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VITEX UNVEILS LATEST THIN-FILM ENCAPSULATION TOOL—THE GUARDIAN™ 200E
Low-cost Solution will Enable More Organizations to Explore Production of
Thinner, Lighter, Displays and Flexible Electronics
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 08, 2006 – Vitex Systems, Inc., together with Advanced Neotech Systems (ANS),
Pyungtaek, Korea, today unveiled a lower cost version of its proven Guardian™ thin-film encapsulation system,
the G200E. Designed to extend the company’s reach into markets where price may be a gating factor, the
G200E will enable institutions, universities and industrial development groups to also explore the myriad
benefits associated with Vitex’s proprietary Barix™ encapsulation process. Based on Vitex’s flagship Guardian
System, the G200E can provide basic thin-thin encapsulation capabilities without sacrificing the quality and
performance that has become a trademark of the Guardian™ platform.
Thin-film encapsulation is a fundamental technology that can be used in the production of OLEDs, photovoltaics,
thin-film batteries, organic semiconductors, bio sensors, etc. Specifically, Vitex’s Barix™ technology—applied via
the Guardian™ tool—can eliminate the packaging components used within the manufacture of these devices by
delivering the moisture/oxygen protection, or barrier, necessary to ensure integrity. It also offers added
flexibility and enables new design opportunities. Since different applications (e.g. cell phone vs. photovoltaics)
have different lifetime requirements, they require different barrier properties. Vitex’s unique ability to customize
its technology to address various barrier requirements opens up a number of new markets. At the same time,
Vitex and ANS recognized early on that the extensive capital required for thin-film encapsulation made it difficult
for some organizations, such as universities, to procure the necessary equipment needed for further research in
this area. This prompted the development of the low cost G200E—thereby, expanding the company’s potential
customer base.
Commenting on the introduction, Vitex’s Director of Sales and Marketing Chyi-Shan Suen, noted, “The goal of
our latest offering is to increase the affordability of the equipment; thereby, making it available to a broader
user group. With the G200E, more organizations will now be able to conduct thin-film encapsulation R&D; gain
access to its inherent advantages; effectively produce prototypes; measure device performance in a more
realistic environment; and ultimately, accelerate the adoption of this enabling barrier technology across multiple
markets.”
Vitex and ANS have worked in close collaboration since 2005, setting a significant milestone with the acceptance
and delivery of a state-of-the-art Guardian™ system to Samsung SDI last year. The tool is currently being
deployed for the research and development of next-generation OLED displays. “ANS has just signed the license
agreement with Vitex last month. However, we have been working together for the past year and a half. We
have learned a lot from the first system we built with Vitex,” said K.B. Bae, president at ANS. “We are pleased
to have this opportunity to continue to work closely with Vitex to broaden our product portfolio to expand our
reach to a larger customer base.”
The G200E offers many of the core features found in the cutting-edge G200. It offers the basic capabilities to
deposit a multi-layer ultra barrier (alternating the deposit of polymer smoothing/planarizing layers and a ceramic
barrier layer) in order to create the Barix™ structure. The G200E consists of two chambers, one oxide
sputtering chamber and one monomer deposition/UV cure chamber, connected in a linear fashion. The substrate
is transferred back and forth to produce the multi-layer structure. The tool can be connected to a glove box or
other system, such as cluster robot, through a standard interface. Enhanced functionalities such as CCD
alignment capability, automatic mask change capability, secondary cathode and a high-efficiency monomer
confinement sub-chamber, will be offered as options on the G200E.
Barix™ encapsulation is a low-temperature, thin, flexible, transparent, low-stress process. Testament to its
demonstrated success to date, Barix™ technology has already met the stringent cell phone telecommunication
specifications on OLED displays at high yield. Tests have also demonstrated that the Barix™ process is ideal for
the production of solar-cell devices. As stated earlier, the flexibility of this multi-layer barrier allows the user to
adjust the structure to meet their specific requirements.
Reflecting its recent shift to a licensing and engineering services company, Vitex reports that it will no longer sell
the Guardian™ tool direct. Rather, ANS will be responsible in marketing, manufacturing, installing and
supporting the G200E—although Vitex will support ANS throughout the tool design and manufacturing. Vitex
will also continue to supply and develop the materials used in the Barix encapsulation and support customers to
optimize and integrate the Barix™ encapsulation into their various production applications.
About ANS
ANS Inc., headquartered in Pyungtaek, Korea, is a leading supplier of OLED deposition and encapsulation mass
production systems. Founded in 1998, ANS delivers high quality OLED mass production machines by virtue of
its core competence in areas such as efficient deposition sources, reliable shadow mask alignment, and fully
automated software control systems. ANS is developing new deposition sources to achieve even better film
uniformity and greater material utilization for large-size glass substrates. The deposition direction can be in any
orientation in the process chamber, therefore resolving the glass and mask bending issue. For more information
on ANS, visit www.ansinc.co.kr
About Vitex Systems
Vitex Systems, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, Calif., licenses a proprietary encapsulation solution, Barix™, as
well as deposition systems and next-generation flexible barrier substrates, that enable the cost-effective
production of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays that are lighter and thinner than any other
commercially available displays. Vitex's technology can also be used to address a wide array of photovoltaic and
optoelectronic applications. The company was incubated at Battelle, the world's largest independent private non-
profit research foundation, and was spun off as an independent company.
For more information on Vitex Systems, visit www.vitexsys.com.
Contacts:
Chyi-Shan Suen
Vitex Systems, Inc.
