The technique of making smooth glass, Novitech Co., Ltd.

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In the last seven years, domestic TV screens have continued to grow huge. As the screen has grown by 25.4 cm (10 inches) on average compared to the past, technology that creates smooth displays is drawing attention.

- The bigger the screen, the more sophisticated technology is needed, but in the meantime, technologies that solve these variables have had to rely on foreign countries. Meanwhile, Dr. Jin Jong-han of KRISS developed a measurement technology that reliably detects thickness defects of large glass substrates, succeeded in commercializing them, and transferred technology to Novitech, a company that develops 3D imaging devices. -

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A time when Smooth TVs become competitive.

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As more and more consumers prefer large-screen TVs, production of super-large TVs is increasing. The most important thing when making a super-large TV is to make a smooth display without any curved points. As demands for large TVs increase, technologies that make displays are also drawing attention. As a result, markets for glass substrates, which are key components of TV screen LCDs, are emerging, but most of the technologies that produce areas of glass substrates of size in uniform thickness depend on foreign products.

"Novitech Co., Ltd. was established in 2012 and develops special monitoring systems for semiconductor wafer equipment, special cameras for IP-based intelligent transportation systems, imaging modules for medical equipment, and 3D imaging sensors and software for industrial automation. We started by supplying a variety of video-related products."

Novitech Co., Ltd., which was run mainly on image processing at the time of its establishment, wanted to focus on future competitive industries based on technologies currently owned by companies. In the meantime, I learned about Dr. Jin Jong-han's 'High-Speed Spectroscopic Sensor Module' technology, which raised expectations for the discovery of new fields that had not existed before.

"If we focus on video work, we're forced to compete with new entrants such as China and Vietnam. It took a challenge to get out of this situation and have advanced technology. While thinking about what I could do out of the camera business, I met Dr. Jin Jong-han and had time to talk deeply about the technology you developed. Dr. Jin said he hoped the technology he developed would be useful in the world without being put to rest in the laboratory. I've come to think of doing it together, and We were able to produce this result through steady research.

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What happens when you film something invisible.

technology that CEO Lee Joon-youn encountered when he met with Dr. Jin Jong-han was 'High Speed Spectroscopic Sensor Module for Smart Factory'. Dr. Jin Jong-han explained about this technology, "It is a sensor that can measure thickness and refractive index of large glass substrates in real time even in strong vibration environments."

"The word 'spectrum' means dividing light by color. It will be easy to understand if you think of a prism. The light that passes through the glass plate affects each other. Determine whether a lot of red comes in or blue when you have spectroscopic light. When you don't have a glass plate, you can see a clear rainbow color, but if you have a glass plate, you can see some colors and sometimes you can't."

For this study, Dr. Jin Jong-han used light interference. This sensor boasts the world's best vibration insensitive performance. Accurate thickness measurement can be made even in bad conditions with strong vibration.

"In the past, we used reflective interferometry to send light to glass substrates, but we minimized the impact of vibration by introducing a transmittal interferometer that passes light."

Continuing to explain the technology, Dr. Jin Jong-han added, "There are some things you can take pictures of and see, but some things you can't." In other words, Jin tried to gain new technology by taking pictures of the "invisible."

"If the glass is uneven or curved, the light spreads and you can't see it even if you take a picture. I applied this point to my research. As TVs grow bigger and bigger, there are more displays that exceed 3 meters, and when checking such large TVs, there were difficulties only with the technologies that the existing domestic industry had. In this situation, spectroscopy technology I developed and photography technology Novitech has accumulated so far have been able to achieve current results. In fact, this is the first technology in Korea."​​

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"Good technology also requires the will and understanding of the company…”

As Dr. Jin Jong-han mentioned, it was virtually impossible to fully examine the flexion of the glass substrate with existing technology. Vibration occurs in all processes, and conventional sensors cannot reliably and continuously measure thickness of glass substrates that are shaking violently.

If the condition of the glass substrate is not properly measured, it will not be able to detect any possible problems, which will lead to the assembly of defective TV products and increase the product defect rate. This can lead to a situation in which defective TVs are delivered to consumers. In other words, Dr. Jin Jong-han and Novitech's technology protect the rights of consumers who want to purchase clean TVs.

CEO Lee Joon-young expressed his deep gratitude to Dr. Jin Jong-han for being able to enhance the company's competitiveness by supporting these technologies. "Our company is divided before and after we met Dr. Jin Jong-han. After meeting Dr. Jin Jong-han, I was able to take a leap forward in technology. There is not only visible information but also invisible information in the video. I never thought I could commercialize the technology of creating sophisticated sensors with hidden information. Currently, I am continuously focusing on research while receiving technology transfer. We are strengthening our relationship by creating a research institute company together. We often talk about making better technology under a stronger base.”

Dr. Jin Jong-han also said, "No matter how good the technology is, we could never have seen the light without the will and understanding of the company." "CEO Lee Joon-young, who I have met while working with, is more open-minded than anything else," Dr. Jin said. "He knows the importance of waiting for good results as well as caring for others."

"Small businesses should be profitable. As such, no matter how much investment it is for the future, it is never easy to wait silently until the technology is ripe. But CEO Lee Junyoung was waiting for us. I thought you were a man of the value of technology. Actually, when I develop technology, I want to commercialize and sell it quickly. I think I worked harder watching you waiting for 2 years of technology development project. It was time for me to work together and learn a lot."