Category Archives: FPDs and TFTs

February 3, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), Samsung Corning Precision Materials Co., Ltd. (SCP), and the AMLCD division of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEC) renewed, for five more years, the two main agreements for their businesses.

Corning Incorporated and SCP signed a five-year renewal of Corning’s technology license agreement with SCP. This license agreement was effective beginning in January, 2012 and continues the 17-year equity venture’s position as a leading supplier of glass substrates to Korea’s liquid crystal display (LCD) industry. Samsung Corning Precision Materials is a highly successful equity company formed by Corning and Samsung in 1995.

Also read: Samsung plans record investments in 2012

Also effective in January, SCP and SEC signed a five-year renewal of SCP’s long term supply agreement with SEC. Samsung Corning Precision Materials is the majority supplier of the award-winning Corning EAGLE XG glass to SEC. Samsung Corning Precision Materials also supplies LCD substrates to other display manufacturers in Korea.

“Samsung Corning Precision Materials remains a leading supplier of high-quality glass substrates for some of the largest LCD manufacturers in the industry,” said James P. Clappin, president, Corning Glass Technologies. “This licensing agreement renews Corning’s foundational support, providing SCP with our industry-leading technology and glass science for panel makers in Korea. We look forward to helping SCP provide Samsung and other customers in Korea with the advanced LCD glass needed for their next-generation consumer electronics,” Clappin stated.

Corning Incorporated provides specialty glass and ceramics. Go to www.corning.com.

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February 3, 2012 — Tokyo Electron Ltd. restructured its organization, with a new "Organic EL Division" established under GM Takeshi Okubo, as well as other new and consolidating subsidiaries in the semiconductor and liquid crystal production segments. All of the changes announced will take effect on April 1, 2012.

The Next Generation Deposition Development Center will be newly established under TEL’s SPE Process Development Division, led by GM Gishi Chung. The company will do away with its MEMS Development Department (part of the "New Product Development Division").
 
Three departments — New Products Development, FPD Photo Process Equipment, and FPD Dry Process Equipment — will merge to form FPD Process Equipment Department.

The company will establish a new subsidiary in Singapore for sales and services support of semiconductor production equipment and parts in Singapore and South East Asia. The subsidiary will operate as Tokyo Electron Singapore PTE Ltd.

Tokyo Electron Ltd. will merge its Tokyo Electron Korea Ltd. subsidiary into its Tokyo Electron Korea Solution Ltd. to increase operational efficiencies. The merger is expected to be approved this month, with execution in April 2012. Tokyo Electron Korea Solution Ltd. will change its trading name to Tokyo Electron Korea Ltd. The subsidiary manufactures, purchases and sells semiconductor production equipment, liquid crystal production equipment, and related parts, raw materials, and accessories.

The company also made several personnel changes related to these changes; the list can be found on its website at http://www.tel.com/eng/news/2012/0203_002.htm.

Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) is a global supplier of semiconductor and related production equipment. Learn more at www.tel.com

February 1, 2012 — W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) introduced a 20 nm-rated polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) filter, available in a high density polyethylene (HDPE) cartridge. The filter is optimized for the bulk processing of high-purity chemicals used in semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing.

Combined with the low metal ion and organic extractables of an all-HDPE cartridge, these filter cartridges enable a drop-in retention upgrade that maintains existing system flow, Gore reports: comparable to a best-in-class competitive 0.05µm-rated PTFE membrane filter (see figure below).

The filters use advanced Gore PTFE membrane structure to boost particle retention and process capacity. Available retention ratings include 0.1µm and 30nm, in addition to the 20nm product. The filter increases open porous area for fluid flow, using the unique structure for retention performance.

GORE PTFE filtration media is used in filters for semiconductor, electronics, ultrapure water and high-purity chemical applications. Visit www.gore.com/hdpefilters.

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January 31, 2012 – PRNewswire via COMTEX — Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM), and e-reader provider Koobe Inc., announced the next-generation Jin Yong Reader uses mirasol micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) display technology. The original Jin Yong Reader had a black and white display. The e-reader is available in Taiwan.

Taiwan is the home for Qualcomm MEMS Technologies’ growing manufacturing base, said Clarence Chui, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc. The mirasol display is the industry’s first to use interferometric modulation (IMOD); a micro-electro-mechanical systems-based technology capable of creating color from ambient reflected light. Qualcomm’s mirasol displays are bi-stable, energy efficient, offer refresh rates to support interactive content and are highly reflective, allowing for superb viewing quality in a wide range of environmental conditions, including bright sunlight.

