New photoinitiator technology for LCDs wins the Ciba R&D Award 2005

An international team today receives the Ciba R&D Award 2005 for a breakthrough photoinitiator technology. The new technology provides outstanding photosensitivity and other features essential for the UV curing of black matrix for color filters resists and other applications. Allowing higher speed and efficiency in production of color filters, the new generation of photoinitiators was an important contribution to the fast development of large size LCDs for applications like televisions, PC monitors etc.

Professor Jean‑Marie Pierre Lehn, a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and a member of the Board of Directors of Ciba Specialty Chemicals, presented the Award at this year’s Research & Development Conference in Basel, Switzerland. The award winning team was led by Hisatoshi Kura, working together with Kazuhiko Kunimoto, Junichi Tanabe, Hidetaka Oka, Akira Matsumoto and Masaki Ohwa, all in Amagasaki, Japan, completed by Jan Sueltemeyer, and Kurt A. Müller, Switzerland. Working together across continents, in some instances taking advantage of time differences to achieve maximum speed of progress, they managed to get the first new photoinitiators from first idea to market launch within 14 months.

250 persons were physically present in Basel for the R&D Conference 2005. However, thanks to Netmeeting, those unable to travel could follow remotely the presentations as they took place. An opportunity seized by many R&D colleagues on the three continents.

Read more:
● Press Release »
● Ciba Displays »
● Ciba Electronic Materials »