Nov 28 2006
Nippon Polytech Corporation (NPC), a consolidated subsidiary of Showa Denko K.K. (SDK), will launch next month a new high-performance electrical insulating ink for the manufacture of electronic parts based on the chip-on-film (COF) technology. These electronic parts—flexible components holding IC chips—are used to send electrical signals to liquid crystal display (LCD) panels for TVs and PCs to produce images.
NPC’s new high-performance electrical insulating ink is made using SDK’s newly developed urethane-based thermoset resin.¡¡¡¡After being painted on the surface of the COF component, the ink becomes an electrical insulating film that prevents short-circuit-induced malfunctioning.
As finer electronic circuits are needed to achieve higher image quality and lower cost, demand is growing for inks with higher electrical insulating property. The new ink to be launched by NPC will drastically improve electrical insulation for the current 30-¦Ìm-pitch COF component. The ink can also be used for future production of 25-¦Ìm-pitch finer COF component, contributing to further improvement in image quality and longer life of LCD panels.
Due to the growth of the LCD panel TV market, production of COF component is expected to increase at the rate of 20% a year. Thus, demand for high-performance electrical insulating ink is forecast to grow substantially. NPC is planning to increase annual sales of LCD-related materials to 3 billion yen by 2010.