The MEMS-based mirasol display offers a "new and compelling experience by adding color and interactive content without sacrificing outdoor visibility and battery life," said Simon Hsu, general manager of Koobe Inc.

Qualcomm has had design wins in e-readers for the Chinese and Korean markets with the mirasol display.

Also read: Color displays could boost e-reader sales in coming years

The next-generation Jin Yong Reader, named after China’s best-selling living author, comes preloaded with Jin Yong’s acclaimed 15 novel set (compiled in 36 volumes) and includes access to Koobe’s content libraries, which feature thousands of novels, comics, interactive e-books, animated picture books and magazines.

The Jin Yong Reader features a 5.7" XGA format (1024 x 768 pixels) mirasol display (screen resolution of 223 ppi) and Qualcomm’s 1.0 GHz Snapdragon(TM) S2 processor. Koobe’s custom application interface sits atop an Android 2.3 base.

Koobe provides e-reader solutions to the Greater China market. For more information, please visit http://www.koobe.com.tw/.

Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc. is a business of Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM), which makes 3G and next-generation mobile technologies. Learn more at http://www.mirasoldisplays.com/.

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PARC, a Xerox Company, is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of thin film transistors, circuits, and sensors. With a 40 year history of commercial innovation, PARC scientists have a deep knowledge of printing technology applied in domains such as displays, image sensors, and medical sensors, PARC’s technical expertise and facility support printed dielectrics, nanoparticle metals, organic, oxide, and silicon (amorphous, polycrystalline, printed nanowire) semiconductors.

Solid State Technology editor Pete Singer caught up with Janos Veres, area manager for printed electronics in the electronic materials and devices laboratory at PARC. Veres’ current interests are in combining disruptive material, process, and device technologies — for printed, flexible circuits; sensor and memory arrays; batteries and display devices — all with a focus on early commercialization opportunities. Janos has experience in components such as novel printed circuits, organic transistors, and printable semiconductors; applications such as OLEDs, displays, and RFID; as well as printing/coating technologies including electrophotography, flexography, and offset printing.

Before joining PARC, Veres was the CTO at PolyPhotonix, where he developed radically new process technologies for OLED devices. Prior to that, he worked at Eastman Kodak as their Program Manager of Printed Electronics, and was a Business Research Associate at Merck Chemicals (formerly Avecia) where he led several of the world’s first demonstrators built using novel electronic materials. Janos also set up unique pilot production lines for solution coating when he was responsible for Organic Photoreceptor development at Gestetner Byfleet. Dr. Veres holds a Ph.D. in Solid State Electronics from Imperial College in London and an MSc in Physical Electronics with distinction from Lviv Technical University in Ukraine.

Veres said described printed electronics as a relatively new field, with the “early years” being only 10-12 years ago. The focus is on materials that can be formulated as inks and deposited over large areas. This is quite useful for applications such as flexible displays, which was the original focus of the work, and more recently on smart cards and printed tags.  Recent progress has printed electronic transistors inching closer to those produced in polysilicon.

“We never believed that they might one day compete with amorphous silicon,” Veres notes. “That’s happened and probably 4-5 years ago, we saw that barrier broken. That means we can now take organic materials and achieve the same kind of performance that you see in displays. That progress is carrying on and at the lab level, you can build devices that are now performing better than what amorphous silicon offers. The progress will not stop there. We might see a significant improvement in mobilities at which point devices we build might be competing with polysilicon.”

This kind of progress could disrupt conventional microelectronics manufacturing. “A factory might look very different than the conventional microelectronics factory. It might look more like a printing press than a microelectronics fab,” Veres said.

Listen to the podcast interview with Veres below:

 

January 30, 2012 — Jenoptik’s Optical Systems division, optical systems supplier to the semiconductor and flat panel display (FPD) equipment segment, received an order from an Asian customer worth several million euros.

The order is for the production of complex optical systems in the field of flat panel display equipment. The systems have already been developed by Jenoptik and will be integrated into a new production system. The order will be delivered in 2012.

Through its Optical Systems division, the Jenoptik Group delivers precision optics and systems. Besides offering customized systems, modules and assemblies, the Optical Systems division is a development and production partner for optical, microoptical and coated optical components – made of optical glasses, IR materials as well as polymers. The Optical Systems division has outstanding expertise in the development and manufacture of optics and microoptics for beam shaping used in the semiconductor industry and laser material processing. The product portfolio also includes optical and opto-electronic systems and components for applications in defense & security, health care & life science, digital imaging, machine vision as well as lighting. Learn more at http://www.jenoptik.com/en-optical-systems.

