OCTOBER 16--Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH (www.osram-os.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Osram, a lamp manufacturer, has named Three-Five Systems Inc. (TFS; Tempe, AZ; www.tfsc.com), a provider of electronic manufacturing services and display solutions, exclusive engineering services and OLED marketing partner in the USA. TFS will provide design engineering and electronic manufacturing services to support the integration of Osram's technology into its customers' display products and will add three Osram OLED modules to its offering of standard display products.
The latest phase of the TFS-Osram partnership expands on the original agreement launched late last year, which covers a spectrum of current OLED display technologies as well as product configurations. Also included in the original agreement are plans to market standard OLED display products manufactured by Osram in a fully qualified ISO environment. As a result, TFS has added three Osram OLED modules to its line of standard display products: 96 x 54, 96 x 64 and 128 x 64 monochrome gray-scale displays. TFS will continue to offer full custom OLED modules, as well as its line of standard, semi-custom/glass platform, and full custom LCD displays.
Polymer OLED technology uses advanced polymer materials to produce an exceptionally bright, high-contrast, emissive display with a superior viewing angle. Polymer OLED technology delivers these attributes in a low-cost, low profile display that is particularly well suited to incorporation into hand-held devices such as wireless handsets, pocket personal computers, and PDAs. According to a Display Search report, Alternative Display Technology Report 2002: OLED Technology, OLED revenues are expected to rise from $85 million in 2002 to $3.1 billion by 2007. In addition to revenue, OLED units are forecast to jump from 6.8 million units in 2002 to 180 million in 2007.
Osram was granted a license from Cambridge Display Technology in 2001 to manufacture and sell polymer light emitting displays. Osram currently manufactures OLED displays in evaluation quantities at its Penang, Malaysia facility. OLED displays are currently available in evaluation quantities, and volume production is expected to commence Q4 of 2003. TFS is currently marketing the Osram OLED technology to its customers worldwide.
