ORFID Corporation Signs Licensing Agreement with The Regents of the University of California for Organic Transistor
Technology Could Enable Fully Organic, Flexible Thin Film Displays
LOS ANGELES, CA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 2004--ORFID Corporation, a company developing enabling organic electronic
technology , announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with The Regents of the University of California
for new type of organic transistor invented at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
"The organic transistor licensing agreement is the second agreement we executed recently with the UC Regents," said Jonathan G. Lasch, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of ORFID.
He added, "Today, many mass-marketed products such as flat panel displays are actually hybrid organic-inorganic devices, powered by silicon transistors.
The cost of producing these hybrid devices is still relatively high, and the displays themselves are still thicker and heavier than we would like. With the organic transistor from UCLA,
ORFID now has the capability to develop entirely organic displays, which will eventually replace their more costly hybrid organic-inorganic predecessors. In fact, our ultimate objective is a super-thin and flexible organic display."
The organic transistor was invented in the laboratory of Professor Yang Yang, of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science. Prof. Yang is a co-founder of ORFID. The organic transistor
is a low voltage, high current, video speed transistor that is simple to manufacture.
It is suitable for driving OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) in commercial displays. ORFID intends to develop OLED active matrix displays using this proprietary organic transistor technology.
The electronic display marketplace is $64 billion growing at 13% annually with the Flat Panel Displays (FPD) accounting for 48% of the total market. The organic segment of the display market will experience
significant growth in the next five years, propelled by an increased demand in mobile phones, PDAs, and camera displays. ORFID’s technologies will enable development of a wide spectrum of organic electronic products serving the large and rapidly growing display marketplace.
Emily Loughran, Director of Licensing in the Office of Intellectual Property Administration at UCLA said, "We are pleased that technology invented at UCLA in the area of organic electronics has attracted the
attention of both major corporations and start-ups in the various industries that are competing and partnering in this field. It is a bonus for the UCLA community when our research results in the formation of
new companies like ORFID and the creation of new commercial opportunities."
According to Dr. Lasch, ORFID is actively engaged in discussions with a number of potential strategic partners, and the company’s organic transistor technology is an important selling point. ORFID has also
caught the attention of venture capitalists who are vying for attractive investments in organic electronics, said Dr. Lasch. "It’s nice to be on the receiving end of phone calls from potential investors," noted Dr. Lasch.
About ORFID Corporation
ORFID is a privately held company developing novel organic electronic devices that are dramatically less costly
to manufacture and far more versatile than today’s largely silicon-based products. ORFID’s technology will enable
the manufacture of new products such as electronic smart labels, flexible displays, intelligent packaging, digital
textiles, biosensors, and medical devices. The company's suite of technologies for development and processing of
organic electronics have 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.
