufacture of next-generation display
screens for cell phones, personal digital assistants and digital cameras. Powered by organic
transistors, these screens will be brighter and sharper, yet less expensive to manufacture than
conventional screens powered by silicon transistors. Other applications in larger-size displays, such as
signage, computer monitors and television screens, will follow.
In 2004, ORFIDs estimates that 580 million mobile handsets were sold worldwide. With the cost of a
cell phone screen accounting for approximately 10% of the total manufacturing cost of a typical cell
phone, ORFID is eyeing an opportunity to achieve an estimated $4.4 billion in cost savings for cell
phone display manufacturers.
About ORFID Corporation
ORFID is a privately held company developing novel organic electronic devices for displays, smart
labels, intelligent packaging and other applications. The company's suite of technologies for
development and processing of organic electronics, backed by an expanding intellectual property
portfolio, has the potential to improve substantially the economics of the electronics industry. ORFID is
based in Los Angeles and can be found on the web at www.orfid.com.
