Category Archives: Displays

Tianma NLT America (TNAM) has announced the successful development of a new autostereoscopic display system by NLT Technologies (NLT) that optimizes parallax from an arbitrary viewpoint to reduce the influence of 3D-crosstalk and display motion parallax.

This 3D eye-tracking system achieves smooth and realistic 3D images, without the use of glasses, by combining NLT’s proprietary 3D image processing engine, called “Truly Realistic 3D imaging” (TR3i-2), with the company’s high density autostereoscopic display method called “Horizontally x Density Pixels” (HxDP), along with an eye-tracking device that detects the observer’s eye position with a high level of accuracy.

Recently, the demand for autostereoscopic displays has been growing not only for use in consumer games, smart phones, and televisions, but also in professional applications such as medical and educational equipment. This is attributed to the increasing opportunity to use high quality autostereoscopic images, which create a sense of depth, due to the increasing use of stereo cameras in certain applications such as in endoscopic instruments. The industrial market has also recognized the value of 3D technology for various applications. However, there have been some issues that limit the value of 3D technology, such as ghost images, image reversal, and the limitation of suitable 3D viewing space.

To address these issues, increasing the number of viewing points on a multi-view autostereoscopic display will broaden the suitable viewing space and reduce image reversal. However, increasing the number of viewing points also decreases the density of the 3D image. So, it is difficult to both minimize image reversal and achieve a high density 3D image. NLT has resolved this dilemma without using a multi-view 3D display – using only a 2-view 3D display with HxDP technology, the 3D image processing engine called “TR3i-2”, and an eye-tracking device. This system monitors the observer’s eye positions, and varies binocular parallax based on the viewing angle without decreasing the density of the 3D image.

The TR3i-2 converts stereo images, optimized for the characteristics of the autostereoscopic display, to correspond to the observer’s eye position, which is detected by the eye-tracking device. With TR3i-2, it is now possible to provide 3D images that can be comfortably viewed without the problems of ghost or reverse images. TR3i-2 can optimize arbitrary viewpoints to reduce the influence of 3D-crosstalk and to display motion parallax. The system monitors the observer’s eye positions and varies binocular parallax based on the viewing angle.

NLT’s HxDP technology is a unique autostereoscopic display system that achieves high density 3D images by using a unique pixel alignment. The combination of the new TR3i-2 3D image processing engine with the high density HxDP technology makes it possible to achieve more natural and seamless autostereoscopic images by minimizing the influence of changes in the observer’s viewing point.

The 3D Technology with the new 3D eye-tracking system will be demonstrated at SID Display Week 2014, June 3-5, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA, in booth 1320.

Cima NanoTech, a smart nanomaterials company specializing in high performance transparent conductive films, announced today the industry’s first ultra responsive, non-ITO film-based, 42-inch projected capacitive multi- touch module for large format touch applications. The module was built by Amdolla Group using Cima NanoTech’s highly conductive, silver nanoparticle-based, SANTE FS200 touch films. This product is targeted at applications including self-service kiosks, interactive tabletops, widescreen interactive digital signage, interactive flat panel displays, and other applications that require fast response, large size touch screens.

With a scan rate of 150hz for 10-point multi-touch, rivaling the response time of smartphones and tablets, this jointly developed product dramatically increases the speed of large format touch displays. Unlike optical and infrared touch solutions, this module does not have a raised bezel for a smooth cover glass. In addition, the random conductive mesh pattern formed by SANTE nanoparticle technology eliminates moiré, a challenge for traditional metal mesh technologies, thus enabling touch screens with better display quality.

“Our goal is to offer our customers a high performance, cost competitive and easy-to- implement solutions, and we’ve done it.” said Jon Brodd, CEO, Cima NanoTech. “Together with touch panel manufacturer, Amdolla, we are confident in creating a large format touch experience that is engaging and intuitive, and we expect to see this product on shelves by Q4 2014.”

SANTE FS200 touch films are manufactured via a wide width roll-to-roll wet coating process. The high-throughput, high-yield manufacturing makes SANTE nanoparticle technology a cost competitive solution for large format touch screens. Cima NanoTech also has the production capabilities to scale up to wider width touch films for screen sizes above 42”, further expanding the possibilities for innovative touch-enabled surfaces.

