Category Archives: Displays

February 28, 2012 — Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:CY) released a single-layer touchscreen sensor with multitouch capability, the SLIM (Single-Layer Independent Multitouch) sensor. SLIM is a single-substrate, single-layer indium tin oxide (ITO) touchscreen sensor with no additional insulation layers or bridges. It can be deposited directly on the display’s cover glass.

The product targets low-cost, high-accuracy touchscreen phones — including feature phones — with pinch, zoom, flick, drag, and other gesture recognition in capacitive touchscreens. It costs reportedly 40% less than other multi-touch sensors, with a thinner sensor module.

The SLIM sensor pattern can eliminate the requirement for a 2mm side bezel on each side of the end product. Borderless diplay modules using the SLIM touch sensor can use larger displays without changing the phone form factor.

The SLIM sensor is available with Cypress’ Gen4 controllers, among others, with noise immunity for sensor-on-lens configurations that are directly laminated to the display with no shielding or air gaps. Cypress has developed proprietary algorithms that interface with the single-layer sensor. Cypress’s TrueTouch technology also has high signal to noise ratio (SNR), fast refresh rates, low power consumption, and high accuracy and linearity.

Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable electronics products. Cypress trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at www.cypress.com.

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Europe’s leading organic and large-area electronics (OLAE) organizations have joined forces in the Framework 7 project COLAE, which aims to speed up the commercialization and adoption of organic and large area electronics by promoting collaboration between industry clusters throughout Europe. COLAE will utilize the resources and know-how of the project partners to provide tools and services for the existing organic electronics industry, as well as supporting the entry of new players.

The OLAE market is expected to grow swiftly, with leading forecasters predicting a worldwide industry worth up to $96bn by 2020 (IDTechEx, 2011) as it promises the opportunity for low cost manufacturing of electronic circuits on rigid or flexible substrates leading to the creation of an innovative range of products such as flexible displays, large-area lighting, logic & memory, sensors, batteries, smart bandages, intelligent tickets, low-cost solar cells and entirely new physical forms for functional electronic devices. Ilkka Kaisto of VTT, the project coordinator says, “The COLAE collaboration will allow Europe to remain at the forefront of developing this key technology area, while driving future advancements in highly lucrative markets.”

COLAE will provide training events for newcomers to the technology as well as for experienced researchers and production staff. “We aim to help Europe’s OLAE technologists stay at the leading edge. We need a strong and growing talent pool in order to compete on a global level,” says Chris Rider of The Cambridge Integrated Knowledge Centre (CIKC). COLAE will also provide training to stimulate entrepreneurship within the sector.

COLAE will help companies assess the viability of implementing their product ideas using OLAE technologies, with technology feasibility analyses covering a wide range of topics from IPR landscaping to product design and cost estimation. In addition, COLAE will assist companies in accessing pilot production facilities located throughout the COLAE network.

The COLAE project will create a ‘virtual foundry’ which will offer a networked hub of expertise and facilities that can be accessed by companies across Europe. Martin Raditsch of InnovationLab in Germany says “This is a real opportunity for business to de-risk their development by not investing in facilities until their product is ready for large scale production. The partners bring together a real variety of knowhow and services which together can provide integrated solutions for the industry”.

As well as assisting OLAE organizations, COLAE will focus on raising awareness with end users. “We have a remit to get end users interested in using organic electronics in their products. These technologies can revolutionize some of the main application areas but the manufacturers may not realize that the opportunities are out there,” says Ed Van Den Kieboom of Innovation Fab in The Netherlands.

“This project involves some of the key movers and shakers in the OLAE industry, and together we can make a real difference to the pace of commercialization and adoption for this exciting technology” said Martin Walkinshaw of CPI in the UK.

February 24, 2012 — Harvard researchers developed a new kind of tunable color filter that uses optical nanoantennae to control color output. A single active filter under exposure to different types of light can produce a range of colors.

Figure 1. Kenneth Crozier and his colleagues created a plate of chromatic plasmonic polarizers that spells out the acronym LSP. Under light of different polarizations, the letters and the background change color. The image at far right shows the antennas themselves, as viewed through a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Images courtesy of Tal Ellenbogen

Kenneth Crozier, associate professor of electrical engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and colleagues engineered the size and shape of metal nanoparticles so that the color they appear depends on the polarization of the light illuminating them. Harvard has named the nano structures chromatic plasmonic polarizers.

