CRL and Moxtek form strategic alliance
CRL Opto (Middlesex, England), a supplier of high-resolution microdisplays, and Moxtek (Orem, UT), a supplier of optical components, have formed a strategic alliance that combines CRL Opto's high-resolution liquid-on-crystal microdisplay technology with Moxtek's products and applications. In most projection systems, one of the main problems associated with traditional dye-type absorbing polarizers is their inability to survive high light flux. According to the companies, the large acceptance angle of the LCOS microdisplay and the ProFlux polarizing beamsplitter from Moxtek enables greater throughput without a tradeoff in contrast.
Sumitomo to buy more Cree LEDs
As part of a three-year distributor agreement, Sumitomo (Tokyo, Japan) will purchase $100 million of LED products from Cree (Durham, NC) during Cree's fiscal year ending June 30, 2004. Sumitomo sells Cree's LED chips to packaging customers in Japan. This purchase commitment, the largest in Cree's history, is subject to customer demand and other terms and conditions. The amount of the agreement is four times larger than Sumitomo's commitment last year. Cree and Sumitomo anticipate that the purchases will cover Cree's full line of LED products, including standard-brightness devices, MegaBright and other mid-brightness devices, and XBright LEDs. Sumitomo says that it has seen "explosive growth" in the market for Cree's LEDs in Japan in the past year.
Cedip demos IR remote-sensing system
Cedip Infrared Systems (Croissy Beaubourg, France), in conjunction with the ETBS testing center of the Delegation Generale pour l'Armement (Bourges, France), has demonstrated a helicopter-based infrared remote sensing system. Employing Cedip Jade MWIR camera technology installed in a three-axis stabilized gimble underneath a helicopter fuselage several square kilometers of a ground field were remotely mapped in high definition in the mid-infrared region (3 to 5 um). The Jade MWIR cameras used in the tests use an MCT-based focal-plane array sensor cooled with a striling cooler to provide extremely high sensitivity at the highest possible frame rates. Coupled with Cedip's PC-based analysis and reporting software, the system provides an effective solution for obtaining accurate IR measurements in challenging test situations.
Vitex and Samsung target mobile OLEDs
Vitex Systems (San Jose, CA) is partnering with Samsung SDI (Seoul, South Korea) to manufacture organic light-emitting diode (OLED)-based displays for the mobile device market. During the initial phase of this joint development effort, Samsung will provide funding for the design and engineering activities of Vitex's Barrier Engineering Program—specifically surrounding the company's proprietary Barix thin-film coating solution. Samsung's goal is to bring to market OLED-based displays that are 50% lower in weight and thickness than other commercially available displays.
Indigo wins military detector contract
Indigo Systems (Goleta, CA) was awarded a major contract by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems to deliver infrared (IR) integrated detective assemblies (IDAs) for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The F-35 is a supersonic stealth aircraft designed for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as several foreign partners. Indigo Systems will design, develop, test, and deliver the mega-pixel-class IR IDAs for the distributed aperture system (DAS) on the F-35. The DAS sensors utilizing the IDAs developed by Indigo will capture real-time imagery which will then be stitched together by an image processor to provide streaming video footage that can be displayed on the pilot's helmet-mounted video monitor.
Also in the news . . .
Dalsa (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) has received a production order for image sensors from "a leading producer of broadcast television cameras" totaling over $5.5 million. The order is expected to be delivered over the next 36 months. . . . Nemoptic (Paris, France), a developer of bistable liquid-crystal displays, raised US$13 million in its third round of financing that will help Nemoptic to develop and introduce a new generation of color BiNem displays. Nemoptic already has a licensing agreement with Picvue, a Taiwanese company that manufactures "e-book" products with the BiNem technology for the Chinese market. . . . Eastman Kodak (Rochester, NY) has unveiled a digital camera that is the first consumer product with a full-color OLED screen. Kodak and its Japanese partner, Sanyo Electric (Tokyo, Japan), began making the next-generation screens in February through a joint venture in Japan that hopes to use them in cellphones, digital cameras, and other handheld devices.