news archive
TECDIS
Patents Process for Making LCD with Internal Polarizer
Chatillon,
Italy, November 18 - Tecdis S.p.A. announced today that on
October 28th, 2003, the European Patent Office communicated
to Tecdis the final approval of International Patent No.
PCT/IT01/00367, "Method of manufacturing LCD having an
internal polarizer," filed on July 12th, 2001. The
patented technology is called "thin crystallized
film" (TCF) or liquid-crystal polarizer, and it will be
commercialised by TECDIS as "pol-position."
Tecdis is
cooperating with Optiva, the patent owner of the TCF
material, and with an important Japanese LCD manufacturing
equipment manufacturer. This cooperation has allowed the
company to develop the patented processes and to transfer
the TCF technology to mass production, a company
announcement said.
The process
results in improved transmittance, reduced parallax, reduced
LCD thickness, resistance to high temperature, and the
possibility of compensating for the backlight spectrum by
incorporating different dyes in the polarizer. Because the
polarizer is inside the LCD "sandwich," it is
immune to scratches, environmental chemical pollution, and
high humidity, all of which can affect standard LCDs using
plastic polarizer films, the company said.
Tecdis has
used the patented process to add TCF technology to STN cells
for automotive (as well as other) applications, and has
produced a prototype with more than twice the contrast ratio
of normal STN displays at the same duty cycle. The display
is readable at temperatures over 100°C, and the viewing
angle is larger than ±40°C. Projected life of the produce
in the field is no less than 20 years, which exceeds all
current standards, the company said.
Information: www.tecdis.com.
Chinese
Digital Terrestrial TV Standard Delayed Again
by Nancy Dang, iSuppli Corp.
The wait for
the implementation of China's Digital Terrestrial TV
Standard will be even longer than had been expected as the
Chinese government is again delaying the launch.
Previously,
the final standard was to have been selected this month, but
this is apparently not to be. The principal choice is
between Tsing Hua University's Digital Multimedia
Broadcast-Terrestrial (DMB-T) standard and Shangai Jiao Tong
University's Advanced Digital Television
Broadcast-Terrestrial (ADTB-T) specification. But
technology-related issues and other events have resulted in
yet another major postponement.
China's
Digital Terrestrial Standard will probably be delayed until
late 2004, and the potential winner is far from clear.
Consequently, it is not clear if the Chinese government will
be able to realize a Digital Broadcast transition consistent
with the previously announced schedule that encompasses not
only terrestrial broadcast, but also satellite and CATV.
Based on events so far in 2003, China's implementation of
digital broadcasting faces a long and difficult road. It
will not be unitl 2005 that real progress will be seen.
This
challenging situation is affecting the makers of Digital
Cable Set-Top Boxes (DC-STBs) and DTV sets. Their situation
is complicated by the fact that each CATV station in China
has the right to choose a Conditional Access (CA) system, so
the digital receiver is essentially a regional product
instead of a national one. Because of the complications this
creates, over the next two years DC-STB manufacturers will
still focus on traditional boxes aligned with various CA
providers. Meanwhile, DTV makers will install CA systems
inside products for export to the U.S. and Europe. But for
China's domestic market the real focus will be the Advanced
TV (ATV) system, without a digital tuner inside.
To gain
larger shares of the ATV market, some Chinese TV OEMs are
advancing into the LCD/PDP TV panel manufacturing business,
or planning to do so. Among them are Sichuan Changhong
Electronics Group Co. Ltd. (Mianyang, Sichuan Province),
Shanghai Audio & Video Electronics Group Co. Ltd., and
Hisense Group Co. (Qingdao, Shandong Province). It is likely
that competition among TV manufacturers will intensify in
high-end TV displays rather than focus on digital receivers.
Information: Nancy
Dang; ndang@isuppli.com.
Sharp to
Build Second System LCD Production Line at Mie Plant No.
3
Osaka, Japan,
October 29 - Sharp Corporation will build a second System
LCD production line at its Mie Plant No. 3 to cope with
burgeoning demand for high-resolution LCDs for use in
digital still cameras and mobile phones. The company has set
a target date of March, 2004 to have the new line fully
operational.
System LCD is
built around the core technology of continuous grain silicon
(CG Silicon), which has properties very close to
single-crystal silicon. System LCD combines digital logic,
including peripheral circuitry and the functional components
necessary for the display, to be integrally formed on the
same glass substrate as the display section. This technology
enables a significant reduction in the area required to
mount parts and in the number of external parts compared to
previous technologies, making the products in which System
LCDs are embedded more compact, thinner, and lighter, and
contributing in a significant way to greater reliability of
assembled systems. With an 8-bit CPU or audio circuitry
embedded on the glass substrate, in addition to a 2.6-inch
VGA ultra-high-resolution (300-ppi) display, the System LCD
is a futuristic system device that ushers in the coming era
of ubiquitous networks.
The
integration of multiple functions and high-definition
imaging enables users to enjoy a variety of functions, such
as watching TV on a mobile phone.
Sharp's Mie
Plant No. 3 began production of System LCDs in June of this
year, but increasing demand for digital still cameras and
mobile phones equipped with high-resolution LCDs has led to
significantly more requests for quotes than previously
anticipated. To cope with this tremendous demand, Sharp
decided to build a second production line. Both lines use a
glass size of 730x920mm. Putting the new production system
into place at this time will enable the company to supply
enough product to meet this new demand by doubling
production capacity (in terms of 2-inch-screen equivalents)
from 6.5 million to 12.2 million units per month.
Deep Video
Imaging Licenses IEE to Produce Multi-Layer Display (MLD™)
Van Nuys,
California, October 27 - Deep Video Imaging today announced
that Industrial Electronic Engineers (IEE) has secured a
license to produce Multi-Layer Display (MLD™)
monitors for the United States Government and related
contractors, as well as medical and industrial markets.
IEE Vice
President Stuart Siegel said, "Our customers demand the
latest and highest-quality data-visualization technology to
critical data sets from ground-based systems to airborne
applications. We are pleased to be able to offer Deep Video
Imaging's breakthrough MLD™ monitors customized to
our existing military, medical and industrial customer base
MLD™
displays utilize multiple separate image planes-an immersive
technology that reduces search times in complex data
analysis and eliminates the eyestrain associated with 3D
displays. The technology is scalable in size, resolution,
brightness, and color depth. The additional depth provides
simultaneous plane-application support without glasses,
viewing restrictions, or special software requirements, and
is compatible with existing software and hardware platforms.
Information: www.ieeinc.com,
www.deepvideo.com.