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This article was originally published in the DisplaySearch Monitor, January 2012, by Charles Annis, DisplaySearch.

Annis shares 10 trends in liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing, covering LTPS, IGZO, alignment technologies, metallization techs, 2µm resolution lithograhy patterns on Gen 8 glass, and more.

The LCD industry faces heady challenges. Pure play LCD makers have lost money 5 quarters in a row and it looks to continue. The equipment market is expected to drop a record 63% in 2012. Fab utilization remains stuck in the 70% range. However, LCD makers have continuously improved manufacturing technology, and are applying revolutionary new technologies. Adoption of new manufacturing technology in 2012 will make the highest-quality, lowest-cost flat panel displays (FPDs) available to consumers worldwide, especially in smartphones and tablets.

Figure 1. Top 10 LCD manufacturing technology trends of 2012. Source: DisplaySearch TFT LCD Process Roadmap Report.

1: Most LCDs are produced using amorphous silicon thin-film transitors (a-Si TFTs). Although a-Si suffers from poor mobility, it is a low-cost semiconductor material acceptable for many applications. However, as FPD performance has continued to increase over time, the need for higher mobility backplanes has grown. The main reasons for this are to reduce TFT size for super-high resolution small/medium LCDs to increase transmission and battery life as well as to provide sufficient current to drive active-matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) devices.

Low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) has been in mass production for more than 10 years, a great technology in need of appropriate applications. High-resolution LCDs and AMOLEDs are a substantial growth opportunity for LTPS. In 2012, LTPS manufacturing will take off as SMD, Sharp, and Toshiba all ramp up new Gen 5.5/6 LTPS fabs and as SMD begins production on its Gen 8 LTPS pilot line.

2: Indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) offers mobility performance somewhere between a-Si and LTPS. Although it is a less mature technology than LTPS, IGZO processes are quite similar to conventional a-Si, with only a marginal capital cost add (around 20%) compared to 2X the additional capital required to produce high-performance LTPS panels. Sharp started IGZO pilot production late in 2011, and LG Display and Samsung are expected to follow in 2012.

Figure 2. Equipment spending by technology. Source: DisplaySearch Q4’11 Quarterly FPD Supply/Demand and Capital Spending Report.

3: Polymer stabilized alignment (PSA) and optical alignment (OA) are the two main technologies to improve performance of the alignment process. Both simultaneously improve image quality — mainly by improving contrast — and lower costs by improving transmission. Production of OA will increase significantly in 2012, as Sharp applies it to FFS-type panels and licenses its VA technology to other manufacturers.

4: Advanced resolution exposure refers to the pattering of very fine features in the FPD array. Conventional photolithography for Gen 5 and larger substrates has historically been limited to 3µm at best. In 2012, leading FPD lithography tool vendors are expected to release next-generation tools that enable 2µm resolution on glass sizes up to Gen 8. Market forces are driving the push to higher resolution pattering:

  • Increase aperture ratio for super high resolution displays
  • Complicated AMOLED pixel designs
  • Narrow pixel electrode patterns for PSA and FFS to increase transmission 
  • Novel pixel designs such as short channel TFTs

5: The most important trend in liquid crystal is the continuous shift towards FFS as the LC mode of choice for mobile applications, particularly for those that adopt touch. FFS, only a few years ago, seemed like it would become a niche technology compared to conventional IPS and VA. However, because it offers superior transmission, off-axis viewing, and resistance to touch mura, FFS continues to gain share not only in mobile applications but also in some large-area applications.

Figure 3. LC Mode by TFT Capacity (000 m²). Source: DisplaySearch TFT LCD Process Roadmap Report.

6: Super high aperture (SHA) ratio pixel designs typically use an extra organic planarization layer in the array process to planarize the device and increase the vertical gap between the pixel ITO and bus lines. This reduces unwanted capacitive coupling and enables the pixel electrode to be extended over the gate and data lines without causing cross-talk or affecting image quality — thus increasing aperture area. Higher transmission can lower backlight costs by reducing LEDs, brightness enhancement film, etc. Despite a yield trade-off and additional costs to implement, SHA has grown rapidly since 2009. It is now commonly applied to higher resolution mobile products and also, in many cases, to large-area LCDs. About 25% of all LCDs now adopt an SHA process.

