David Savastano, Editor09.25.13
The field of nanoparticles offers opportunities for manufacturers to develop unique materials for countless applications. Jon Brodd saw the potential for nanoparticles to be developed for printed electronics, and in 2003, founded Cima NanoTech.
Now, 10 years later, Cima NanoTech is working closely with OEMs and channel partners, and has reached commercialization with a number of products based on its patented SANTE® technology, a self-assembling nanoparticle technology for transparent conductors. SANTE looks to be a promising technology, having received the prestigious Display Week Best in Show Award in the Small Exhibit Category at SID Display Week 2013; Cima NanoTech was among the four winners selected from more than 170 exhibitors at SID 2013.
Today, Cima NanoTech has expanded its operations globally, with business development centers in the U.S., Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Israel. By doing so, Cima NanoTech has built close, local partnerships with electronics manufacturers worldwide.
Brodd, Cima NanoTech’s CEO, said that the company’s successful path came when they realized that there were indeed opportunities for nanomaterials in printed electronics.
“We started in nanopowders, and we realized that there might be an opportunity to develop a breakthrough technology,” Brodd said. “We looked at nanoparticles as a building block, and printed electronics is a natural place to take it. We were able to get some blue chip companies like Mitsubishi to fund our company in 2003. We used the first round of financing to focus on development, and that led us to inks and coatings.”
In 2004, the idea of inkjet printing transistors had been announced, and that served as the initial take-off point for Cima NanoTech.
“There was a lot of interest in inkjet printing, and in 2004, Epson announced that they had come up with an inkjet printed thin film transistor,” Brodd said. “Epson didn’t have an ink, so we created an inkjet dispersion.”
The Epson project ultimately did not work out, but Cima NanoTech took the lessons it learned and applied them to coatings.
“We turned our attention to coatings, and put nanoparticles into emulsions,” Brodd said. “That was a real breakthrough, as we could coat our nanoparticle emulsion using standard commercial coatings lines and let it self-assemble, creating the transparent conductive films known today as SANTE Films. By doing this, we were able to achieve conductivity levels equivalent to metal mesh.”
Higher conductivity is always desirable, and by producing highly conductive films on a roll-to-roll process, Cima NanoTech offers its customers the added bonus of lower cost in addition to better performance.
“Any application, whether it is touch displays, OLED lighting, EMI shielding or transparent antennas, can benefit from increased conductivity,” Brodd said. “Our core technology really resonates with customers. We manufacture our nanoparticles and produce our films via a wet coating roll-to-roll process, which is lower cost and provides low sheet resistance at high transparency and flexibility. The conductive pattern on our film is a random mesh-like network, thus eliminating moire issues. It has been a wonderful R&D journey for us, and we are now excited to offer commercial products in various markets.
“There are a wide range of applications,” Brodd added. “We commercialized our SANTE FS100 film for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and transparent heating. More recently, we launched our SANTE FS200 film for large format multi-touch displays in May, and our SANTE FS100-LR-1N film for lower resistance EMI shielding in August.”
Cima NanoTech’s developed and commercialized SANTETechnology, a nanoparticle technology that self-assembles into a random mesh-like network on a substrate, enabling transparent conductors with excellent electrical conductivity, high transparency and flexibility. It offers increased performance for new applications for many markets, from ultra-responsive large format multi-touch screens to electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, transparent heating, photovoltaic, OLED lighting, flexible displays and more.
“We were honored at SID Display Week 2013 for the significance of SANTE Technology and our product development,” Brodd said “The chip companies recognize what the display industry needs, and we believe we can meet these emerging needs with our products.
“The advantage of our technology for large format multi-touch displays is low sheet resistance, as we eliminate ghosting. The more conductive the material, the faster the reaction,” Brodd added. “ITO isn’t reactive enough on large displays, and mesh has optical challenges. We can solve these problems at competitive price points. In addition, our material is flexible and can be thermoformed, for example into curved shapes. We can embed it into plastics, which is revolutionary. We can enable transparent conductive polycarbonate; a 2.4 Ghz Bluetooth antenna can be embedded in the outside of a phone case. We can eliminate copper paint by using our films for EMI shielding.”
With the announcement that Fujimori Kogyo, a leading manufacturer of high quality opto-electronic films and materials, is in a strategic partnership with Cima NanoTech for commercial production and sales of SANTE Films, Brodd said that Cima NanoTech is right where it needs to be.
“Looking back, we find that 10 years is the standard amount of time for what we do,” Brodd concluded. “OEMs and channel partners are interested in what we have to offer. Our company has nearly doubled in size since we started commercial production. I strongly feel that with the intense efforts put in by the team and our partners, we are ready to embrace new possibilities and provide the market with next-generation transparent conductors that push boundaries.”
