07/11/06 - Electronics & Optroelectronics Research Laboratories (EOL) of the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) recently licensed a transparent electrode technology to one Japanese and nine Taiwanese light-emitting diode (LED) makers.
The indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrode technology has proven its ability to boost LED illumination by 10 percent to 20 percent, according to the lab's specialists. They pointed out that thin ITO film has a special ability to conduct electricity and transmit light, making it suitable for use in display devices.

The licensing has netted the ITRI laboratory royalties totaling NT$150 million (US$4.6 million at US$1:NT$32). The lab's executives pointed out that the domestically developed technology would help the island's LED makers pare their spending on intellectual property licenses from foreign sources. For instance, German lamp maker Osram usually charges licensees royalties of up to US$6 million (NT$192 million) per case, while Nichia of Japan of Japan charges even more.

The lab has licensed the technology to nine local LED makers including Epistar Corp., Formosa Epitaxy Inc., Arima Optoelectronics Corp., South Epitaxy Corp. and Tyntek Corp., as well as a Japanese supplier.

After the licensing, EOL plans to license a proprietary LED packaging technology, and three local suppliers have approached the institute over the deal.

Source: CENS