Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese company, founded in 1911, to engage in oil distribution, and over the years they have gained experience in fuel products and basic chemicals, plastics, electronic materials and OLED materials. Idemitsu is best known for its fluorescent blue emitter and host.
Idemitsu Kosan are working towards OLED materials together with BOE Display, Merck, Sony, LG Display, Mitsui chemicals, Doosan and UDC. Together with Panasonic, the company launched an OLED lighting joint-venture called Panasonic Idemitsu OLED Lighting (PIOL), but PIOL was dissolved when Panasonic withdrew from the OLED lighting market.
In January 2016 we posted an interview with Idemitsu's electronic materials chief.
Contact information for Idemitsu Kosan
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Korea's supreme court dismisses SFC's lawsuit against LG Chem regarding its deuterated OLED materials
The supreme court in Korea has made a final decision, dismissing SFC's patent lawsuit against LG Chem, regarding the company's deuterated OLED compound. The court has found that LG Chem's materials are not substantially identical to existing technology and possessed an inventive step, thus warranting the patent.
The lawsuit was originally filed by SFC together with Idemitsu Kosan. The patent in question was acquired from DuPont in 2019. SFC and Idemitsu claimed that the only change LG Chem performed is increased the deuteration rate to 40% (from 36% in existing solutions), but the court says that in addition to the increase there was also substantial technical achievement in the process.
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Xi'an Manareco New Materials to increase its stake of Idemitsu Kosan's OLED business in China to 20%
LG Chem starts to supply blue OLED host materials to BOE
Reports from Korea suggest that BOE has decided to adopt LG Chem's blue host material in its AMOLED displays, replacing its current supplier, Idemitsu Kosan.
LG Chem has been focused on soluble OLED materials, and it acquired Dupont's soluble OLED IP in 2019. But in recent years it has started to develop evaporation OLED materials, and it has now secured the design win at BOE. It is understood that BOE chose LG Chem over Idemitsu as its materials offer longer lifetime and lower costs.