Now, 10 years later, Cima NanoTech is working closely with OEMs and channel partners, and has reached commercialization with a number of products based on its patented SANTE® technology, a self-assembling nanoparticle technology for transparent conductors. SANTE looks to be a promising technology, having received the prestigious Display Week Best in Show Award in the Small Exhibit Category at SID Display Week 2013; Cima NanoTech was among the four winners selected from more than 170 exhibitors at SID 2013.
Today, Cima NanoTech has expanded its operations globally, with business development centers in the U.S., Singapore, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Israel. By doing so, Cima NanoTech has built close, local partnerships with electronics manufacturers worldwide.
Brodd, Cima NanoTech’s CEO, said that the company’s successful path came when they realized that there were indeed opportunities for nanomaterials in printed electronics.
“We started in nanopowders, and we realized that there might be an opportunity to develop a breakthrough technology,” Brodd said. “We looked at nanoparticles as a building block, and printed electronics is a natural place to take it. We were able to get some blue chip companies like Mitsubishi to fund our company in 2003. We used the first round of financing to focus on development, and that led us to inks and coatings.”
In 2004, the idea of inkjet printing transistors had been announced, and that served as the initial take-off point for Cima NanoTech.
“There was a lot of interest in inkjet printing, and in 2004, Epson announced that they had come up with an inkjet printed thin film transistor,” Brodd said. “Epson didn’t have an ink, so we created an inkjet dispersion.”
The Epson project ultimately did not work out, but Cima NanoTech took the lessons it learned and applied them to coatings.
“We turned our attention to coatings, and put nanoparticles into emulsions,” Brodd said. “That was a real breakthrough, as we could coat our nanoparticle emulsion using standard commercial coatings lines and let it self-assemble, creating the transparent conductive films known today as SANTE Films. By doing this, we were able to achieve conductivity levels equivalent to metal mesh.”
Higher conductivity is always desirable, and by producing highly conductive films on a roll-to-roll process, Cima NanoTech offers its customers the added bonus of lower cost in addition to better performance.
“Any application, whether it is touch displays, OLED lighting, EMI shielding or transparent antennas, can benefit from increased conductivity,” Brodd said. “Our core technology really resonates with customers. We manufacture our nanoparticles and produce our films via a wet coating roll-to-roll process, which is lower cost and provides low sheet resistance at high transparency and flexibility. The conductive pattern on our film is a random mesh-like network, thus eliminating moire issues. It has been a wonderful R&D journey for us, and we are now excited to offer commercial products in various markets.
“There are a wide range of applications,” Brodd added. “We commercialized our SANTE FS100 film for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and transparent heating. More recently, we launched our SANTE FS200 film for large format multi-touch displays in May, and our SANTE FS100-LR-1N film for lower resistance EMI shielding in August.”
Cima NanoTech’s developed and commercialized SANTETechnology, a nanoparticle technology that self-assembles into a random mesh-like network on a substrate, enabling transparent conductors with excellent electrical conductivity, high transparency and flexibility. It offers increased performance for new applications for many markets, from ultra-responsive large format multi-touch screens to electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, transparent heating, photovoltaic, OLED lighting, flexible displays and more.
“We were honored at SID Display Week 2013 for the significance of SANTE Technology and our product development,” Brodd said “The chip companies recognize what the display industry needs, and we believe we can meet these emerging needs with our products.
“The advantage of our technology for large format multi-touch displays is low sheet resistance, as we eliminate ghosting. The more conductive the material, the faster the reaction,” Brodd added. “ITO isn’t reactive enough on large displays, and mesh has optical challenges. We can solve these problems at competitive price points. In addition, our material is flexible and can be thermoformed, for example into curved shapes. We can embed it into plastics, which is revolutionary. We can enable transparent conductive polycarbonate; a 2.4 Ghz Bluetooth antenna can be embedded in the outside of a phone case. We can eliminate copper paint by using our films for EMI shielding.”
With the announcement that Fujimori Kogyo, a leading manufacturer of high quality opto-electronic films and materials, is in a strategic partnership with Cima NanoTech for commercial production and sales of SANTE Films, Brodd said that Cima NanoTech is right where it needs to be.
“Looking back, we find that 10 years is the standard amount of time for what we do,” Brodd concluded. “OEMs and channel partners are interested in what we have to offer. Our company has nearly doubled in size since we started commercial production. I strongly feel that with the intense efforts put in by the team and our partners, we are ready to embrace new possibilities and provide the market with next-generation transparent conductors that push boundaries.”