3D panels - a highlight of LCD show

Three-dimensional, flat panel displays that do not need glasses to view them, a 240 Hz response time screen and a 6-in touch function ebook were some of the latest products shown at the Display Taiwan exhibition in Taipei.

Hosted by four industry groups - the Photo Industry and Technology Development Association (PIDA), the Semiconductor Equipment and Material International (SEMI), Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taipei Computer Association (TCA) - the three-day event at the city’s World Trade Centre attracted around 200 manufacturers to show their products on 500 stands from home and abroad.

According to the TCA, the LCD industry fell away last year so that production capacity dropped to less than 50%. But now there are good signs of a recovery even with an increase in the costs of panels. Once again China is a market focus, considered to be the television market in the world with more than 400,000 million sets installed. And as many of them are CRT devices, there is a great opportunity for replacement using Taiwan’s LCD panels.

BASF, Corning, makers of anti-reflection film, wafer polish slurries, clean room automation equipment, static control ionisers and flexible printer electronics were some of the companies and technologies on show.

AU Optoelectronics, one of the biggest flat panel makers in Taiwan, has developed a 65-in, 3D television based on a barrier-type technology that creates a stereoscopic effect by generating a distance discrepancy between the left and right eyes. This was one of the highlights of the company’s display.

Also on show were panels of various sizes including 3D. But one of the most significant advances was a 52-in, full high definition, LCD TV with a 240 Hz response time that, with its 240 signals a second, virtually eliminated motion blur. Brightness is enhanced by 147% using a novel backlight design. Overcoming the brightness problem with barrier-type 3D displays has been one of the challenges the company has met in its 4.3 and 8-in panels where the small display can show 800 nits in 3D mode using a lenticular lens.

A 6-in touch screen ebook was shown for the first time. Powered by Microcup technology that equips the device with a 800 x 600 definition screen, it also has 16 grey levels, high contrast and high reflectance making it suitable as a reading device. It is claimed to be eco-friendly as it consumes power only when updating images.

Also making its debut was what is claimed to be the world’s first 2.2-in borderless panel and a QVGA 2.8-in image/fingerprint scanner and the world’s thinnest (0.56 mm), 1.9-in panel for mobile phones.

LEDs are getting brighter, more colourful, more power efficient and are being used in more and more applications from architectural lighting to motor vehicle fittings. LEDs are a major product of many companies in Taiwan and one of them, Oasistek, is now putting these devices into tubes as substitutes for the more common fluorescent fitting.

This innovation comes at the end of a long history that has seen the company move on from its original moulded and plastic injection products to PCBs, optical parts and LEDs from the dice to packaging. It was one of the first island companies to establish manufacturing facilities in China where it now has three plants. The importance placed on R&D and quality control is shown by there being 30 engineers in one and 60 staff in the other.

Government help with changing to LED lighting and the growing use of the device in such equipment as traffic lights and video display modules is ensuring a buoyant future for the industry says the company.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics is another company tackling motion blur with its 120 Hz TV panels and de-judder features. These panels are equipped with motion estimation/motion compensation (MEMC) chips to further reduce the blur problem.

The company’s 55-in full high definition display is an award winner with its 500 nit brightness, 20,000:1 contrast ratio pairing with 120 Hz and MEMC technology. Power consumption is said to be halved and mercury content is very low.

With the focus on ‘green’, a 42-in panel at 12 mm thick is a third the thickness of traditional panels. Again, the device has a low power consumption and mercury-free LEDs and they are set to be mass produced later in the year.

Industrial flat panels with sunlight readability and mobile phone displays with 269 ppi resolution, and all running on less power than the former generation, were also featured.

The Photonics Festival, held in conjunction with Display Taiwan, saw about 360 exhibitors occupy around 800 stands and draw a crowd of more than 35,000.

In addition to the static displays and stand demonstrations, there were business and technology forums and exhibitor seminars to highlight some of the latest developments in flat panels.