Lou Panico, CEO of XENON Corporation, offers his insights into the opportunities he sees for High Performance Pulsed Light in the printed and flexible electronics field.

David Savastano: Tell us about XENON Corporation?

Lou Panico: In 1964, XENON worked in collaboration with Dr. George Porter of the UK. Dr. Porter won the Nobel Prize in Fast Reaction Photochemistry. XENON was asked by MIT to build the first system (Flash Photolysis system) utilizing Dr. Porter’s breakthrough technology.

XENON designed and built the first system for MIT and, subsequently, many other R&D labs worldwide focusing on this new field of photochemistry. By the late 1960s, it became clear that this technology would spill off into industry which it did as UV Curing.

XENON was the first to provide equipment for this new UV Curing market offering complete cures (100%) for UV adhesives and coatings. XENON successfully applied its “Complete Cure” Pulsed Light technology to Fiber Optics (the first Trans-Atlantic fiber optic cable), credit cards, medical devices, lens coating and optical discs.

Fast forward, XENON is paving the way from R&D to production with our “Complete Cure” technology for multiple aspects of Printed Electronics. XENON specializes in and is the world leader in High Performance Pulsed Light with sixty years of experience, and has been actively engaged with Printed Electronics since the conception of this exciting technology.

David Savastano: What are the key markets for XENON Corporation?

Lou Panico: Among our key markets are laboratory equipment and photonics technology, printed electronics R2R production for silver ink and printed electronics R2R production with copper ink.

David Savastano: Specifically, what equipment does XENON Corporation produce for the printed and flexible electronics industry?

Lou Panico: High Performance Pulsed Light laboratory tools and R2R Pulsed Light production systems. XENON’s X-1100 is the flagship product paving the way for silver and copper ink sintering in production. XENON’s RC-800/900 Platform is the scale-up product for production. The RC-800/900 Platform is implemented in over 3,000 systems worldwide.

David Savastano: Why do customers choose XENON Corporation?

Lou Panico: With over a half-a-century of experience designing, developing and manufacturing High Performance Pulsed Light and Electro Optical systems, XENON customers choose us for our innovative products, dedicated customer service and expertise. XENON flashlamps are made with a proprietary gas mixture designed to match the needs of the substrate, which helps us to offer solutions for challenging application obstacles.

David Savastano: What differentiates XENON Corporation from its competitors?

Lou Panico:
1. Sixty years designing, developing, and manufacturing High Performance Flashlamps.
2. Proprietary lamp gas mixture matching light output to substrate and thermal management for ease of solutions.
3. Unique ability to fuse lamps to Electro Optical system.
4. Proven history with over 3,000 systems worldwide.

David Savastano: What is your outlook for the printed and flexible electronics industry?

Lou Panico: We are seeing an uptick in Printed Electronics activity worldwide. This upward trend is in part due to advances in materials (i.e., silver and copper ink). Enhancing this growth is progress with the development of metallic inks allowing lower energy levels for sintering. XENON’s X-1100 is now the preferred laboratory tool for copper ink development.

The Pulsed Light Experts