Solar Cell and Flat Panel Display Thin Films Expert

Expertise

• Vacuum deposition by sputtering and evaporation.
• Solid state chemistry and physics of semiconductors, including LCDs, AC/DC electroluminescence, OLEDs, electron field emission, VFDs, CRTs, back lights and phosphors.
• Materials and device preparation, characterization, life studies, encapsulation.
• Technical/QA, Marketing Manager up to CTO/VP level of more than 23 years in thin and thick films, backlights for displays and systems in signage, analytical, medical, avionic and automotive instrumentation.
• Examination of client patent portfolios for licensing opportunities or infringement issues, including; LCDs, OLEDs, LEDs, thin film transistors and dielectrics.
• Filed 16 patent applications in emissive displays, lamps, electronic paper, and photovoltaic solar cells.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, Owner, 2004 - Present

• Technical/quality and marketing consulting business in displays, phosphors, semiconducting materials, solar cells and lamps.
• International clients including recent work on thick and thin film EL, flexible LCDs and electronic paper, CIGS solar cells, LCD backlights, TFTs, OLEDs, phosphors, quantum dots and carbon nanotubes.
• Invited speaker at UC Berkeley on nanotechnology for displays and lamps.
• Assisted clients in the evaluation, design and characterization of prototype carbon nanotube devices, OLEDs and flexible electroluminescent lamps.
• Published articles for monthly reports for three consecutive years for industry analyst company "Insight Media", and market report on electronic paper/e-book readers.
• Patent advice, due diligence and expert witness for several companies including Lucent and other major U.S. companies.

Lite Array/Viewpoint Flat Panel Display Inc., Novato, California and China, 1998 - 2004

Chief Technical Officer and Vice President of Marketing.

• Developed thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) display technology into worldwide sales based on light emitting ZnS.
• Start-up of China plant.
• Obtained Eastman Kodak license for OLEDs and made matrix prototypes.
• Responsible to the company President integrating technology and marketing.
• Worldwide overview and travel to secure suitable technologies, surveillance of competitive technologies and customer demands.
• Thin film annealing and uniformity studies. Directed U.S. and China teams.
• Secured first distributor/representative for Europe resulting in some of our first orders over a $250 thousand, later added and managed 10 representative companies in the U.S., prepared monthly Sales Funnels and increased initial orders to over $2 million annually and prospects of $6 million annually, growing to over $20 million.
• Introduced over 4 new products as display modules in first two years of manufacture with improved heat seal connectors, driver and controller boards.
• Introduced new OLED technology research and development. Found ways to avoid short circuits allowing demonstrator matrix panels at SIDs.
• Assisted in negotiation of a license from the technology inventors Eastman Kodak.
• Extensive liaison and also meeting OLED equipment suppliers in Japan and the U.S.A.
• Contributed to OLED business plan with novel marketing and cost reduction process for rear electrode patterning sufficient for Lite Array to set up a new China facility.
• Initiated collaboration with Nottingham Trent University in the U.K., including exclusive license for laser annealing resulting in demonstration at SID of more than doubled brightness of TFEL needed to quadruple sales.
• Extensive work on RF vacuum sputtered coatings and equipment liaising with renowned vacuum coating and plasma scientists. Included thin film coatings of ITO, ZnS, dielectrics and films for contrast enhancement.
• Suggested and implemented use of vacuum for hot pressing ceramic ZnS:Mn sputtering targets to reduce particulates during deposition so that higher yields were possible. Found suppliers in the U.S. and liaised with them on specifications and improvements using powder ZnS and dopants.
• U.S. patents submitted to the U.S. Patent Office to increase display brightness in OLEDS and TFEL, and for contrast enhancement dark layer.
• Described a law relating force between ions of a dielectric and its breakdown in an electric field and applied this to Lite Array TFEL products. Initiated method to avoid broken line failures from proposed mechanism for failure mode.
• Proposed and introduced test methods and equipment; estimating 50,000 hour life from 8 minute voltage test, and accelerated temperature test for dielectric breakdown; also used new UV diode technology to devise new incoming test for doping uniformity in the ZnS.

BBV Digital Technology Ltd., Brighton, United Kingdom, 1997 - 1998

• Company start-up for unique brightest back lit LCD systems for large outdoor tiled video screens undercutting vacuum/gas tubes.

Research and Development Manager

• Optical characterization of LCDs, LEDs, optical films and color filters, travelling also to U.S. and China suppliers.
• Market survey quickly ascertaining the threat/opportunity posed by the new blue LEDs. Led visit to LED screen manufacturers in Taiwan and China helping to set up a new generation system.
• Produced the world's brightest back lit full color tiled LCD screen for outdoor use.

Masonlite Ltd, Chatham, United Kingdom, 1993 - 1997

• Volume manufacture of phosphor coated tubing, cold cathodes, display signs and lamps for avionic LCDs, cars, medical, and architectural lighting to over 70 countries, with reported sales of $6 million annually.

