Kopin to Showcase Latest Advances in its Lightning® OLED Microdisplay Line-Up at CES 2020

01/07/20

  • World's first 1.3″ 2.6K OLED display (2560 x 2560 resolution, with
    double-stack OLED structure)
  • Advanced double-stack OLED technology creates much higher brightness,
    longer lifetime and vibrant color
  • Lightning Silicon backplane wafers with extensive embedded Si circuits
    can be used by multiple OLED manufacturers

 

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. –
Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), a leading developer of transmissive
and reflective active matrix liquid crystal and organic light emitting
diode (OLED) microdisplays, today announced it will demonstrate the
latest advances in its OLED microdisplay line-up at CES 2020 in Las
Vegas. This will include Kopin's new double-stack OLED technology for
much higher brightness and longer lifetime, 2k and 720p displays, and a
preview of the new 1.3″ 2.6k x 2.6k display (2560 x 2560 resolution) for
next-generation AR, VR, and XR applications.

Kopin's new technical advances include its patent-pending silicon
backplane technology which enables the creation of double-stack OLED
structures for microdisplays. A double-stack OLED is two OLED structures
connected in series so that carriers (electrons-holes) pass through the
double-stack OLED and generate photons twice, instead of once in a
conventional single-stack OLED structure. This results in much higher
efficiency, higher brightness, lower power consumption and longer
lifetime. Combined with patented backplane design architecture for lower
power consumption and faster frame rate, Kopin's Lightning Silicon
wafers enable OLED microdisplays to meet the needs of real-world
consumer and enterprise applications.

At Kopin's private suite at the Mirage Hotel, Kopin will demonstrate:

2.6K Color Display with Double-Stack OLED Structure: With a
resolution of 2560 x 2560 in a 1.3″ diagonal size, it is the largest
color micro OLED in the world, along with offering the highest
resolution. The display also integrates a high-speed CPHY/DPHY MIPI
interface and has 10-bit color control for high dynamic range (HDR)
control. With a double-stack OLED structure, the 2.6k full-color display
exhibits brightness higher than 1000 nits, contrast ratio of more than
10,000: 1 and high color fidelity (NTSC 70%). This 2.6k display was
co-developed with Panasonic Corporation and Lakeside Optoelectronic
Technology Co., Ltd.

2K Color Display with Double-Stack OLED Structure: With a
resolution of 2048 x 2048 in a 0.99″ diagonal size and adopting a
double-stack OLED structure, the 2k display exhibits brightness higher
than 1000 nits, contrast ratio of more than 10,000: 1 and high color
fidelity (NTSC 70%).

High-Brightness Green 720p Display with Double-Stack OLED Structure: 720p
OLED microdisplay with a 1280 x 720 resolution in a 0.49-inch diagonal
size exhibits ultra-high brightness at more than 20,000 nits with very
low OLED power consumption of only 130 mW.

“To date the applications for OLED microdisplays have been limited by
the performance and the supply constraints, but we believe Kopin's
Lightning backplane technology and the emergence of high-volume OLED
manufacturing facilities is going to greatly expand the applications for
OLED microdisplays,” said Dr. John C.C. Fan, CEO of Kopin. “The
double-stack OLED microdisplays have exhibited far superior performance
already and we believe they will improve further as the technology
matures. Our patent-pending backplane wafer technology is critical for
us to create the double-stack structure necessary for high performance.
We believe the partitioning of the OLED manufacturing into multiple
parties, each focusing on their core competencies, will make a huge
difference in the OLED microdisplay performance and supply chain.”

“For wearable applications, especially for AR, super high brightness (up
to 5000 nits) color OLED microdisplays have been the “dream” displays.
This is many times brighter than current micro OLED displays. To achieve
this high brightness, we believe one must transition from a single stack
to a double stack OLED structure. The double stack structure should
provide up to approximately 2500 nits with some additional optimization,
and by combining it with micro lens technology, we expect to reach the
target brightness of 5000 nits in the not too distant future,” said Dr.
Boryeu Tsaur, Kopin's OLED product head.

