Sharp - Page 7

There are some interesting reports that the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) decided to reduce its backing for Foxconn's plans to establishing LCD fabs in Brazil. It seems that the Brazilian Government is not happy with Foxconn's decision to produce LCD panels and not OLEDs - as they were hoping that the company will produce next-gen technology based panels in Brazil.

Foxconn's investment in the new fab was supposed to be $4 billion (that's only the first phase, the total cost would have been around $12 billion). The BNDES was supposed to fund 30% of the project. BNDES and Foxconn are still in negotiation, trying to reach a new agreement.

Yesterday we reported about Sharp's new IGZO based OLED. Here's a nice video showing the new displays, and also explaining Sharp's new crystal structure innovation that enables those displays. According this video, Sharp is not planning commercialization yet:

In the video you can see Sharp's two OLED prototypes. The first panel is a 13.5" 3840x2160 (QFHD) panel (326 ppi, WOLED/RGBW architecture). The second is a 3.4" flexible OLED (326 ppi as well, 540x960).

Update: Here's a video of the new displays, and more details

Sharp announced it will show two new oxide-TFT (IGZO) based OLED panel prototypes at SID 2012 next week. The first panel is a 13.5" 3840x2160 (QFHD) panel.The panel features 326 ppi and is made using a WOLED (RGBW) architecture - similar to LG's upcoming OLED TVs.

The second panel is a flexible OLED, 3.4" in size. It too features 326 ppi (540x960 resolution). We do not have more technical details, hopefully we'll learn more at SID.

Sharp announced that they have begun to produce Oxide-TFT (IGZO) based LCDs at their Kameyama Plant #2. Sharp says that these displays will have smaller TFTs and thus increased pixel transparency - which leads to lower power consumption. Sharp's proprietary UV2A*3 photo-alignment technology employed in Sharp's AQUOS LCD TVs enables these displays to achieve high image quality.

Sharp also revealed some sample panel specification: 32" 3,840x2,160 (140 ppi), 10" 2,560x1,600 (300 ppi), 7" 800x1,280 (217 ppi). Sharp is expanding production scale through April "to meet market demand".

Sharp's president Mikio Katayama said that his company does not have plans to join the OLED market. He estimates that OLEDs won't create a new market, it will just be a replacement for existing technologies. Currently OLEDs will be too expensive - and he does not think customers will pay the premium.

Three years ago, Sharp made basically the same comments about OLEDs. It's quite a big bet by the Japanese company - as most leading TV makers have active OLED TV programs.

Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies says that he believes that Apple decided to buy iPad 3, iPhone 5 and TV display panels from Sharp. At first these will be IGZO based LCDs - which will be brighter, clearer, thinner and more efficient than existing LCDs. But Misek also believes that Sharp and Apple will jointly develop OLED displays (probably IGZO based as well) within 1-2 years which will be used in future iPhone and iPad generations. OLED TV panels aren't expected until 2015.

Misek says that the two companies are working towards a new printing technology for producing these small/medium OLED panels - and that a pilot line will be in place by middle 2012 for testing purposes. Full production will be possible in 2013. The new technology, according to Misek, is a combination of inkjet printing and a daisy wheel. The daisy wheel is an impact printing technology and I'm not sure how it relates to OLEDs.

Sharp announced that it will start making IGZO (InGaZnO) based LCD panels for mobile phones and tablets towards the end of 2011. Sharp says that the new displays will be brighter, clearer, thinner and more efficient than existing LCDs. Sharp will make these new displays in their 8-Gen plant using the company's UV²A ultra-violet alignment technology.

IGZO can also be used to for OLED backplanes. Chimei Innolux, for example, announced plans to built a 5.5-Gen OLED plant an IGZO TFT.

A few days ago we reported that Toshiba Mobile Display plans to invest around $1.2 billion in a new LCD factory that will make small-sized LTPS LCD displays, and Apple will be the client (and will also invest in the new plant). Today we hear pretty much the same story about Sharp - another $1.2 billion LCD plant, and Apple is the client and investor again.

The new plant is actually an expansion of Sharp's existing factory in kameyama. And the Apple bit isn't official yet (the same as was the Toshiba story - which actually denied the fact any connection to Apple).

A Japanese consortium of 13 companies (including Sharp and Hitachi) claims that they found a way to make LCDs using plastic film instead of a glass substrate. This means that those displays can be very thin and flexible. They do admit however that this is a very complicated process. They have shown a 3.5" bendable color LCD that just 0.49mm thick and weights 7 grams. They hope to make a better display by 2012, and use this technology to mass produce thin, curved LCD displays.

The companies say that the new manufacturing process is simpler than the one used in current LCDs, and also the new displays will consumer 70% less energy!

Doug Koshima, Sharp's Chairman says that Sharp still has no plans to develop OLED, and are sticking with LCD. This is a big bet by Sharp - if OLED TV start to take off, they might be left behind (like Sony did with LCDs and PDPs) - also OLEDs are great for PR, and Sharp might be seen as 'conservative'. On the other hand Sharp are saving a lot of money with R&D...

Earlier this year Sharp said that OLEDs will not threat LCDs for at least a decade.