Merck, a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in the healthcare, life science and performance materials sectors, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Tridonic Jennersdorf  (Tridonic) covering silicate phosphors for use in white light LEDs.

Along with Toyoda Gosei (Japan), Leuchtstoffwerk Breitungen (Germany), and Litec (Germany), Tridonic holds basic patents relating to a technology to generate white light using blue LEDs and novel yellow silicate phosphors. This combination of silicate phosphors applied to blue LED chips enable manufacturing of packaged white LEDs with high accuracy and high brightness. Primary applications include backlights for cell phones, laptops, GPS and other small displays, which account for a high share of today’s global LED market.

Tridonic is now granting a material license to Merck to manufacture and market the silicate phosphor materials for potential use in white light LEDs. The license agreement between Tridonic and Merck gives Merck full potential to manufacture and offer silicate phosphors for use in white LEDs. Through this license agreement, Merck is now joining the circle of phosphor manufacturers with a material license. Merck customers may now purchase phosphor materials manufactured under the Tridonic license.

Merck and Tridonic are pleased to announce this license agreement and look forward to exploiting new business opportunities based on this agreement.