Vitex Systems, Inc., a leading technology developer, licensor and engineering service provider for thin-film encapsulation and moisture barrier films, today announced that it has expanded its leading edge thin-film barrier capability with the qualification of its new state of the art, 2nd generation deposition equipment. The new equipment will be located in Vitex’s facility in San Jose and will allow the company to further enhance its moisture barrier film technology as well as service its customers.

In conjunction with its internal expansion efforts, Vitex has also elected to join the Flexible Display Center located at Arizona State University (ASU) and to donate its previous generation tool to the Center. The Flexible Display Center at ASU, which was established by the U.S. Army in February 2004, boasts collaborations with university, government and industry partners, both national and international.

“We have many potential customers asking Vitex to provide Barix Encapsulation and Barix Barrier Film for various applications. The investment for the new deposition equipment provided by funding from Battelle will not only expand our developmental capabilities but will also allow Vitex to more effectively service many new customers,” said Chyi-Shan Suen, President and COO at Vitex Systems. “In addition, all other member companies will have access to test and evaluate our barrier with our tool in the Center. We very much look forward to participation in this outstanding organization.”

Over the past year, Vitex has made excellent progress demonstrating the unique capabilities of its Barix Barrier Film for encapsulation of thin-film photovoltaic cells. Cooperating with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Vitex recently demonstrated results obtained on SoloPower’s thin-film CIGS PV that, when protected by Vitex’s Barix Barrier Film, the cells had less than 10% efficiency degradation after 1920 hours of damp heat tests at 85 degrees and 85% relative humidity, while the IEC 61646 standard only demands testing to 1000 hours.

(Source: Vitex press release)