It has also upgraded its thin film transistor (TFT) test facility in Manchester – said to be UK’s only vertical science park – to enable faster validation of reliability test data for customer projects in Asia. The site has expanded to 8,000ft2 to accommodate its growing team of 30 employees.
The investment includes a large area slit coating machine to enable further process optimisation of truFLEX semiconductors. This allows the refinement of specific coat process protocols over large areas with nanometre control over film thickness - a critical factor in maintaining transistor uniformity and yield in the manufacture of flexible displays.
Commenting, Steve Kelly, CEO, said: “Our investment in state-of-the-art equipment and personnel enables us to focus on developing processes and formulations that meet specific customer production line needs, speeding the technology transfer process.”
SmartKem’s organic semiconductor platform – unlike traditional inorganic materials – does not require a vacuum and is processed at room temperature using standard solution coating equipment. This is claimed to offer OEMs a high performance, unbreakable TFT platform for the production of flexible displays, sensors and logic circuits, all produced on low cost plastic substrates.