NANOIDENT Opens World's First Manufacturing Facility for Printed Semiconductor-Based Optoelectronic Sensors -- NANOIDENT ORGANIC FAB



    NANOIDENT Technologies AG, the world leader in printed
    semiconductor-based optoelectronic sensors, today announced it has
    opened the world's first manufacturing facility for the delivery of
    printed semiconductor-based optoelectronics. The NANOIDENT ORGANIC FAB
    (OFAB) GmbH, located in Linz, Austria, supports high-volume production
    and will use the company's SEMICONDUCTOR 2.0 Platform to deliver
    printed semiconductor-based products for the NANOIDENT Group of
    companies, which includes NANOIDENT Technologies AG, NANOIDENT
    Biometrics GmbH, NANOIDENT Biometrics SAS and BIOIDENT Technologies,
    Inc. With its environmentally friendly production process, the OFAB
    can produce printed electronic devices quickly and at a fraction of
    the cost of a traditional silicon-based semiconductor fab.

    "Just as we can't imagine our lives today without electronic
    devices that rely on silicon-based semiconductors, in the near future
    the same will apply to printed electronics-based applications," said
    Craig Cruickshank, principal analyst at cintelliq. "NANOIDENT's OFAB
    opening is a significant step forward to making the vision of printed
    electronics a reality with the first of what will be a growing number
    of printed electronics facilities worldwide."

    With the company's SEMICONDUCTOR 2.0 Platform technology (see
    today's related release: NANOIDENT SEMICONDUCTOR 2.0 Platform Drives
    Printed Semiconductor Development) and OFAB production facility,
    NANOIDENT is enabling new, innovative solutions in a wide range of
    markets, including consumer, industrial, life sciences and security,
    that were previously cost-prohibitive or simply not able to be created
    due to the physical constraints of silicon. Moreover, expensive masks,
    wasted material and dangerous acids used for etching are not needed
    with printed electronics. Toxic materials are not used in the OFAB,
    making it a green production process.

    "The OFAB opening marks a major industry achievement by bringing a
    new class of printed electronics from the lab to the fab," said Klaus
    G. Schroeter, CEO, NANOIDENT. "Printed semiconductor-based
    optoelectronic devices created by the OFAB will usher in an era of new
    application types -- traditionally not well-suited for silicon --
    which will improve healthcare, enhance personal and homeland security,
    as well as drive new industrial applications. These applications are
    just the beginning, as we look forward to driving continued
    advancements for printed devices that will enhance peoples' lives."

    NANOIDENT's OFAB is fitted with a class 100 cleanroom (less than
    100 half-micrometer particles per cubic foot). To produce printed
    electronics at the OFAB, nanomaterials are deposited onto a substrate
    using advanced printing methods. The process is extremely fast. For
    example, traditional chip manufacturing takes approximately two to
    three months. In the OFAB, the entire process can be completed in
    hours or days, depending on the application. Prototypes and volume
    production can be run on the same equipment, which allows for highly
    customized devices. Production capacity can easily be scaled as needed
    by adding more equipment.

    The NANOIDENT OFAB workflow includes:

    -- Design - Printed electronics uses many of the same electronic
    design automation (EDA) tools as conventional integrated
    circuit (IC) design. The finished layout is translated into
    files that are read by the printing equipment.

    -- Materials Management - All materials are subjected to a
    variety of sophisticated chemical, electrical and mechanical
    tests.

    -- Ink Formulation - The "printing inks" used in the OFAB consist
    of conducting and semiconducting conjugated polymers and/or
    other nanomaterials that are formulated into solvents, which
    serve as the functional layers for the printed electronic
    device.

    -- Substrate Preparation - Before printing, the substrate must be
    cleaned and treated to promote adhesion. Printed electronics
    can use virtually any substrate, including glass, plastic
    foil, ceramic or even silicon for a complex hybrid system. The
    substrate can have a variety of mechanical properties - rigid
    or flexible, flat or curved, thick or as thin as 20
    micrometers (one-fifth the thickness of standard paper).

    -- Functional Layer 1 - n - Printing is done one layer at a time
    (semiconductor, conductor, insulator, resistor and
    dielectric), each deposited using an advanced printing system.
    With feature sizes as small as 10 micrometers, the layers must
    align precisely for the device to function properly, so the
    substrate is mounted on an X-Y table, a precision instrument
    with high-speed linear motors enabling precise control with
    sub-micrometer accuracy.

    -- Curing - Each layer must be dry before subsequent layers are
    printed.

    -- Dicing - Just as in a silicon fab, many devices can be printed
    on one substrate. Once all layers have been printed and cured,
    a computer-controlled laser or glass dicing system precisely
    cuts the individual pieces apart. All devices then go through
    an automated electrical/optical test.

    -- Assembly (optional) - If needed, other components such as a
    microcontroller, can be attached for complex hybrid systems.

    -- Packaging - Printed electronics do not generally require
    traditional, molded plastic chip packaging. In many
    applications the substrate is the component packaging.

    OFAB Webcast

    The company will conduct a live Webcast about the OFAB opening
    today at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To join the live Webcast or to view a
    recording following the event, please visit
    http://www.nanoident.com/NewsCenter/webcast.php

    For artwork, please visit
    http://www.nanoident.com/Siteservice/Download_Images.htm

    About NANOIDENT Technologies AG

    NANOIDENT is the world leader in the development and manufacture
    of printed semiconductor-based optoelectronic sensors. The company's
    core technology merges the latest breakthroughs in materials science
    and nanotechnology with modern printing techniques to create a new
    class of semiconductor devices. The revolutionary SEMICONDUCTOR 2.0
    Platform is the basis of the world's first commercial printed photonic
    sensors, enabling a whole new generation of applications in the
    industrial, biometric and life science markets.

    NANOIDENT's high-speed, environmentally friendly manufacturing
    process utilizes liquid nanomaterials and additive production
    techniques. These liquids are used to print electronic circuits on a
    wide variety of surfaces, producing products in mere hours for
    prototype as well as high-volume applications. The company's printed
    semiconductor devices can be bendable, disposable, light, ultra-thin
    and large area. They have application specific spectral and electronic
    properties and can contain light sources and light detectors as well
    as electronic circuits. These unique characteristics enable
    cost-effective, custom designed devices for applications such as
    industrial, chemical, biological, biometric and X-ray sensors, printed
    OLED displays for smart packaging and electronic signage.

    Privately held, the company is headquartered in Linz, Austria,
    with subsidiaries in Menlo Park, California and Grenoble, France.

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    NANOIDENT Technologies AG
    Ulrike Kaiser
    Untere Donaulaende 21-25
    A-4020 Linz, Austria
    Tel.: +43 732 9024 0000
    e-Mail: press@NANOIDENT.com
    www.NANOIDENT.com
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