7: Low resistance metallization now refers to copper. Cu has the lowest resistivity of any of the other bus line metals that have been used historically to manufacture LCDs, with several benefits:

  • Thinner gate and source line, which can help increase transmission
  • Reduces RC delay issues
  • May reduce costs by eliminating dual-scan driver drivers 
  • The major trade-off is reduced yield. LG Display implemented it for large-scale commercial production in Gen 6.

Its IP position has made it difficult for other manufacturers to adopt. Regardless, Cu adoption has grown rapidly since 2009 as various alternatives have been developed. Several top-tier LCD manufacturers are now using copper, though some are still in the development stage.

8: Color filter on array (COA) is a technology that was developed many years ago, but has been widely adopted only since 2009. COA moves the RGB color patterns from the opposite glass to the array glass, with several benefits:

  • Improved contrast
  • Increased aperture ratio (the thick organic color resist enables the same sort of high aperture pixel designs as SHA by allowing the pixel electrode to be extended over the bus line)
  • Reduced BM width
  • Reduced alignment errors between array and opposite glass issue
  • Possible improvement in cell process curing performance 
  • Like many new manufacturing technologies, the trade-off in implementing is yield. In 2011, LG Display became the third top-tier manufacturer to implement COA in mass production of large-area LCDs, and further growth is expected in 2012.
Figure 4. COA concept. Source: DisplaySearch TFT LCD Process Roadmap Report, and Samsung.

9: The key trend related to glass is no longer size increases — it is reducing thickness. Historically, glass substrate size growth was the most important trend in LCD manufacturing. Through Gen 8, a new glass size was introduced every one or two years. However, this trend has slowed significantly due to endemic over-supply and high capital costs of larger fabs. Motivations to adopt thin glass vary by small/medium and large-area applications. For small/medium, reducing thickness enables a thinner, lighter LCD required for mobile applications. For large-area LCDs, reducing glass costs has been an important target for panel makers. In 2012, 0.4mm glass for =Gen 5 and 0.5mm for +Gen 8 is expected to grow dramatically.

10: Black matrix (BM) width reduction has been an ongoing trend for several years and is forecast to continue in 2012. The main benefit is an improvement in transmission by increasing the pixel aperture area. Here are some examples:

  • 25µm BM width = 60% aperture
  • 15µm BM width = 75% aperture 
  • 10µm BM width = 80% aperture
Figure 5. BM width reduction. Source: DisplaySearch TFT LCD Process Roadmap Report.

An increase in brightness is the most common target for manufacturing technologies. This is not due to panel makers trying to increase device brightness, but because brightness can be traded off to lower costs or power consumption. Resolution is the second most common target, mainly because both smartphones and tablets are rapidly driving the mobile market. These applications are also pushing reduced weight and thickness. Also read: Mobile drives display materials development in 2012  

More information about current LCD manufacturing trends can be found in the newly released TFT LCD Process Roadmap Report. The report focuses on key current industry trends such as LTPS, oxide semiconductors like IGZO, super high resolution displays, FFS, optical alignment, and other technologies related to smart phones, tablets, and Apple, as well as large-area displays for TVs and other applications. Learn more about the report from DisplaySearch LLC, an NPD Group Company, at www.displaysearch.com.

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January 24, 2012 — Active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) TVs drew a crowd at International CES 2012 in Las Vegas this month, but manufacturing challenges and expensive fab materials will limit global shipments of the sets for several years, says IHS iSuppli. IHS compares the 55" AMOLED TVs from LG Display and Samsung, each using different manufacturing technologies for the OLED displays.

In 2012, 34,000 AMOLED TVs will ship. Global AMOLED TV shipments will hit 2.1 million units in 2015, just 1% of the total flat-panel market, shows a new IHS iSuppli Small and Medium Displays service.

Figure. IHS iSuppli AMOLED TV shipment forecast.
  2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Thousands of Units 20 22 34 321 935 2,107

Manufacturing yield is too low for AMOLED TVs, keeping prices "dramatically higher than those of liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs," said Vinita Jakhanwal, director of small/medium and OLED displays at IHS. AMOLED manufacturing efficiencies and output yields are unlikely to match those of LCDs for the next three years. Large-sized AMOLED panel production faces issues with scaling manufacturing to newer-generation fabs. And the small pool of materials suppliers is keeping materials costs high.