Technical Manager

• Responsible to the CEO for the Technical Department: recruiting and training staff, new products, quality system, production troubleshooting, patents, university and company collaborations, supplier and customer liaison.
• Led LCD back light collaboration with leading avionics firms developing patented.
• Proposed and prepared successful bid for DTI Foresight Technology Challenge leading consortium of 4 firms and Oxford University in field emission display/lamp.
• Met targets for exhibition of prototype phosphor enclosures for avionic electrodeless LCD back light, and for new Pyrex electrodes worth over $1.5 million annually.
• Liaison with companies and universities on 'exotic' materials including nanophosphors and low work function diamond film and sintered cathodes.
• Hands-on and management of automotive lamps with successful prototypes for major automotive companies in the U.S.A.
• Achieved ISO 9002 accreditation preparing and managing procedures, chairing Quality Management Review Meetings of the Board.
• Led investigations finding mechanism and remedy for plasma blackening of nickel plated iron hollow cathodes.
• Launched several new phosphor color products rapidly through use of 'PIXE' analysis and in-house CCD Spectrograph.
• Patented mercury dispenser producing working prototypes.
• Liaison on polymer organic and inorganic electroluminescence.

Electro-Light Technologies, Burwell, United Kingdom, Owner, 1991 - 1993

• Consulting services to clients and associates in the USA. and United Kingdom.
• Technical and commercial appraisals for marketing of new products, materials and technologies in displays, lighting and electro-optics to improve competitiveness in product range, quality and efficiency.

Consultant

• Strategic analysis of new LED and polymer OLED opportunities/patents presented in the U.S.A. to company board.
• Liaison with universities and research institutes investigating electroluminescent polymer and porous silicon.
• Evaluated field emission flat 'CRT' displays and phosphors for clients in the U.S.A. and U.K. Investment strategy market applications identified.
• Invited paper prepared on LCD back lights for the SID.
• Advised in the U.S.A. and U.K. on liquid crystal display materials and performance.
• Report for U.K. client on HDTV and phosphors at Electrochem. Soc. Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona.
• Studied quality improvement of neon lamp cathodes.
• Liaised with universities and industry on thick and thin film electrochromics, suggested new thin films products.

Cathodeon Ltd., Cambridge United Kingdom, 1988 - 1991

• A company selling devices and systems (gas discharge lamps, lasers, power supplies and analytical instruments), with a reported annual revenue of $6 million.

Technical Director

• Member of the management team responsible to the CEO, directed team for new product marketing and development, patents, pilot production, product improvement, quality, CAD Drawing Office and Safety.
• Customer liaison and sales booth duty at various exhibitions in the U.S.A. and Europe; university collaboration.
• Increased sales 10%, rapid launch of 5 new products to budget introducing glass frit processing and phosphors.
• Strategic planning identified new products and markets up to $1.5 million.
• Improved argon ion laser with metal ceramic and cold bonding (sold to Japanese semiconductor industry).
• Hastened development through simultaneous engineering.
• Reduced costs by improving yields (e.g. lamp cathodes).
• Encouraged team to patent world's first air cooled higher intensity deuterium UV lamp.
• Initiated feasibility studies: novel LCD back light, miniature CRT and gas discharge panel (patent)
• Restructured pilot production, building dedicated team to meet customers' delivery time and price.
• Initiated university joint ventures in pollution monitoring and control.
• Implemented Total Quality Management and managed BS 5750/7000 system.

Ferranti Defense Systems Ltd., Edinburgh, United Kingdom , 1984 - 1988

• An aircraft instrument CRT and LCD display systems company with sales of $45 million per year.
• As Marketing and Program Manager expanding new business with a team of engineers.
• Rapidly introduced a lower cost universal display winning contracts worth $9.4 million by networking with vendors in Brazil and the Far East.
• Attracted customers by leading the world in the first sunlight visible color CRTs using beam indexing and 'active' contrast enhancement filters.
• Persuaded the company to evaluate weight-saving LCDs, liaising with LCD companies in the U.S.A., Europe and Japan.
• Won U.K. and export sales of improved cost and performance computer symbol generators building up a dedicated team.

Additional Experience

Smiths Industries, Automotive Instrument Systems, London, United Kingdom, 1978 - 1984

• Chief Engineer

Rank Electronic Tubes Ltd., Sidcup, United Kingdom, 1976 -1978

• Project Controller

General Electric Company, Wembley, United Kingdom, 1970 - 1976

• Senior Staff Scientist.

Zenith Radio Research Corporation, Stanmore, United Kingdom, 1967 - 1970

• Senior Staff Scientist.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

• Courses: Marketing and Selling, Managing and Controlling Research and Development Projects, Total Quality Management, SPC and ISO 9002, Financial Awareness, Leadership and Management, Managing Deadlines/Multiple Projects, Radio Amateurs Examination.
• Tools: Course in BASIC programming. Skilled in touch typing, Windows Word, Power Point, Excel, Project Management, Internet, Computer Controlled Spectrometers.
• Management Studies, (Diploma), Greenwich University, London, U.K.

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• Chartered Physicist, Institute of Physics, U.K.
• Royal Society of Chemistry, U.K.
• Society for Information Display (twice on Program Committee), U.S.A.
• Recent membership of the Materials Research Society, U.S.A.
• Former Advisory Editor for the journal 'Displays', U.K.

Publications and Patents

• 18 publications and presentations.
• 70 trade articles.
• 16 patent applications.

Education

• Ph.D. Physics, Brunel University, Middlesex, U.K.
• M.S. Molecular Science of Materials, Greenwich University, London, U.K.
• B.S. Chemistry, (With Honors) Bristol University, Bristol, U.K.