Figure 2. The color output of the new type of optical filter depends on the polarization of the incoming light.

By controlling the optical nanoantennas shape, the engineers created a controllable color filter, tuned to react differently with light of different colors and different polarizations, said co-author Tal Ellenbogen, a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS. Conventional RGB filters have one fixed output color and create a broader palette of hues through blending. Each pixel of the nanoantenna-based filters is dynamic and able to produce different colors when the polarization is changed. This can create a pixel with a uniform color or complex patterns with colors varying as a function of position.

“The chromatic plasmonic polarizers combine two structures, each with a different spectral response, and the human eye can see the mixing of these two spectral responses as color,” said Crozier. “We would normally ask what is the response in terms of the spectrum, rather than what is the response in terms of the eye,” added Ellenbogen.

Also read: Nano-antenna optics + semiconductor electronics = IR photovoltaics

To demonstrate the technology’s capabilities, the researchers used nanoparticles to spell out LSP, short for localized surface plasmon (Figure 1). With unpolarized light or with light that is polarized at 45 degrees, the letters are invisible (gray on gray). In polarized light at 90 degrees, the letters appear vibrant yellow with a blue background, and at 0 degrees the color scheme is reversed. Rotating the polarization of the incident light makes the letters’ colors change, moving from yellow to blue.

Seeing the color effects from current fabricated samples requires magnification, but large-scale nanoprinting techniques could be used to generate samples big enough to be seen with the naked eye. Building a television display with the nanoantennas is "absolutely feasible," say Crozier and Ellenbogen.

The researchers have filed a provisional patent for their work.

Potential applications include television displays and biological imaging, or invisible security tags to mark currency. The findings appear in the February issue of Nano Letters.

Kwanyong Seo, a postdoctoral fellow in electrical engineering at SEAS, also contributed to the research. The work was supported by the Center for Excitonics at MIT, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science; and Zena Technologies. In addition, the research team acknowledges the Center for Nanoscale Systems at Harvard for fabrication work.

Learn more at www.harvard.edu.

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February 22, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Optical touch display company Neonode Inc. (NEON.OB) introduced Multi-Sensing technology, which is calls a "more augmented and profound user experience" than traditional multi touch displays.

Multi-Sensing identifies any object and determines its size, the pressure, any depth, the speed and the proximity of an object to a surface. It uses light with zero latency that can sense and determine objects like a pen, brush, bare/gloved finger or larger objects like a hand, at very high speed. Multi-Sensing is built on Neonode’s proprietary optical 2D multi touch technology, zForce.

It can be implemented into commercial devices such as smart phones, tablets and automotive and inflight infotainment systems. Also read: Neonode licenses optical touchscreen tech to OEM

Neonode is demonstrating the technology at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in the Swedish pavilion, hall 2.0 booth #2J31.

Neonode is a provider of optical touch technologies for portable devices. Neonode offers technology licenses and engineering design services. Neonode Inc. is traded on the OTCBB under the symbol NEON.OB.

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February 22, 2012 — Flat panel displays (FPDs) for use in automotives — navigation, multi-functional in-console monitors, and rear seat entertainment — will see shipments grow about 50% from 2011 to 2015, says NPD DisplaySearch, from 42 million to 62 million units.

Displays are used in "an increasing number of applications" for vehicles, noted Hiroshi Hayase, NPD DisplaySearch VP of Small/Medium Display Research. This growth will be aided by hybrid and electric vehicle adoption, as these models use more displays. Automotive displays provide in-car navigation, safety indications, energy information, entertainment, and other conveniences while the user is driving.

Figure 1. Automotive display demand by application (Shipments). Source: NPD DisplaySearch Automotive Displays Report.

 

The type of displays used is also changing. Higher-resolution and better-color thin-film transitor liquid crystal displays (TFT LCDs) are gaining market share from passive matrix displays.

Japanese LCD manufacturers such as Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba are focused on TFT LCDs for automotive monitors because of their ability to produce high-quality small/medium displays. The segment is attractive for its higher profit margin potential. Sharp leads with a 24.5% share, followed by Sony with an 18.9% share and Toshiba with a 14.7% of the market.

Figure 2. LCD supplier market share by manufacturer (Shipments). Source: NPD DisplaySearch Automotive Displays Report.