Kopin's business model for the OLED display is fabless: Kopin designs
the backplanes in-house; has proprietary Si backplane wafers processed
at Si foundries including the integrated anode for OLED; and partners
with external OLED fabs for OLED deposition. Although the fabless design
house model has worked extremely well for the Si IC business, we believe
Kopin is the first company to pioneer this more efficient and flexible
business model for OLED microdisplays. Kopin's approach is to develop
silicon backplane designs that can be used on different OLED
manufacturing lines. Currently Kopin has successfully produced displays
with three OLED deposition partners to make OLED microdisplays: Kunming
BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.; Lakeside Optoelectronic Technology
Co., Ltd.; and Yunnan Olightek Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd.

If OLED microdisplays are of interest to you, please contact Kopin: abethune@kopin.com.

About Kopin

Kopin Corporation is a leading developer and provider of innovative
wearable technologies and critical components for integration into
wearable computing systems for military, industrial and consumer
products. Kopin's technology portfolio includes ultra-small displays,
optics, speech enhancement technology, and low-power ASICs. Kopin's
proprietary components and technology are protected by more than 200
global patents and patents pending. For more information, please visit
Kopin's website at www.kopin.com.

About Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Corporation with headquarter in Osaka, Japan is a worldwide
leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and
solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing,
automotive, and B2B businesses. To learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global.

About Kunming BOE Display Technology Co., Ltd.

Located in Yunnan Province in China, Kunming BOE Display Technologyhas
facilities for research/development, design, manufacturing, and sale of
OLED micro-displays. For more information, please visit BOE's website at www.boe.com.

About Lakeside Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd.

Lakeside photoelectric technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. is an OLED
technology developer and OLED microdisplay manufacturer having a factory
in Changzhou, China. For more information, please visit Lakeside's
website at www.hupanoled.com.

About Yunnan Olightek Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd.

Founded in 2008 with headquarter and manufacturing in Yunnan, China,
Olightek designs and manufactures OLED microdisplays. For more
information, please visit Olightek's website at www.olightek.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
including, but not limited to, all statements relating to our belief
that Kopin's Lightning backplane technology and the emergence of
high-volume OLED manufacturing facilities it is going greatly expand the
applications for OLED microdisplays; our belief that the OLED double
stack technology will improve further as the technology matures; our
belief that the partitioning of the OLED manufacturing into multiple
parties, each focusing on their core competencies, will make a huge
difference in the OLED microdisplay performance and supply chain; our
expectation of being able to reach the target brightness of 5000 nits in
the not too distant future; and our belief that Kopin is the first
company to pioneer a more efficient and flexible business model for OLED
microdisplays. These statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to the use of OLED
microdisplays may not expand into additional applications; the OLED
technology may not improve as it matures; portioning OLED manufacturing
into multiple parties may not may a difference in OLED performance or
the supply chain; we may not be able to achieve 5,000 nits in the future
or ever; our business model may not be more efficient and flexible for
OLED microdisplays and other risk factors and cautionary statements
listed in Kopin's periodic reports and registration statements filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including sections labeled
“Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations” in Kopin's the Annual Report on
Form 10-K (and Form 10K/A) for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2018,
the sections labeled “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Kopin's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 28, 2019,
and Kopin's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Words such as “expects,” “intends,” “would,” “may” and
variations of such words and similar expressions, and the negatives
thereof, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on Kopin's current expectations and
assumptions and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes
in circumstances that may differ materially from those contemplated by
the forward-looking statements.

 

Kopin Corporation
Richard Sneider, 508-870-5959
Treasurer
and Chief Financial Officer
Richard_Sneider@kopin.com

or

Market Street Partners
Joann Horne, 415-445-3233
JHorne@marketstreetpartners.com