Phone: 408.325.0366
Fax: 408.519.4470
Email: csuen@vitexsys.com
<< Return to Press Release Index
Low-cost Solution will Enable More Organizations to Explore Production of
Thinner, Lighter, Displays and Flexible Electronics
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 08, 2006 – Vitex Systems, Inc., together with Advanced Neotech Systems (ANS),
Pyungtaek, Korea, today unveiled a lower cost version of its proven Guardian™ thin-film encapsulation system,
the G200E. Designed to extend the company’s reach into markets where price may be a gating factor, the
G200E will enable institutions, universities and industrial development groups to also explore the myriad
benefits associated with Vitex’s proprietary Barix™ encapsulation process. Based on Vitex’s flagship Guardian
System, the G200E can provide basic thin-thin encapsulation capabilities without sacrificing the quality and
performance that has become a trademark of the Guardian™ platform.
Thin-film encapsulation is a fundamental technology that can be used in the production of OLEDs, photovoltaics,
thin-film batteries, organic semiconductors, bio sensors, etc. Specifically, Vitex’s Barix™ technology—applied via
the Guardian™ tool—can eliminate the packaging components used within the manufacture of these devices by
delivering the moisture/oxygen protection, or barrier, necessary to ensure integrity. It also offers added
flexibility and enables new design opportunities. Since different applications (e.g. cell phone vs. photovoltaics)
have different lifetime requirements, they require different barrier properties. Vitex’s unique ability to customize
its technology to address various barrier requirements opens up a number of new markets. At the same time,
Vitex and ANS recognized early on that the extensive capital required for thin-film encapsulation made it difficult
for some organizations, such as universities, to procure the necessary equipment needed for further research in
this area. This prompted the development of the low cost G200E—thereby, expanding the company’s potential
customer base.
Commenting on the introduction, Vitex’s Director of Sales and Marketing Chyi-Shan Suen, noted, “The goal of
our latest offering is to increase the affordability of the equipment; thereby, making it available to a broader
user group. With the G200E, more organizations will now be able to conduct thin-film encapsulation R&D; gain
access to its inherent advantages; effectively produce prototypes; measure device performance in a more
realistic environment; and ultimately, accelerate the adoption of this enabling barrier technology across multiple
markets.”
Vitex and ANS have worked in close collaboration since 2005, setting a significant milestone with the acceptance
and delivery of a state-of-the-art Guardian™ system to Samsung SDI last year. The tool is currently being
deployed for the research and development of next-generation OLED displays. “ANS has just signed the license
agreement with Vitex last month. However, we have been working together for the past year and a half. We
have learned a lot from the first system we built with Vitex,” said K.B. Bae, president at ANS. “We are pleased
to have this opportunity to continue to work closely with Vitex to broaden our product portfolio to expand our
reach to a larger customer base.”
The G200E offers many of the core features found in the cutting-edge G200. It offers the basic capabilities to
deposit a multi-layer ultra barrier (alternating the deposit of polymer smoothing/planarizing layers and a ceramic
barrier layer) in order to create the Barix™ structure. The G200E consists of two chambers, one oxide
sputtering chamber and one monomer deposition/UV cure chamber, connected in a linear fashion. The substrate
is transferred back and forth to produce the multi-layer structure. The tool can be connected to a glove box or
other system, such as cluster robot, through a standard interface. Enhanced functionalities such as CCD
alignment capability, automatic mask change capability, secondary cathode and a high-efficiency monomer
confinement sub-chamber, will be offered as options on the G200E.
Barix™ encapsulation is a low-temperature, thin, flexible, transparent, low-stress process. Testament to its
demonstrated success to date, Barix™ technology has already met the stringent cell phone telecommunication
specifications on OLED displays at high yield. Tests have also demonstrated that the Barix™ process is ideal for
the production of solar-cell devices. As stated earlier, the flexibility of this multi-layer barrier allows the user to
adjust the structure to meet their specific requirements.
Reflecting its recent shift to a licensing and engineering services company, Vitex reports that it will no longer sell
the Guardian™ tool direct. Rather, ANS will be responsible in marketing, manufacturing, installing and
supporting the G200E—although Vitex will support ANS throughout the tool design and manufacturing. Vitex
will also continue to supply and develop the materials used in the Barix encapsulation and support customers to
optimize and integrate the Barix™ encapsulation into their various production applications.
About ANS
ANS Inc., headquartered in Pyungtaek, Korea, is a leading supplier of OLED deposition and encapsulation mass
production systems. Founded in 1998, ANS delivers high quality OLED mass production machines by virtue of
its core competence in areas such as efficient deposition sources, reliable shadow mask alignment, and fully
automated software control systems. ANS is developing new deposition sources to achieve even better film
uniformity and greater material utilization for large-size glass substrates. The deposition direction can be in any
orientation in the process chamber, therefore resolving the glass and mask bending issue. For more information
on ANS, visit www.ansinc.co.kr
About Vitex Systems
Vitex Systems, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, Calif., licenses a proprietary encapsulation solution, Barix™, as
well as deposition systems and next-generation flexible barrier substrates, that enable the cost-effective
production of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays that are lighter and thinner than any other
commercially available displays. Vitex's technology can also be used to address a wide array of photovoltaic and
optoelectronic applications. The company was incubated at Battelle, the world's largest independent private non-
profit research foundation, and was spun off as an independent company.
For more information on Vitex Systems, visit www.vitexsys.com.
Contacts:
Chyi-Shan Suen
Vitex Systems, Inc.
Phone: 408.325.0366
Fax: 408.519.4470
Email: csuen@vitexsys.com
<< Return to Press Release Index
| Vitex Unveils Guardian™ 200E |