“The high response rate and excellent multi-point accuracy of the 42” touch module makes it a superior product in the industry, and we are very excited to be working with Cima NanoTech to commercialize this product,” commented Vance Zhang, General Manager, Amdolla Group. “We are also working to scale up to 55’’ screen sizes and larger.”

Yesterday, the Society for Information Display (SID) unveiled the winners of its prestigious 19th annual Display Industry Awards. These are the display industry’s most coveted awards, and the honorees will be recognized during a special luncheon tomorrow, Wed., June 4, as part of Display Week 2014, which is taking place this week at the San Diego Convention Center.

Research and innovation continue to be alive and well, and this past year was no exception given the caliber of nominated candidates. The six winners, two in each of three main categories, were chosen by a distinguished panel of experts who evaluated the nominees for their degree of technical innovation and commercial significance, in addition to their potential for positive social impact.

It is notable that three of this year’s winners are curved devices, and two of the winners are materials that support flexible devices, signaling that the “flat” in flat panel displays may be a thing of the past. Four of the six winners are also OLED-based, while the debut of the internet giant, Google, in this year’s award race reminds that LCDs are still here to stay. The winning products and a brief description of each are listed below. A more comprehensive description of the award winners is included in the Display Week 2014 Show Issue of Information Display magazine.

Display of the Year: Granted to a display with novel and outstanding features such as new physical or chemical effects, or a new addressing method

Gold Award Winner: Samsung Display’s 5.68-in. Curved (Flexible) AMOLED Display

The Samsung 5.68-in. FHD curved AMOLED display represents a major milestone for the entire display industry, as it’s the world’s first truly flexible full-fidelity display technology to be mass produced and adapted for use in a mass-market product. Now being produced on a plastic substrate, the new Samsung display panel enables smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy Round to be curved, significantly improving a user’s grip. Smartphone users will be able to comfortably hold a larger-screen version of the panel with just one hand. The smartphone has a curvature of 400 mm, while human hands have a natural curvature of about 300-500 mm. Also, the display enables a more visually immersive mobile experience with a “landscape” view aspect ratio of 1.88:1, comparable to the Vista Vision technology (1.83:1) now used in most movie theaters. In addition, the curved screen is more readable thanks to a significant reduction in light reflectance. Samsung’s new curved display will later evolve into bendable and foldable displays that will further revolutionize the use of smartphones and other mobile-product form factors.

Silver Award Winner: LG Display’s 55-in. FHD Curved OLED TV Panel

LG’s 55-in. FHD curved OLED TV panel offers exceptionally vibrant imagery in a curved format that offers viewers a comfortably immersive environment. LG’s curved OLED TV was introduced last year, and uses the company’s WRGB OLED technology with an oxide TFT backplane, the company’s technical solution of choice for large-sized OLED panels. The panel is slim – only 4 mm thick with side bezel widths of 11 mm. At 19.2 pounds, the TV is also substantially lighter than competitive products. At the same time, it offers superior picture quality, achieving remarkably rich and natural colors. In addition to the vivid and enhanced picture-quality experience, the curved structure of the new OLED TV panel offers viewing comfort. The curvature mimics a human’s normal line of vision, which makes it more eye friendly and allows viewers to feel less fatigue even when watching the screen, while also allowing for a wider and brighter field of view.

Display Component of the Year: Granted for a novel component (sold as a separate part and incorporated into a display) that has significantly enhanced a display’s performance. A component may also include display-enhancing materials and/or parts fabricated with new processes

Gold Award: UDC’s Green Phosphorescent UniversalPHOLED Emitter Material

Universal Display Corporation’s (UDC’s) proprietary green phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) emissive system can reduce an OLED display’s power consumption by approximately 25 percent, while providing excellent color in mobile displays. Adding green PHOLEDs to displays has increased OLED’s competitiveness with LCDs for mobile applications. This new material is expected to be a key driver in the commercialization of OLED TVs as well as OLED lighting. Through years of R&D work and achievements, UDC has produced UniversalPHOLED materials that provide record-breaking energy efficiencies, vibrant colors, long operating lifetimes and manufacturing versatility. The green PHOLED emitter builds on the successful commercialization of UDC’s red UniversalPHOLED emitter, first launched in commercial passive-matrix display products in 2003. PHOLED materials are expected to drive wider adoption of OLED technology and greater growth in the display and lighting markets because they significantly reduce power consumption and lower heat emission compared to prior fluorescent OLED materials.

