News

8 May 2009

 

BluGlass to grant exclusive Korean RPCVD license to BLK

BluGlass Ltd of Sydney, Australia, which was spun off from Macquarie University in 2005, has signed a term sheet outlining the material, terms and conditions to be encompassed in an exclusive sales & marketing license agreement with Korean LED firm BLK Co Ltd, which was formed last year by CNT International to accelerate the commercialization of BluGlass’ technology in the Korean market. The latest development marks the first step towards a full customer agreement for BluGlass.

Subject to formal documentation, the firm will grant BLK an exclusive license to its remote plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) technology in the Korean marketplace for an initial term of two years.

The term sheet also outlines BLK’s acquisition of a BluGlass BLG-150 deposition tool. BLK plans to establish an RPCVD pilot manufacturing plant in Gwangju Technology Park (the centre of Korea’s LED industry) as it aims to use BluGlass’ technology to produce gallium nitride based LEDs in order to gain access to Korea's major LED makers.

“The Korean LED marketplace has enormous potential,” says BluGlass’ CEO Giles Bourne. The Korean government is assisting in the development of the country's semiconductor manufacturing capabilities for both LEDs and solar cells. The government has described the LED industry as its “next growth engine”, and has committed 540.1bn Korean won (AUS$542.5m, or about US$430m) to help establish eco-friendly segments such as LED manufacturing over the next five years. The South Korean LED market was worth more than US$1.5bn in 2006 and is forecast to reach US$15bn by 2015, according to the Korean Association for Photonics Industry Development.

Gwangju is officially designated South Korea’s ‘LED Valley’, and 70 LED firms are said to be setting up shop in the district. BluGlass reckons that this will involve significant spending on manufacturing capabilities, including the purchase of new deposition tools and equipment for new fabrication plants.

BluGlass says that it is furthering negotiations to establish a joint development agreement whereby BLK will participate in the final optimization of the RPCVD technology to speed to introduction to the mainstream market.

“BLK has an experienced management and technology team that will complement the existing capabilities of BluGlass,” says Bourne. “With the establishment of an RPCVD manufacturing plant in the centre of the new LED development of Korea, we are looking forward to great ongoing collaboration with BLK,” he adds.

See related items:

BluGlass to expand RPCVD to nitride-based solar cells

BluGlass forms Technology Council to drive commercialization

BluGlass’s plant opened by Australian Environment Minister

BluGlass to open pilot manufacturing plant in July

EMF announces multiple MOCVD orders

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