April 18, 2007 – Toko Inc. is shifting to 0.35-micron process technology for driver chips used in displays to adjust brightness of LEDs, investing 200-300 million yen (US $1.7-$2.5 million) to upgrade etching equipment from 0.64-micron design rules, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. The company expects to boost capacity to 3,000 wafers/month (150mm equivalent).
The company’s driver chip integrates functions normally performed on separate chips — analog circuitry that adjust power supplied to the LEDs, and digital circuitry that processes digital instructions from the microprocessor. Mass production should be ramped later this fiscal year, the paper noted.