Xenon Corporation, the world leader in pulsed light technology, today announced that three new laboratories have joined the Printed Electronics Test Center Network, bringing the total of participating labs to 25 worldwide. "This is another indication that PE is rapidly becoming a commercial industry, driven by efforts like those of the Test Center Network," said Lou Panico, CEO of Xenon.
The PE Test Center Network is a consortium of manufacturers, integrators and universities formed last year by Xenon to make equipment, resources and technologies for PE available at nominal cost to product developers and researchers around the world. Participating labs provide special expertise in one or more aspects of PE, and all labs provide access to Xenon's SINTERON™ sintering systems. Panico said commercial products are already beginning to emerge from the Network's effort, with two applications in the process of starting production.
The three new labs to join the network are TEXMAC, a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, providing solutions for a range of industries including photovoltaic, printed circuit boards and screen printing; Ohio Gravure Technologies, Inc., precision equipment and software developers with an expertise in gravure printing; and California Polytechnic State University, where research and class work are being conducted on the application of solution-based inks on flexible substrates to produce functional devices for smart packaging, anti-counterfeit protection, lighting, sensors, and devices for energy harvesting and storage.
"The goals of the PE Test Center Network align very well with our areas of interest at Cal Poly," said Dr. Xiaoying Rong, associate professor of graphic communication at the university. "We believe high-speed, low-cost printing of functional circuits is an important area of research as well as a career path for our students."
The PE Test Center Network now has 25 members worldwide, including 11 overseas. Product developers and researchers, as well as potential lab partners, who want to know more about the program should email Laurie Panico at [email protected]