Silver Award: Canatu Oy’s Carbon NanoBud (CNB) Film

Canatu Oy’s Carbon NanoBud (CNB) Film, made from carbon nanotubes and fullerenes, provides superior optical performance for flat, flexible, or formable touch screens, displays and touch-sensitive surfaces. This transparent conductive film is used in capacitive touch sensors for portable devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and digital cameras, and in automobiles that require excellent display readability in outdoor and bright indoor environments. CNB Films are also applied in capacitive touch sensors for flexible or formable devices such as smart watches, flexible and foldable mobile phones and tablets, and automobile center consoles.

Display Application of the Year: Granted for a novel and outstanding application of a display, where the display itself is not necessarily a new device

Gold Award: LG Display’s G Flex

LG Display’s G Flex smartphone incorporates a flexible OLED panel that is based on a plastic substrate instead of glass. By applying film-type encapsulation technology and attaching the protection film to the back of the panel, LG Display made the panel bendable and unbreakable. Compared to an OLED display panel based on glass, the flexible OLED panel is lightweight, thin and features design flexibility. This allows for a design that naturally fits the contour of a smartphone user’s face. What’s more, the panel is also the world’s lightest, weighing a mere 7.2 grams, even with a 6-in. screen, the largest among current smartphone OLED displays. In the future, LG plans to use this process applicable for the production of large-sized devices, including laptops, monitors and TVs, as well as eReaders and more.

Silver Award: Google Chromebook Pixel

Chromebooks are built for the way that people use computers and the web today. They make computing faster, simpler and more secure – for everyone. The LCD on the Chromebook Pixel is stunning, providing users with a rich, immersive experience. The 12.85-in. touch screen had, at launch, the highest pixel density of any laptop (239 ppi), and the 3:2 photographic format is specifically designed for using the web by reducing the need for scrolling. For users, text is crisp, colors are vivid, touch interactions are smooth – and each of the 4.3 million pixels seems to disappear into one spectacular picture. Google used amorphous silicon (a-Si) TFT technology for the pixel to reduce the cost of the glass panel. The transmissivity of its high-ppi a-Si TFT panel was lower than panels fabricated with oxide transistors or low-temperature polysilicon. To attain low-power consumption using a-Si, the company optimized the remaining components (including LEDs, optical films, and light pipe). The company’s goal is to continue to push the laptop experience forward, working with its entire ecosystem of partners to build the next generation of Chrome OS devices.

The 51st SID International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, or Display Week 2014, will take place June 1-6, 2014 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. Display Week is an international gathering of scientists, engineers, manufacturers and users in the field of electronic information displays.

Cima NanoTech, a smart nanomaterials company specializing in high performance transparent conductors, showcased an ultra responsive, non-ITO film-based 42” large format touch screen at SID Display Week. Combining Cima NanoTech’s highly conductive SANTE FS200 touch films and specially engineered multi-chip touch controllers from Silicon integrated Systems Corp. (SiS), the 42” touch screen demo boasts an exceptional scan rate of 150hz for 10-point multi-touch, or a response time of 6.5 milliseconds, allowing end-users to enjoy the instantaneous touch response of smartphones and tablets on large and ultra large format touch displays.

The performance of today’s touch-enabled software is often constrained by the hardware technology accompanying it – and slow response time is one of the main issues. This compromise is even more evident in large format touch screens that are 30-inch and above – a high growth market for self-service retail kiosks, interactive flat panel displays, touch-enabled tabletops and many others. Engineered to possess high conductivity and mechanical flexibility, Cima NanoTech’s SANTE FS200 touch films allow touch panel manufacturers to keep pace with software developers, thus transforming the overall large format touch experience into one that is more enjoyable, interactive and engaging.

“We are excited to be working with SiS to develop best in class, ultra responsive, large format touch screens.” said Jon Brodd, CEO, Cima NanoTech. “We are confident that by leveraging the expertise of both companies, we can fully capitalize on the strong market potential of large format touch screens.”

By working directly with IC chip companies, Cima NanoTech is able to provide touch solutions that are easily integrated into their customer’s existing processes,

shortening the time-to-market of products. In addition, SANTE FS200 touch films are compatible with standard etching and lamination methods, enabling supply chain freedom for touch panel manufacturers.

