Nanosys teams up with DuPont

The research arm of DuPont has signed a licensing agreement with Nanosys that could help the chemical giant develop thin, flexible screens.

Nanosys specializes in developing intellectual property for nanotechnology. Rather than bring final products to market itself, the company teams up with large, existing manufacturers. Nanosys, for instance, is working with a large Japanese manufacturer on solar panels and with Intel on new types of nonvolatile memory.

Under the agreement, DuPont Central Research and Development will work with Nanosys to explore how to incorporate Nanosys' technology into specific products such as thin films for electronics, according to the companies.

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DuPont is one of the major companies most interested in nanotechnology and for good reason. Nanotechnology largely revolves around designing molecules, which is Dupont's stock in trade.

The company has already created a subsidiary, Olight, to make Organic Light Emitting Diode screens, which are thin, energy-efficient screens. These screens can also be flexible because, in many cases, the light-emitting elements are sprayed onto a substrate. Current LCD (liquid-crystal display) monitors require two pieces of glass and a grid of wires.

Olight has already licensed technology from Cambridge Display Technologies, which recently reported layoffs.