Also read: OLED trends: Materials, color patterning advances and the display race

Billions of dollars have been invested in large-panel AMOLED display technology, by companies like LG Display and Samsung Electronics, which brought 55" units to CES. Recent innovations in AMOLED backplane technology, materials and equipment and suppliers’ investments in newer-generation AMOLED fabs have made these AMOLED TVs possible. However, pricing remains much higher compared to current LCD TVs in the market. In 2012, 55" AMOLED TVs ($8000) will cost about $4300 more than equivalent LCD TVs. The display improvements realized by AMOLED TVs are unlikely to sway consumers until this price gap drops to about 20%, Jakhanwal reports.

IHS iSuppli expects AMOLED display suppliers, equipment makers, material makers and TV makers to cooperate in developing more efficient and cost effective ways in order to make large-sized AMOLED panels, eventually pushing prices down.

Early production of 55" AMOLED panels is likely to be conducted at existing Gen-8 amorphous silicon (a-Si) LCD fabs that will be converted to make the oxide silicon backplanes needed for AMOLEDs. Both LGD and Samsung plan to move mass production to eighth-generation AMOLED lines in the future.

LG Display’s 55" 3D, 3840 by 1260 definition AMOLED TV boasts of features that exceed any other flat-panel TV now on the market. The television is only 4 millimeters thick and weighs 17 pounds. It also has a pixel speed that is 1,000 times faster and consumes only one-third of the power compared to conventional LCDs. LG Display indicated the price for its 55" AMOLED TV is expected to decline to $4,000 by 2013 (comparable LCD TVs will likely cost less than $1,000). Samsung also showcased a 55-inch 3-D AMOLED television with similar specifications. LGD and Samsung are expected to begin shipping their OLED TVs to the market by the third quarter of 2012, in time for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

Table. A comparison of AMOLED and LCD televisions specifications. SOURCE: IHS iSuppli.

Specification AMOLED LED
(Edge-Lit)		 LCD
Size 55-inches 55-inches 55-inches
Display Resolution 3840×2160
(Ultra Definition)		 1920×1080
(Full HD)		 1920×1080
(Full HD)
Contrast Ratio 100,000,000:1 10,000,000:1 150,000:1
Response Time 1 millisecond 1 sec. 2 sec.
Wide Viewing Angle 178°x178° 178°x178° 178°x178°
Thickness 4mm 1.2in 3.8in
Power Consumption (Max.) 74W 230W 310W
Weight 17 lb. 62 lb 66 lb.
Price $8,000 $3,700 $1,000

LG Display and Samsung used different AMOLED technology in the TV sets they brought to CES.

Samsung’s AMOLED TV panel uses a horizontal red/green/blue (RGB) pixel structure, which requires a fine metal mask (FMM) for the AMOLED material patterning. This is challenging to implement on large substrates, due to fine-pitch alignment requirements for the FMM and glass substrate.

Samsung’s AMOLED technology mainly uses low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) LCD as the backplane. However, for larger fabs, the company may consider working with oxide silicon backplanes as an intermediary step before new-generation low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) backplanes are available.

LGD’s AMOLED panel used a vertical white-OLED (WOLED) pixel structure with a color filter, eliminating the need for an RGB mask and associated alignment. However, this approach needs an additional color filter. The oxide silicon backplane of LGD’s 55-inch TV likely will be manufactured at LGD’s existing eighth-generation a-Si LCD fab. LGD indicated that such a conversion of an existing a-Si fab to make oxide silicon backplanes will require almost 50% less investment than a new LTPS LCD fab. This fab, according to LGD, is able to do three half-cuts of 55" displays from one substrate.

Access the IHS iSuppli Small and Medium Displays service.

IHS (NYSE: IHS) provides analysis on energy and power; design and supply chain; defense, risk and security; environmental, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability; country and industry forecasting; and commodities, pricing and cost. Learn more at www.ihs.com.

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January 23, 2012 — The LCD TV market saw a rapid shift toward sizes larger than 40" at the end of 2011, as consumers, particularly in North America and China, took advantage of new sizes and more affordable prices. As larger sizes such as 46”, 47”, 55”, 60” and 65” are being adopted by consumers, display panel makers are also developing other new large size TV panels, including 43”, 48”, 50”, 70”, 75”, 80” and even larger.