“The superior multi-point accuracy, high response rate and high sensitivity of the 42” touch demo truly makes it a breakthrough product in the industry, and we look forward to see the innovative applications our customers will use this product for,” commented Eddie Chang, Vice President, Sales, SiS.

Samsung Display announced today that it won the Gold Display of the Year Award with the world’s first 5.68-inch curved super AMOLED display panel at the Society for Information Display’s (SID) Display Week 2014 being held in the San Diego Convention Center June 3-5.

Samsung Display's 5.68-inch flexible display wins Display of Year award at Display Week 2014. (Photo: Business Wire)

Samsung Display’s 5.68-inch flexible display wins Display of Year award at Display Week 2014. (Photo: Business Wire)

Donggun Park, president and CEO of Samsung Display said, “Samsung Display has received one of the highest honors in the display industry by winning the SID Gold Display of the Year Award.” He also said, “We will continue to try to provide the best differentiated solutions to our customers with the most innovative products.”

The SID Display of the Year Awards are the display industry’s most prestigious honor, bestowed annually since 1995 to recognize the best display products and applications introduced to the market during the previous calendar year. Each year, a Gold and a Silver Award winner are selected in each of three categories – Display of the Year, Display Application of the Year, and Display Component of the Year – by the Display Industry Awards Committee based on nominations from SID members and non-members alike.

Samsung Display’s 5.68-inch full HD curved super AMOLED display, selected for Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Round smartphone which was commercialized last year, attracted much attention as the world’s first flexible display. With its concave design, the full HD curved super AMOLED display has received critical acclaim around the world, and set a new milestone in display technology history.

Displaymate, a display research laboratory, recently reviewed the full HD curved, super AMOLED display and referred to it as a very important and major innovation in smartphone display technology, including improving screen visibility by subtly bending away distracting light reflections. It reported its findings in the 2013 Curved and Flexible Smartphone Display Technology Shoot-Out report.

The 400R curvature of Samsung’s full HD curved, super AMOLED display is the key to a series of optical effects that have resulted in significantly reducing interference from reflected ambient light. It substantially improves screen readability, image contrast, color accuracy and overall picture quality, and can also increase the battery run time because the screen brightness and power consumption level can be lowered, due to reduced light interference from ambient reflections.

The Samsung curved Super AMOLED display is a flexible display that can be bended by evaporating organic light-emitting diodes on a polyimide substrate made of a very thin plastic material. It has a 0.28mm thickness, remarkable color reproduction and an unlimited contrast ratio. In addition, it can be regarded as the optimal display for next-generation mobile and wearable devices.

Samsung Display, with its current leading-edge flexible display technology and ambitious further flexible display development plans, intends to move aggressively to expand the flexible display market.

After two years of decline, fab equipment spending for Front End facilities in 2014 is expected to increase 24 percent in 2014 (US$35.7 billion) and about 11 percent (US$39.5 billion).  In terms of equipment spending, 2015 may reach or even surpass historic record year 2011 (about US$39.8 billion). For the May 2014 SEMI World Fab Forecast publication, SEMI tracked more than 200 major projects involving equipment spending for new equipment or upgrades, as well as projects to build new facilities or refurbish existing facilities.   In the last three months, 265 updates were made to the database. See Figure 1.

Figure 1

Figure 1

In 2014, the three largest regions for fab equipment spending will be Taiwan with over US$10.3 billion, the Americas with over US$6.8 billion, and Korea with over US$6.3 billion.  In 2015, these same regions will lead in spending: Taiwan will spend over US$11 billion, Korea over US$8 billion, and the Americas almost US$7 billion. Although in sixth in regional equipment spending this year, the Europe/Mideast region will show the strongest rate of growth, about 79 percent compared to the previous year.  The same region will continue to grow fast in 2015, with an increase of about 20 percent.

Worldwide installed capacity is very low for both 2014 and 2015 and the SEMI data does not suggest that this will change over the next four years. Because of the increased complexity of leading-edge nodes, such as more process steps and multiple patterning, fabs experience a decline in capacity as the same fab space produces less.  Worldwide, installed capacity grew by less than 2 percent in 2013 and is expected to grow just 2.5 percent in 2014 and 3 percent in 2015.

