Yesterday, Nemoptic (Magny les Hameaux, France) and Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII, Akita, Japan) announced that Nemoptic will grant SII access to its BiNem bi-stable LCD technology and is subcontracting its high-volume display module manufacturing to SII. Surprisingly, customers can expect to see displays produced at SII’s Microtechno plant in Akita by the end of this quarter.

Ken Werner
Senior Analyst and Editor

In a telephone conversation this morning with Insight Media’s Matt Brennesholtz and me, Nemoptic CEO Jacques Noels explained how such a fast ramp-up is possible.

Following Nemoptic’s failed manufacturing project with Taiwan’s Picvue in 2003, Nemoptic decided to see what lessons could be learned. Former Picvue personnel have told me that the very small gap (about half that found in other LCDs) between the front and back substrates of a BiNem display made high-yield manufacturing difficult, particularly with larger displays. ("Larger" here means eBook-sized, not large-TV-sized.) Noels acknowledged today that, in retrospect, the companies’ plan to transfer BiNem technology directly from a laboratory in France to a manufacturing line in Hsinchu was unrealistic.

Nemoptic decided to work with LC-Tec (Borlange, Sweden) to develop the BiNem technology for practical production and complete compatibility with existing STN-LCD manufacturing lines. This was accomplished during the 2004-06 period, Noels said, and during this period the company was "in stealth mode." Prior to yesterday’s announcements, SII conducted extensive tests to confirm the compatibility of BiNem technology and STN manufacturing processes, and to fine tune manufacturing parameters. These efforts were successful, Noels said, and make possible the rapid ramp-up announced yesterday.

SII is the world’s largest manufacturer of color STN-LCD displays, Noel said, and its Microtechno plant is one of the most modern sites for high-volume production of CSTN displays. According to Noels, the passive-matrix drive on BiNem gives it tooling cost, tooling time and piece part cost advantage over competitive technology such as electrophoretic displays. While orders for BiNem displays will still be placed with Nemoptic, Insight Media believes the knowledge that SII will actually manufacture the displays will be reassuring to potential customers.

Nemoptic’s initial application target is electronic shelf labels, with an estimated market of a billion units in the grocery sector alone. Because of the relatively high resolution of Nemoptic’s e-paper displays, bar codes can be readably displayed directly on the shelf label. Other market sectors under investigation include eBooks, industrial automation, logistics, remote metering systems, and a wide range of consumer products.

Nemoptic will continue to maintain independent development and low-volume production facilities at the LC-Tec plant, in large part to refine manufacturing processes for color and gray-scale BiNem displays for smooth ramp-up to high-volume production, Noels said. The agreement between Nemoptic and SII was non-exclusive, he added, but Nemoptic has no current plans to work with another manufacturer.

The first place you will be able to see BiNem displays in quantity will be on the edges of Spanish supermarket shelves late this year, when SII fills an existing 40,000 piece order. Before that you’ll be able to see a few of them at the upcoming SID show to be held in Long Beach in May.