The NPD DisplaySearch Automotive Displays Report analyzes all FPD shipments related to the automotive industry including TFT LCD, PM LCD and OLED. Forecasts are provided through 2015 for FPD technology, shipments, revenues, shares, size, resolution, demand, automobile production, average prices and more. 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. Access the report at http://www.displaysearch.com/.

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IRPS set for April in Anaheim


February 21, 2012

The IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS) is set for April 15, 2012 – April 19, 2012, in Anaheim, CA. The IRPS is celebrating 50 years of ground-breaking semiconductor physics of failure research. Covering advanced materials, 3D integration, product reliability, transistors and circuits, silicon/packaging interactions, MEMS, GaN, and photovoltaics, the technical program promises to bring attendees the latest in semiconductor reliability concerns. For more information and to register online, browse to http://www.irps.org.

February 21, 2012 — Large-area thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) panel shipments are largely dictated by end markets (tablet PC panels are the fastest growing segment) and panel prices (ongoing price erosion is undercutting revenues and profitability), says NPD DisplaySearch. The TFT LCD industry is undergoing "unprecedented changes."

Large-area (9"+) TFT LCD shipments reached 702.8 million in 2011, 6% growth over 2010, while revenues declined 12% to $75.5 billion in the same period, according to NPD DisplaySearch’s Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report – Advanced LED. In 2012, TFT LCDs will see a gradual recovery period, occuring alongside technology evolution. Look for "higher resolution, thinner form factors and bezels, as well as the prevalence of LED" during 2012, predicts David Hsieh, VP, Greater China Market, NPD DisplaySearch.

Also read: Top 10 LCD manufacturing trends of 2012

Areas of decline? TV, monitor, and mini-note PC panels, mainly because of inventory adjustments in the supply chain. 2011 marked the first decline year for TV panels since the LCD TV market emerged in 2002 (On an area basis, TV panel shipments grew by 3%). Also read: Large-size LCD panel prices stabilize

Areas of growth? Notebook PCs and public displays, growing 8% and 52%, respectively. Strong momentum in tablets, especially Apple’s iPad, drove shipments to 59.7 million units, up 217% from 2010. LCD TV remains the "largest and most influential" TFT LCD application, said Hsieh. However, mobile PCs, especially notebooks and tablets, are driving growth and becoming the center of product innovation.

Table 1: Large-area TFT LCD shipments 2009-2011 (units in millions). Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report – Advanced LED.
Application 2009 2010 2011 Growth
2009-2010		 Growth
2010-2011
LCD Monitor 176.8 199.0 196.9 13% -1%
Notebook PC 141.4 178.1 192.4 26% 8%
Mini-Note 0.0 35.4 30.1 N/A -15%
Tablet 0.0 18.8 59.7 N/A 217%
Tablet PC/Mini-Note 33.1 0.0 0.0 N/A N/A
LCD TV 163.4 220.8 210.2 35% -5%
Public Display 1.1 1.7 2.6 53% 52%
Others 10.7 11.1 11.0 4% -1%
Total 526.5 665.0 702.8 26% 6%

 
LED backlight penetration reached 55.3% of total Q4’11 LCD TV panel shipments. According to panel makers’ plans, LED penetration in LCD TV panels will reach 60% in Q1’12 and 72% in Q4’12. In addition, many panel makers are developing low-cost direct type LED backlights, targeting market segments that value panel cost over unit thinness. NPD DisplaySearch estimated that direct type LEDs will grow to 9.3% of total LCD TV panels in Q3’12.

Table 2: LCD TV Panel Shipment Percentage by Backlight Type. Source: DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report – Advanced LED.
Application Q2’11 Q3’11 Q4’11 Q1’12 Q2’12 Q3’12 Q4’12
CCFL  57.3% 51.0% 44.7% 40.3% 32.5% 30.1% 27.8%
Direct Type LED 1.3% 1.0% 0.5% 3.3% 6.8% 9.3% 13.0%
Edge Type LED 41.4% 48.0% 54.8% 56.4% 60.7% 60.5% 59.2%

 

The NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Large-Area TFT LCD Shipment Report – Advanced LED analyzes historical shipments and forecast projections with 100% coverage of panel makers. 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. For more information on NPD DisplaySearch analysts, reports and industry events, visit http://www.displaysearch.com/.

