Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) – Nano Initiative – EVG
Showcasing joint collaboration results at Nano Korea 2016

EV Group (EVG), in collaboration with the National Nanotechnology Center (NNFC), a nanotechnology R&D hub for academia, research institutions, and industry, and Nano Initiative (NI), a total solution provider spun off from NNFC that offers raw material manufacturing and process services, announced the direction of a Joint Development Program (JDP) to produce improved transparent nanostructured anti-reflective coatings for displays, including current initial results.

The three partner companies that have been conducting the joint development program have successfully demonstrated a nanostructured anti-reflective coating with excellent structure replication that provides a transmittance of over 97 percent and a surface hardness of 3H, which is superior to most polymeric coatings. In contrast, current thin-film coating technology provides only 92 percent transmittance.

The three partner companies achieved these results by applying EVG’s proprietary SmartNIL™ UV-NIL (nanoimprint lithography) technology for imprinting on 200mm glass wafers using NI’s polymer materials optimized for commercial technology standards for display coatings.

The joint development program, launched in November 2015, was initially intended to operate for two years to develop a new nanostructured anti-reflective coating for large-area displays based on polymer materials by adding a nanostructure manufacturing process that can easily scale up initial production.

As the next phase of this program, EVG, NNFC, and NI plan to launch the EUREKA* project and have expanded opportunities for end users to participate. NNFC, a JDP research institution, plans to transfer new anti-reflective coating technology to industry partners to enable the mass production of large-area panels, such as Gen 2 (370 mm x 470 mm) panels. In addition to this specific project, the three JDP partners plan to investigate other application fields requiring nanostructures and NIL technology.

Dr. Jae-Hong Park, a senior researcher at the NNFC Nanostructure and Materials Development Team, stated, “As a world-class nanotechnology research and business development center, it is crucial for NNFC to collaborate with leading industrial manufacturing companies to realize the commercialization of promising new technologies.” He added, “We have been conducting several advanced nanotechnology development support projects with EVG, and we consider them a suitable partner for our joint development program of advanced display coating technology. EVG possesses the process development capabilities, facilities, and expertise to support the integration of new technologies into major display production.”

EVG, NNFC, and NI are scheduled to showcase the results of their joint development program at the NANO KOREA Symposium and Exhibition, which will be held from July 13 to 15 at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
EVG’s product family of patterning solutions, including SmartNIL, will be demonstrated at the company’s booth K47 located in the MICRO zone of the exhibition hall, and product information will also be available by attending EVG’s public presentation in Seminar A, which will be held from 13:30 to 14:30 on Wednesday, July 13.

"We sincerely thank EVG's SmartNIL technology, which is ideally suited for this type of application, as well as the professional technical expertise and advice provided by the EVG NIL process team for the advanced display coating research project," said Kim Woo-choong, CEO of Nano Initiative. "The initial results of this research have exceeded our expectations, and we look forward to the participation of more companies to demonstrate the advantages of this display coating technology."

Yang Won-sik, General Manager of EVG Korea, stated, “As part of our triple-i corporate philosophy of ‘Invent-Innovate-Implement,’ EVG has a long history of collaborating with research institutions, materials manufacturers, and companies across the nanotechnology sector to develop new process technologies and devices and to produce them. We are very pleased to see the fruits of our two-year collaborative efforts through this opportunity to participate in partnership with our Korean partners, NNFC and NI. EVG looks forward to collaborating with domestic industrial partners to commercialize new display coating technologies and support the manufacturing of large-area displays.”