IFire Readies Pilot Manufacturing of Solid-State Flat Panels
IFire will begin shipping sample 34W thick-film dielectric electroluminescent (TDEL) displays to prospective customers the next several months, but will target 37W and 42W sizes for volume production, Vp-Product Planning Donald Carkner told Consumer Electronics Daily.
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The Westaim subsidiary’s ability to commercialize the solid-state flat panel display technology will hinge on securing a joint venture partner this year to help provide $150 million in funding needed to establish a volume manufacturing line, company officials have said. IFire is in joint venture discussions with several companies including Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) and Sanyo, which have collaborated with iFire in developing TDEL technology, Carkner said. DNP lent iFire $10.7 million in 2004 and is supplying a front-end production line at its Kashiwa, Japan, factory to prepare the TDEL substrates and fabricate the row electrodes and thick- film dielectric layer.
IFire had $10.2 million outstanding on the loan Dec. 31, according to Westaim’s 10-K SEC filing. Sanyo is providing R&D and has funded $3.8 million in projects since 2002. Sanyo’s funding is expected to total $4.9 million over 4 years, Westaim said. Carkner said his company talks with DNP and Sanyo “quite often on all aspects of the commercialization,” Carkner said. “We're looking to expand to a couple of sizes” because that’s what prospective TDEL customers want.
IFire completed its $46 million pilot production facility in Toronto in Dec., having installed manufacturing equipment in Aug. and Sept., Carkner said. IFire earlier estimated pilot production of 10 units a week would begin last fall (CED May 5 p1). IFire has run “quite a few” engineering samples along the line of the 25,000 sq. ft. facility for development purposes, Carkner said. IFire kept the resolution of the display at 1,280x720p, but increased the brightness and contrast to 400 lumens and 1,000:1 vs. 200 lumens and 200:1 a year ago, Carkner said. The goal is for commercial TVs to feature 500 lumens, something that could be achieved in the next several months, he said. Initial annual capacity for TDEL displays built using a 800x475mm substrate will be about 250,000 units. Production would increase to 3 million units with $600 million in additional funding needed for a 2nd line that would use a 1.1mx650mm substrate.
In 2005, iFire’s operating loss widened to $31.8 million from $27.8 million as it didn’t generate revenue. It incurred $24 million in capital expenses related to TDEL development, up from $18.6 million a year earlier, the 10-K said. Overall, Westaim swung to a $9.2 million profit in 2005 from a $25.1 million loss in 2004. Revenue dropped to $28.5 million from $31.9 million. Westaim garnered $7.4 million in net proceeds from the sale of land and a building. It posted a $1.9 million gain on the transaction, which was included as income from discontinued operations, the company said.