Jan 26 2010
Peratech Limited, the leader in new materials designed for touch technology solutions, has announced that Nissha, one of the world's largest manufacturers of touch screen technology, has signed a $1.4 million licensing agreement to use Peratech's award winning Quantum Tunnelling Composites (QTC) to create next generation touch screens with 3D input for mobile phones and portable electronic devices. The licensing agreement gives Nissha exclusive worldwide rights to use the technology for screens smaller than 3.5 by 5.5 inches for an initial period of 1 year.
Philip Taysom, joint CEO of Peratech, said, "This is Peratech's first million dollar licensing agreement and is a huge testament to the power and potential of QTC technology by one of the world's leading manufacturers of touch screens for mobile phones and gaming consoles. QTC is also ideal for creating solutions for larger touch screens and we are actively investigating this market."
QTC's unique properties enable it to be made into force sensitive switches of any shape or size. QTC switches and switch matrices can be screen printed allowing for development and integration of switches that are as thin as 75 microns. QTC is also low power and interfaces can be designed with no start resistance so that without pressure, the switch draws no power and passes no current. Importantly, when pressure is applied, the resistance drops in proportion to the amount of pressure which allows sophisticated human machine interface designs that react to variations in pressure.
Chris Lussey, joint CEO of Peratech, commented, "QTC changes the game when it comes to human machine interface design with capabilities to build truly 3D user interfaces in small, low power devices. This three dimensionality cannot be matched with existing resistive and capacitive technologies. Using products with an embedded QTC switch consumers could use this third dimension to search deeper into a file structure simply by pressing harder, control an avatar's movement through a game more naturally or create the thin or thick lines which are vital for Far East characters."
QTC technology has no moving parts and requires no air gap between contacts. This makes it extremely reliable and suitable for integration into the thinnest electronic designs and with industry leading operational life. With QTC, touch screens can be made feature rich and ultra-thin allowing for the development of even slimmer, lighter weight and lower-power portable devices.
Takao Hashimoto, Director, CTO of Nissha and General Manager of Technology Research & Development, added, "QTC will be a disruptive technology for mobile phones enabling thinner phones to be designed with amazing new input interfaces."