DENSO Invests 30 Billion Yen in OLED Display Developer JOLED

DENSO Corporation announced it has invested 30 billion yen ($270 million) in JOLED, a developer of printed OLED displays. The investment accelerates JOLED's development and mass production of in-vehicle OLED displays, which are used for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) in car cockpits to deliver key driving information to the driver quickly and accurately.

JOLED was the first in the world to commercialize printed OLED displays, and the company's OLED printing method is simpler and more efficient than traditional manufacturing approaches. This investment will enable DENSO to combine its accumulated technology and know-how regarding HMIs with JOLED's OLED printing, thereby speeding up the development and mass production of various types of OLED displays for instrument clusters, center-stack displays, and other devices, and thus contribute to the development of more attractive and convenient cockpits.

JOLED, Panasonic Production Engineering, and SCREEN Finetech Solutions conclude a business cooperation agreement related to sales and servicing of production equipment for large sized printed OLED displays

JOLED, Panasonic Production Engineering, and SCREEN Finetech Solutions have concluded a business cooperation agreement related to development, manufacture, sales, and service of printing equipment for manufacture of large sized printed OLED displays, intended mainly for use in TVs.

JOLED plans to move forward on licensing of manufacturing technologies using its printing method to manufacturers and other companies aiming to manufacture OLED displays for use in large-sized TVs. JOLED's technology licensing activities include provision of technologies for manufacture of printed OLED displays and supporting their adoption. Utilizing its experiences in design and development of production equipment that has supported manufacturing in the Panasonic Group as well as support for setting up such equipment, and its experience in joint development of printing equipment with JOLED, Panasonic Production Engineering will handle design and development of printing equipment to match its customers’needs. SCREEN Finetech Solutions, utilizing its network and its experience in providing various types of equipment used in display manufacturing processes and related services to customers in Japan and around the world, will manufacture printing equipment under license to Panasonic Production Engineering, and will sell it and provide maintenance and other services together with JOLED.

JOLED has established mass-production technologies, including related processes. At present, the 21.6-inch 4K OLED displays manufactured on the pilot line are shipped for use in applications such as medical monitors and high-end monitors.

Sumitomo Chemical Acquires Shares of JOLED

Sumitomo Chemical has invested \5 billion in JOLED, a Japan-based company engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of printed OLED displays, by way of acquiring some of JOLED's new shares issued through third-party allocation.

With the capital raised through the third party allocation, JOLED will establish production capabilities in its Nomi Site in Nomi City, Ishikawa, Japan, for the mass production of printed OLED displays. The plant is scheduled to start commercial operation in 2020 as JOLED's main manufacturing site where the printing method is commercially applied for the first time in the world, with a monthly production capacity of approximately 20,000 glass substrates of size G5.5 (1300×1500mm), to produce mid-size (10 to 32 inch) printed OLED displays for such applications as automotive displays and high-end monitors. Sumitomo Chemical will supply its OLED materials to the Nomi Site.

Mitsubishi Chemical to Acquire German Semiconductor-related Service Company Cleanpart Group

Mitsubishi Chemical announced, it reached an agreement with a German investment fund, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG to acquire shares of Cleanpart Group, which has developed semiconductor-related services in Europe and the U.S. All the shares are planned to be turned over by Service Investment S. ar. L, a subsidiary of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG that holds shares of Cleanpart, in October of this year.

Cleanpart provides semiconductor makers in Europe and the U.S. with precision cleaning and coating services for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. MCC's subsidiary Shinryo has developed the similar business, mainly in Japan and other Asian markets.

Cleanpart and Shinryo have a complementary relationship from a geographical standpoint. The acquisition allows MCC to offer its precision cleaning and coating services on a global scale.

JDI Announces the World's First Trial of High-Transmittance Color Transparent Display on a Helmet

Japan Display (JDI) carried out a driving experiment with a high-transmittance color transparent display on a helmet, cooperating with "DANDELION RACING", a participating racing team in "Super Formula", the summit of Asia's formula car racing. This actual experiment, utilizing a transparent display, was the world's first effort in a race driving environment.

The display used for the experiment achieves a high transmittance level of 80% by applying JDI's new technology that permits the removal of the usual color filter and polarizer layers. The company conducted the test run at Fuji speedway, attaching the transparent display to the helmet, and showed driving information such as temperature and fuel consumption, in cooperation with DANDELION RACING. The driver did not need to look at a monitor in the cockpit, but instead could concentrate on driving with the transparent display.

Hitachi Chemical QD Film Adopted for VIZIO's New 4K TVs

Hitachi Chemical announced the adoption of its quantum dot (QD) film with a wider color gamut of liquid crystal displays for the new quantum dot“P-Series Quantum 65”4K televisions (to be released in July 2018) produced by VIZIO (California, USA).

This QD film complies with the EU RoHS Directive and helps lower the environmental impact. By using Hitachi Chemical's QD film, the P-Series Quantum 65 achieves 80 % of the BT.2020 color standard and produces more vivid and vibrant images.

Mitsui Mining & Smelting completed the expansion of production capacity of CeO2-based abrasive

Mitsui Mining & Smelting announced that it has completed the expansion of production capacity of cerium oxide-based abrasive MIREK.

The MIREK abrasive is used for polishing of various glass substrates, lenses, and other applications in electronic components and high-end optics-related segments. Installation of equipment was completed in July 2018 and production began in August. As a result of the production capacity increase, the monthly production capacity will increase from the previous 180 tons to 240 tons.