ATMI Invests in Lake LED Materials

ATMI, Inc announced it has purchased a minority interest in Lake LED Materials of Daejeon, South Korea, a materials technology start-up focused on providing metal organic precursors to the LED (light-emitting diode) market. Under the agreement, ATMI will help accelerate commercial LED materials introductions, with select marketing and technology rights. The collaboration highlights ATMI's technical expertise in process materials for LED applications with its global infrastructure in conjunction with Lake LED Materials' technology. This collaboration represents ATMI's first step in a multi-faceted strategy for addressing process efficiency opportunities in the LED market.
"Light-emitting diodes are the wave of the future for lighting -- for TVs, personal electronics, and business and home lighting," said Dan Sharkey, ATMI Executive Vice President, Business Development. "LEDs are a type of semiconductor, and while the basic technology has been around for decades, moving it into cost-effective mass production requires developing the enabling materials that can be readily incorporated into high volume production. Just as ATMI has created a pre-eminent position in materials with traditional semiconductor manufacturers, we believe that, working jointly with Lake LED Materials, we can establish a similar enabling materials position with leading global LED manufacturers."