Sharp Corporation has commercialized production of IGZO LCD panels for smartphones and will begin manufacturing them at its Kameyama Plant No. 2 within this year.
At Kameyama Plant No. 2, which went online in August 2006, Sharp has been using large, 8th-generation glass substrates in the highly efficient production of LCD panels for big-screen TVs. Having introduced IGZO display technology in March 2012, Sharp has since been producing small- and medium-size LCD panels for tablet and notebook PCs as well as larger LCD panels for high-resolution LCD monitors.
Using 8th-generation glass substrates, Sharp will be the first company in the world*2 to achieve commercial production of high-definition LCD panels for smartphones—something that was previously considered difficult to achieve. The highly efficient production levels achievable with 8th-generation glass substrates will be made possible by an optimized production process as well as by IGZO technology's ability to enable smaller thin-film transistors and increased light transmittance.
Sharp will work to meet vigorously growing demand for LCDs in the smartphone market by taking advantage of the energy efficiency, super-high resolution, and high-performance touchscreen functionality of its IGZO LCD panels. Furthermore, Sharp will continue to expand the range of applications of IGZO in products such as tablet PCs, notebook PCs, and 4K displays.
- *1 Developed jointly for mass production by Sharp and Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
- *2 As of October 17, 2013 (based on Sharp research).