SEMI’s detailed data predict that Foundry capacity continues to grow at 8-10 percent yearly (a steady pace since 2012) and Flash is up 3 to 4 percent for 2014. Although DRAM equipment spending is expected to grow by 40 percent in 2014 as many fabs upgrade to a leading-edge process, installed capacity for DRAM is expected to stay flat or even drop 2 percent.  SEMI’s reports also cover capacity changes for other product segments:  MPU, Logic, Analog/Mixed signal, Power, Discretes, MEMS, and LED and Opto.

The SEMI World Fab Forecast uses a bottom-up approach methodology, providing high-level summaries and graphs, and in-depth analyses of capital expenditures, capacities, technology and products by fab. Additionally, the database provides forecasts for the next 18 months by quarter. These tools are invaluable for understanding how the semiconductor manufacturing will look in 2014 and 2015, and learning more about capex for construction projects, fab equipping, technology levels, and products.

The SEMI Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Subscription (WWSEMS) data tracks only new equipment for fabs and test and assembly and packaging houses.  The SEMI World Fab Forecast and its related Fab Database reports track any equipment needed to ramp fabs, upgrade technology nodes, and expand or change wafer size, including new equipment, used equipment, or in-house equipment.

SEMI today announced the appointment of Osamu Nakamura to the position of president of SEMI Japan effective July 1, 2014. Nakamura will succeed Yoichi Nakagawa, who is retiring from SEMI.

Nakamura assumes full responsibility for SEMI operations in Japan and will oversee development of the association’s programs, committees, products and services in the region.  He is responsible for relationships with SEMI members as well as industry, government, academia and other local associations and constituents in Japan.  Additionally, he is charged with supporting SEMI members from all regions that have interests in SEMICON Japan and the region’s premier microelectronics and advanced manufacturing supply chain event.

“High-technology manufacturing in Japan and the overall industry are undergoing significant changes.  As a highly experienced industry executive and long-time supporter of SEMI, I have great confidence in Nakamura-san to lead the region’s activity for the many SEMI members located or doing business in Japan,” said Denny McGuirk, president and CEO of SEMI.

“On behalf of all those that have worked with Nakagawa-san over his six-year tenure with SEMI, we extend our greatest appreciation and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Nakamura has over 30 years of experience in the semiconductor equipment business in Japan and overseas.  He has held various management positions at Hitachi High Technologies, including head of its Semiconductor Equipment Business.  Prior positions include Managing Director, President and Chief Executive Officer for Hitachi High-Technologies (Singapore) and management positions in semiconductor equipment business operations in both Germany and the United States.

While an industry executive, Nakamura served on the SEMI Japan Regional Advisory Board and was elected to the SEMI International Board of Directors, a position he has vacated to serve as the head of SEMI regional operations. Nakamura earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Waseda University.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced that global semiconductor industry leaders reached an agreement at the 18th annual meeting of the World Semiconductor Council (WSC) last week on a series of policy proposals to strengthen the industry through international cooperation. The WSC is a worldwide body of semiconductor industry executives from China, Chinese Taipei, Europe, Japan, Korea and the United States that meets annually to address issues of global concern to the semiconductor industry. Recommendations from this year’s meeting – held in Taipei, Taiwan – are presented in the 2014 WSC Joint Statement.

“The World Semiconductor Council provides a unique and effective forum for global semiconductor leaders to identify challenges of mutual concern and develop a plan to overcome them,” said Ajit Manocha, 2014 WSC chairman of the U.S. delegation and former CEO of GLOBALFOUNDRIES. “The initiatives presented in the 2014 Joint Statement represent a significant step toward enacting policies that encourage open communication, intergovernmental cooperation, and fair competition throughout the world. I’m especially gratified by the WSC’s unrelenting commitment to achieving duty-free treatment for next-generation semiconductors through expansion of the Information Technology Agreement, which would be one of the most valuable agreements for the global high tech industry in over a decade.”

The Information Technology Agreement (ITA) provides for duty-free treatment of certain information technology products, including semiconductors. An expanded ITA would generate an estimated total of $1.4 trillion in annual world trade. It would provide the first opportunity to include newly developed products resulting from the dynamic technological developments in the information technology sector since 1996, when the ITA was originally concluded.

The WSC seeks expanded coverage in the ITA for new and innovative semiconductor products, including multi-component semiconductors (MCOs). MCOs comprise a growing share of the global semiconductor market, and will be key to continued growth and innovation in a vast range of downstream products, services, and sectors, providing the basis for much needed economic growth and jobs. Inclusion of MCOs in an expanded ITA would result in global annual tariff savings of between $150-300 million.