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February 20, 2012 — Samsung Electronics’ Board of Directors (BOD) approved the merger with Samsung LED, Ltd, which was previously decided at the BOD meeting on December 26, 2011. The BOD also decided to request Samsung Mobile Display to pay infrastructure construction costs.

Samsung LED, Co, Ltd. will be merged into Samsung Electronics by way of small-scale merger and be dissolved following the merger. This is expected to nurture the light emitting diode (LED) business as the future growth engine of Samsung Electronics’ component business by utilizing its advanced technology, manufacturing competency, and global sales network.

The merger ratio is 0.0134934 Samsung Electronics share in exchange for each Samsung LED share. This merger will take effect on April 1, 2012.

What does this merger move mean? Check out the implications in Will Samsung reorganize LCD and AMOLED display units?

Pursuant to Article 527-3 of the Commercial Act, the deal constitutes a small-scale merger with the shares to be provided accounting for less than 5% of the total shares issued. Hence, the BOD approval will substitute an General Meeting of Shareholders.

Samsung Electronics decided to request Samsung Mobile Display to pay KRW198.1 billion related to
constructing infrastructure (water supply and waste water disposal facilities) under the
causer pay principle. Samsung Electronics will be constructing the infrastructure, which is
required at Samsung Mobile Display’s production site, and give Samsung Mobile Display
the long-term right to use the infrastructure. Payment will be made in 5 installments over the next 12 months. Samsung Electronics also approved signing of a new real estate rental contract with Samsung Mobile Display.

February 20, 2012 — Samsung Electronics is under a swirl of rumors about spinning off its liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing division, which could lead into a displays business restructuring involving Samsung Mobile Display (AMOLED displays maker) and Samsung LCD.

If this hypothetical reorganization came to be, Samsung Displays would be the biggest display company covering the key flat panel display (FPD) technologies from small to large panels.

The root of this reorganization talk is how Samsung Electronics can make the transition from LCD to active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays most efficiently, holding on to its leading position in each technology while minimizing losses through manufacturing and procurement, as well as business synergies, including support of Samsung’s wide array of branded products and external sales. 

Also read: Samsung plans record investments in 2012

The LCD market has been in oversupply since Q2 2010, and panel makers have suffered losses. At the same time, AMOLED has matured and gained market acceptance. Panel makers are changing their strategies in order to reverse their losses, and with the most substantial resources in AMOLED, the Samsung group is moving fast to make big changes.

NPD DisplaySearch believes that Samsung’s LCD/AMOLED transistion timeline seems to be moving up; the restructuring could take place as soon as the middle of 2012.

Read NPD DisplaySearch’s blog post on the possible reorg, Will Samsung Spin Off its LCD Panel Division? What are the Possible Impacts? for a discussion of the reorganization method (merge OLED and LCD units, or spin off LCD first?), the impact on Samsung’s LCD customers with a change in its sales and component sourcing strategies, how changes would affect the market price for LCD panels, and what Samsung suppliers can expect.

David Hsieh is Vice President, Greater China Market at NPD DisplaySearch.

Yoonsung Chung is Director, Large-Area Displays & FPD Materials, NPD DisplaySearch.

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Attend US FPD Smart Displays


February 17, 2012

February 17, 2012 — US FPD Smart Displays Conference: From Emerging to Mainstream will take place February 28-29 in San Diego, CA with speakers from display materials, components, user interfaces, connectivity, content platforms, delivery and display systems, and retail sectors. Speakers hail from Intel, LG Electronics, Toshiba, Corning, Qualcomm, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, hhgregg, Yahoo! and other companies.

While flat panel display (FPD) technology has advanced for decades, intelligently connecting these displays is a more recent advancement that could shake up how displays are used. Increasingly, computing power is shifting to the display itself, on TVs, tablets, notebooks, phones and more devices. Smart displays add value to products in increasingly competitive and price-pressured markets, said Paul Semenza, SVP of NPD DisplaySearch, which hosts the conference. Smart displays open up the potential for new technologies and usage modes, and new ways to meet consumer needs.

The conference covers smart displays for TVs, tablets and notebooks, examining the required technologies and system designs for smart displays. Representatives throughout the flat panel display, capacitive touch, 3D display, mobile device and emerging display industries will participate.

NPD DisplaySearch and sister company NPD In-Stat will give more than 30 presentations on the industry’s direction, strategy, and opportunities.

