Merck KGaA of Darmstadt,
Germany, and Yissum Research Development Company Ltd., the Technology Transfer
Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announced today at the NanoIsrael
conference the signing of a research and development agreement between Merck
and Yissum's spin-off, QLight Nanotech Ltd., for the joint development of a
novel semiconductor nanoparticle technology for a novel display application
invented by Professor Uri Banin from the Institute of Chemistry and the Center
for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will license QLight Nanotech's semiconductor
nanoparticle technology for optical applications and will sponsor an R&D
program to be conducted by QLight Nanotech over the next three years. QLight
Nanotech will contribute its experience in nanoparticle research, particularly
in synthesizing and manipulating new nanoparticles, and Merck will contribute
its expertise in the specialty materials field and in large-scale production
of sophisticated chemical formulations, which will be used for producing large
quantities of the nanoparticles developed at QLight Nanotech.
"The long standing experience and the leading scientific expertise of
the scientists of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the field of nanotechnology
has convinced us to enter into a collaboration, which will enable both partners
to explore a new horizon of optoelectronic applications," said Dr. Volker
Hilarius, Director Advanced Technologies - Innovation Scouting at Merck.
"We applied for the support of this joint effort at the Office of the Chief
Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor as part of the
'Global Enterprise Cooperation Framework Program.'"
"We are very pleased to partner with Merck, the world leader in liquid
crystal materials for display applications," said Yehuda Yarmut, Executive
Vice President of Yissum. "This collaboration combines Professor Banin's
expertise in nanoscience and nanotechnology and, in particular, his leadership
in research on nanoparticles with Merck's expertise in specialty materials."
Flat-screen displays are ubiquitous in computer and television screens, and
are mainly manufactured based on liquid crystal technology (LCD). QLight Nanotech's
new technology will enable the development of both flexible and very large displays,
including advertising displays, large-scale video and TV walls. QLight Nanotech's
new semiconductor nanoparticles technology is enabling large scale production
and will allow high brightness and low energy consumption.
Professor Banin is co-chairperson of the upcoming NanoIsrael conference and
exhibition, the central showcase for Israel's excellence in the interdisciplinary
world of nanotechnology, to be held on 30-31 March 2009, at the Inbal Hotel,
Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Volker Hilarius will participate in the conference, where
he will lecture at a session on applications of nanotechnology. For more information
please visit http://www2.kenes.com/nano/Pages/home.aspx
Posted March 29th, 2009