Industry leaders are said to have discussed the following issues:

  • Developing a set of actions to combat semiconductor counterfeiting.
  • Strengthening intellectual property (IP) rights and protections via work and analysis of issues related to utility model patents, patent quality, abusive patent litigation, and trade secrets.
  • Working with global governments on implementation of encryption standards and regulations to eliminate problematic practices.
  • Expressing the need for all governments and industries to maintain market-oriented practices and make sure that success is based on real competitive value.
  • Affirming the global industry’s commitment to improving export control processes and procedures.
  • Maintaining progress toward reducing the industry’s PFC emissions and ensuring proper attention to other environmental and supply chain matters.
  • Asserting the critical importance of trade facilitation in achieving free and open markets, reducing barriers to trade, and improving business conditions that provide significant benefits to governments, industry, and consumers alike.

Industry representatives from the six regions will deliver these recommendations to an annual meeting of their governments, called the Governments and Authorities Meeting on Semiconductors (GAMS), which will take place in Fukuoka, Japan this October. The GAMS meeting represents an opportunity for industry to convey the importance of implementing the recommendations and explore areas of mutual interest with governments and authorities worldwide.

“The semiconductor industry is a key driver of economic growth and innovation in the United States and around the world,” said Brian Toohey, president and CEO, Semiconductor Industry Association. “Ours is a global industry with global challenges. We must work proactively and cooperatively with our international counterparts to ensure we have fair, open, and transparent access to international markets. The agreement reached by the World Semiconductor Council offers a path forward that opens markets, increases consumers’ ability to benefit from the latest semiconductor technologies, and strengthens market-based competition.”

Applied Materials, Inc. today introduced the Endura Ventura PVD system that helps customers reduce the cost of fabricating smaller, lower power, high-performance integrated 3D chips. The system incorporates Applied’s latest innovations to its industry-leading PVD technology that enables the deposition of thin, continuous barrier and seed layers in through-silicon-vias (TSVs). Demonstrating Applied’s precision materials engineering expertise, the Ventura system also uniquely supports the use of titanium in volume production as an alternate barrier material for lower cost. With the launch of the Ventura system, Applied is expanding its comprehensive toolset for wafer level packaging (WLP) applications, including TSVs, redistribution layer (RDL) and Bump.

TSVs are a critical technology for vertically fabricating smaller and lower power future mobile and high-bandwidth devices. Vias are short vertical interconnects that pass through the silicon wafer, connecting the active side of the device to the back side of the die, providing the shortest interconnect path between multiple chips. Integrating 3D stacked devices requires greater than 10:1 aspect ratio TSV interconnect structures to be metallized with copper. The new Ventura tool solves this challenge with innovations in materials and deposition technology to manufacture TSVs more cost-effectively than previous industry solutions.

“Building on 15 years of leadership in copper interconnect technology, the Ventura system enables fabrication of robust high-aspect ratio TSVs, with up to 50 percent barrier seed cost savings compared to copper interconnect PVD systems,” said Dr. Sundar Ramamurthy, vice president and general manager of Metal Deposition Products at Applied Materials. “These innovations deliver a higher-performance and more functional, yet, compact chip package with less power consumption to meet leading-edge computing needs. Customers are realizing the benefits of this new PVD system and are qualifying it for volume manufacturing.”

Supporting the manufacture of high-yielding 3D chips, the Ventura system introduces advances in ionized PVD technology that assure the integrity of the barrier and seed layers that are critical to superior gap-fill and interconnect reliability. These developments significantly improve ion directionality to enable the deposition of thin, continuous and uniform metal layers deep into the vias to achieve the void-free fill necessary for robust TSVs. With the improvement in directionality, higher deposition rates can be achieved, while the amount of barrier and seed material needed can be reduced. These attributes of the Ventura system and the adoption of titanium as an alternate barrier are expected to improve device reliability and reduce the overall cost of ownership for TSV metallization.

Applied Materials, Inc. provides equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products.

The market for ultra-high-definition (UHD) TV panels reached a significant new benchmark in March when global shipments exceeded 1 million units for the first time, driven by vastly increased deliveries from the industry’s three largest makers of the high-end panels, according to a new report from IHS Technology.

