Plasmion and Hanwha sign exclusive $2.25 million strategic agreement

Plasmion Corporation announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership with Hanwha L&C Corporation, South Korea, to commercialize Plasmion's Negative Ion Beam deposition technology, a breakthrough thin film coating technology used to produce high quality Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coated glass for Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display substrates.

Plasmion is a Technogenesis® spinout company, founded at Stevens Institute of Technology and licensed to commercialize a technology developed at Stevens. Technogenesis is Stevens' strategic educational direction, in which students, faculty and partners in government and industry nurture new technologies from innovation to marketplace implementation. Plasmion is a graduate of Stevens' Technology Ventures Incubator.

Plasmion's technology utilizes a controlled discharge of ionized particles to a substrate, resulting in coatings that are thinner, harder and smoother than conventional thin film deposition processes. It can be implemented as a modification to existing magnetron sputtering equipment, eliminating the expense of new equipment replacement.

"We are delighted that Hanwha has embraced Plasmion's technology to help them launch production of ITO-coated glass for OLED substrates," said James A. Ionson, President and CEO of Plasmion Corporation. "This extremely exciting initiative is just the beginning of a strategic partnership that will combine Plasmion's expertise in thin film deposition with Hanwha's leading polymer film based technologies and resources to revolutionize the way displays are coated."

Hanwha ordered a $1.25 million production system and plans to begin full scale manufacturing of products beginning December 2002. The company expects to replace all of the ITO glass substrates for OLED that are currently imported from Japan and is also looking for export opportunities in Japan, Taiwan and other Asian countries. In addition to the system purchase, Hanwha made a $1 million strategic investment in Plasmion with rights to produce OLED substrate products in Korea and Taiwan.

Du-Ryeon Chu, CEO of Hanwha L&C Corporation, said, "Plasmion's revolutionary technology, strong base of knowledge and intellectual property in thin film coating technology makes them a natural choice as a strategic partner to Hanwha."

About Plasmion

Plasmion Corporation is a market-driven technology company focused on delivering leading edge thin film application technology for the display, semiconductor, storage disk and optical communications industries and novel atmospheric pressure plasma technology for use in manufacturing plasma displays, etching/cleaning of electronic structures, surface modification and medical sterilization. Plasmion was formed in 2001 through the merger of two companies founded by scientists and inventors from Stevens Institute of Technology. Plasmion Corporation is headquartered in Hoboken, N.J., with representatives worldwide, including Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information please visit www.plasmion.com.

About Hanwha

Hanwha Group is a multi-billion dollar company involved in information services, construction, explosives, machinery, trade and telecommunications. Established in 1966, Hanwha L&C Corp., a unit of the Chemical and Explosive Division of Hanwha Group, currently is involved in plastics, chemical products, automotive parts and floor-covering materials with manufacturing plants in Jinhae and Bookang, Korea.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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