On the retail side, Dennis May, CEO of retailer hhgregg, will discuss how to deliver TV industry growth in 2012, and the retailers’ roles in the success of new display products.

US FPD Smart Displays agenda:
Day 1:

Advancing Smart Display Technologies

  • Market Overview by Paul Semenza, Senior Vice President, Analyst Services, NPD DisplaySearch
  • Next Generation Displays: We Get There with Glass by Robert O’Brien, Director, Marketing Intelligence, Corning 
  • Advancing the “Art of the Possible” in Large Screen Displays by Jim Sanduski, Vice President, Strategic Product Marketing, Sharp

Interactivity-New User Interfaces for Smart Displays

  • Human-Machine Interactive: Touch and Touch-Less Control by Dr. Jennifer Colegrove, Vice President, Display Technologies, NPD DisplaySearch
  • The Power of Multi-Touch: Revolutionizing the User Experience via a New Foundation for Tomorrow’s Industrial and Commercial Applications by Gene Halsey, Product Line Director, Touch Revolution, a TPK Company
  • In Touch Between Customers and Business, the Magic of Interactive Digital Signage by Stephen Aguirre, Director Strategic Marketing, TE Touch Solutions
  • The Gesture Revolution: On, Off, and In the Display by Vincent John Vincent, Co-CEO, President & Co-Founder, GestureTek Inc. 
  • The 4th Screen: Voice and Touch Innovation for the Digital Living Room by Gary Clayton, Chief Creative Officer, Nuance Communications

Connectivity — Controlling and Acquiring Devices and Content

  • Connectivity: Controlling and Acquiring Devices & Content by Brian O’Rourke, Research Director, Digital Entertainment, NPD In-Stat
  • Alex Chervet, Senior Director of Marketing, Silicon Image
  • Mark Grodzinsky, Vice President of Marketing, Wilocity
  • Building a Truly Smart Display by Leslie Chard, President, WHDI LLC
  • Unwiring the Next Frontier Isn’t About Radios, It’s Just Software by Kerry Forell, Product Manager for Wireless Display, Intel Marketing Group 
  • Ben Chan, Director, Product Marketing, Entropic

Day 2:
A Conversation with Dennis L. May, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, hhgregg

  • Stephen Baker, Vice President of Industry Analysis for The NPD Group, will present US sell-through results for 2011 that document the challenges facing the consumer technology industry and then follow that up with an intimate discussion with Dennis May, hhgregg CEO, about how retailers can overcome challenges during this period of transition.

Tablets, Smart Monitors, Cloud Devices and other “Personal” Computers

  • Complementing and Competing with the TV by Richard Shim, Senior Analyst PC/IT Team, NPD DisplaySearch
  • Tablets in Prime Time by Young Bae, Group Manager, Consumer PC/Tablets, Toshiba
  • New Uses, New Purposes, New Attach by Andy Bowden, Senior Strategic Marketing Manager, Displays Global Business Unit, Hewlett-Packard
  • Enabling the Connected Smart Display by Dr. Alan Messer, Senior Director, Advanced Technologies Lab, Samsung Electronics and President and Chairman UPnP Forum 
  • Troy Cross, Vice President of Sales and Alliances for the Americas and Asia, Vlingo

Content and Apps for Smart Displays

  • Russ Schafer, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Yahoo! Connected TV and Desktop
    Content and Ecosystem by Matt Gordon, Vice President Content and Product Solutions, Samsung Electronics
  • Bob Scheffler, Director of Next Generation Video Solutions, Motorola 
  • Tom Paquin, Chief Technology officer, OnLive

TV of the Future

  • TV of the Future: What Is a Key Trend and What Is a Distraction? by Paul Gagnon, Director, North American TV Research, NPD DisplaySearch
  • Ji Park, VP Product Management, Qualcomm
  • Kurt Hoppe, Director of Smart TV Innovation and Alliances, LG Electronics
    Natural Interaction by Bill Rouady, Director, Product Planning for TV Software and Services, Hillcrest Labs
  • Ashwin Navin, CEO and Co-Founder, Flingo
  • Smart Sensor and Lighting for Smarter Displays by Paul Wilmarth, Director of Consumer Segment Marketing, AMS-TAOS Inc

Register for the NPD DisplaySearch US FPD Conference at www.displaysearch.com/usfpd.

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