In light of this strong end-market adoption, NPD DisplaySearch increased its forecast for LCD TV area demand. According to the NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Worldwide FPD Shipment and Forecast Report, LCD TV panel demand will reach 85 million square meters in 2012, nearly 2% higher than the previous forecast. NPD DisplaySearch has also increased the area demand forecast from 2013 to 2018 to account for increased 40"+ LCD TV demand. Market share for 40"+ panels is also growing; in 2015, 40"+ sizes are expected to account for 38% of total LCD TV panel demand (previously forecasted at 34%).

Figure 1. LCD TV Demand Area – Q3’11 and Q4’11 (Millions m²). Source: NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Worldwide FPD Shipment and Forecast Report.

North America and China are the 2 largest global LCD TV markets, and consumers in these locations are adopting 40"+ LCD TVs robustly, said David Hsieh, VP, NPD DisplaySearch. "Consumers are responding to promotions to buy larger sizes. Panel makers are working to push this trend further by producing larger panels more efficiently. The increase in LCD TV area demand means more capacity consumption. This will be an important aspect in balancing TFT LCD supply/demand."

New panel sizes such as 39”, 43”, 48”, 50” and 65” are being manufactured in the same Gen 6 through Gen 8 fabs, but now offer better glass substrate utilization efficiency. TV makers are combining ultra-slim bezels, direct-type LED backlights, and other user-friendly features with attractive prices on these models. Even larger sizes such as 58"-84" can be produced with high-end features — 21:9 cinema form factor or 4Kx2K resolution — to draw consumers.

Figure 2. 40"+ LCD TV Percentage in Total LCD TV -Q3’11 and Q4’11 (Unit Basis). Source: NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Worldwide FPD Shipment and Forecast Report.

The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Worldwide FPD Shipment and Forecast Report covers quarterly worldwide shipments of all major flat panel applications. With over 140 FPD producers across 10+ countries, this report analyzes historical shipments and forecast projections to provide some of the most detailed information and insights available. NPD DisplaySearch is a global market research and consulting firm specializing in the display supply chain, as well as the emerging photovoltaic/solar cell industries. Learn more at http://www.displaysearch.com/.

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January 23, 2012 — Texas Instruments (TI, NASDAQ:TXN) DLP Products released DLP LightCrafter, an advanced, compact evaluation module for TI’s spatial light steering DLP technology. Designers can use the evaluation module to create industrial, medical, security and scientific products, among others.

The evaluation kit is built around the reference design for Texas Instruments’ 0.3" WVGA resolution DLP chipset for high-speed spatial light modulation. The chipset comprises the DLP3000 micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) device with 415,872 microscopic mirrors, and the DLPC300 controller for high-speed operation of the micromirror array. DLP LightCrafter integrates the 0.3 WVGA chipset with an RGB LED light engine that is capable of producing more than 20 lumens of light output. DLP LightCrafter also includes Texas Instruments’ TMS320DM365 embedded processor; 128MB of NAND flash memory for pattern storage; an embedded Linux OS; and a configurable I/O trigger for integrating cameras, sensors, and other peripheral devices.

THe 0.3" WVGA chipset displays up to 4000 binary patterns per second, and is commonly used in pico projectors.

DLP LightCrafter offers enhanced processing speed and power for developers to create, store, and display high-speed pattern sequences through DLP LightCrafter’s USB-based application programming interface (API) and graphical user interface (GUI). It joins TI’s development kit platform, targeting reduced development time and greater creativity.

"Over the past few years, our company has had great success in using DLP’s development tools to build out our designs for contactless, 3D fingerprint scanners, among other biometrics products," said Mike Troy, CEO, FlashScan3D. "DLP technology allows us to capture greater detail in fingerprints with higher accuracy, thus cutting down on the possibilities of technician error and fraud, and with the new DLP LightCrafter development module, we can scan prints faster, store data internally versus on a laptop or separate storage device and, because of its size, create even smaller, portable products."

Texas Instruments will show DLP LightCrafter at SPIE Photonics West, January 24-26 in San Francisco, CA at booth #2415.

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) is a global semiconductor company. Texas Instruments’ award-winning DLP MEMS display technology has powered the world’s top projectors and displays, delivering pictures rich with color, contrast, clarity and brightness to screens of all sizes. DLP’s technology spans movie theaters (DLP Cinema) and large-scale, professional venues; in conference rooms, classrooms, and home theaters; and with DLP Pico-enabled mobile devices, the ability to project images from the palm of your hand. Learn more at www.TI.com/DLPLightCrafter.

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