UHD TV panel shipments amounted to 1.1 million units in March, nearly a threefold increase from 384,300 units a month earlier in February, as shown in the attached table. The gains are even more spectacular when measured from the same time a year ago in March 2013, when total UHD TV panels had not yet cracked the 150,000 mark.

“From the time UHD TV panels were introduced to the world for the first time in 2012, demand for these cutting-edge displays has been slow in growing, mainly because the televisions using the panels have proved prohibitively expensive,” said Linda Lin, senior analyst for large displays at IHS. “But with the technology becoming more pervasive, coupled with increasingly aggressive marketing from panel manufacturers, UHD TV panels are starting to take off.”

Contributing to the market’s exceptional showing in March were UHD pre-stocking orders for China’s Labor Day holiday at the beginning of May, and the FIFA World Cup in June. Holidays in China are often a high point of anticipation for panel makers as Chinese consumers shop more, while global sports events like the World Cup trigger higher sales than usual for large-sized or higher-technology television sets.

UHD TV panels feature four times the resolution of full high-definition 1080p panels, boasting even higher contrast ratios and extremely lifelike images. Underscoring the dramatic surge of shipments in March, four of the market’s six panel makers enjoyed shipment growth rates last month exceeding 100 percent compared to February levels.

These findings can be found in the report, “LCD Shipment Database April 2014,” from the IHS Displays service.

South Koreans help stoke market

Of the world’s six top UHD TV panel makers, Taiwan’s Innolux led the market in March. Its shipments for 50-inch panels alone amounted to approximately 210,000 units, making up 47 percent of the firm’s total UHD TV panel deliveries.

In second place was Samsung Display Co. (SDC) of South Korea, whose 55-inch panels climbed 160 percent for the month. SDC also mass-produced new 40- and 48-inch UHD TV panels for the first time.

In third place was fellow Korean maker LG Display Co. (LGD), which also enjoyed the biggest month-to-month growth at 395 percent. It shipped new 42-inch UHD panels for the first time while also doubling shipments in 49-, 55-, and 65-inch panels.

Even though South Korean makers are late to the UHD TV panel market, they are now beginning to launch lower-cost UHD TV displays, including the so-called “Green” panels from SDC and G+ panels LGD. The Green panel, for instance, allows the reduction of UHD panel manufacturing costs by using fewer display driver integrated circuits and a different pixel pattern with only three-quarters of true 3180 x 2160 UHD resolution,

But even if the picture quality for lower-cost Green UHD panels is not nearly as good as those with true UHD resolutions, the cheaper cost of the former is catching the attention of TV vendors, IHS believes.

Other top global UHD TV panel makers include AUO of Taiwan in fourth place, China’s CSOT in fifth, and Japan’s Sharp in sixth. The top four makers each had monthly shipment growth rates surpassing 100 percent, while AUO and CSOT each saw shipments in March rise by more than 50 percent.

Price will be key to accelerating growth in 2014

The major driving force this year in UHD panel growth will be the expansion of South Korean makers because of their new lower-cost panels. By year-end, UHD shipments are forecast to reach 15.2 million units, up sharply from 3.1 million in 2013, accounting for 6 percent of the total LCD TV panel market this year. Panels 60-inch or larger will be the star performers, expected to take 27 percent of the total UHD panel space.

The strongest demand at present for UHD TVs comes from the Chinese TV market, where the advantages presented by UHD resolutions play especially well to consumers. Having already adopted 3-D technology and the Smart TV concept—both of which are better realized on UHD panels—the Chinese market understands the benefits of UHD TV panels, said Kacie Cavanaugh, analyst for large displays at IHS.

UHD panels to increase faster than other TV panels in next five years

Shipments of UHD panels are likely to increase faster than the total TV panel market. Demand for UHD panels will grow to 68.4 million units by 2018, up 350 percent from 2014, IHS predicts. In comparison, TV panel shipments in general will rise just 12 percent.

Two major obstacles to the success of UHD technology in the market place are the high price of both the panel and the end unit, as well as the lack of readily available content.

The lack of higher-resolution content continues to be a problem for UHD because no broadcast programming is available so far. However, streaming UHD content has become available in the U.S. and is planned for other regions as well, and some set manufacturers are offering UHD film titles with their UHD media players. Even if the upscaled material does not match the level of a true UHD screen, the picture is still of higher quality than what full HD can deliver.