November 3, 2008--Powerlase Ltd. (Crawley, England) manufacturers of nanosecond, Q-switched, diode-pumped, solid state (DPSS) lasers, has announced the development of the 400G laser, for use in the green laser annealing (GLA) fabrication method to create active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display screens and televisions.
The GLA process replaces an older form of manufacturing, excimer laser annealing (ELA), and streamlines the manufacturing process to lower the cost of screen production and ultimately the cost of the end display product. Use of the 400G laser in AMOLED screen manufacturing will reduce production costs, which means that the more environmentally friendly AMOLED screens are more affordable to businesses and consumers.
The laser products developed by Powerlase are designed in line with specific customer requirements. The 400G has been developed and tested in cooperation with one of the leading display-screen manufacturers and is now entering the final development phase before being implemented in high-volume manufacturing facilities.
Many companies are developing the GLA process to improve line consistency, which is the problem with conventional ELA solutions. The GLA process creates long crystals of polysilicon, which are required to provide the required levels of picture performance. This innovation in the production of screens is reflected in the dropping price of AMOLED displays, meaning this greener, high-performance display technology is more widely available.
The Starlase 400G (400 W at 532 nm) DPSS laser will be required for production to achieve the required throughput. The 400G product is the most powerful diode-pumped, solid-state green laser currently available.
The AMOLED screens match the picture quality of their plasma-screen equivalents, but consume much less energy. Traditionally they were not accessible to businesses and consumers alike as the costly nature of manufacturing techniques made the end unit too expensive.
Kevin Reardon, head of business development at Powerlase, commented: "We are looking forward to further developing applications with our customers and partners. We have been working very closely with two partners on this project: Dukin in Korea and LIMO in Germany. It is with partnerships like these that allow us to continue our customer focused product development."
RELATED ARTICLE: