Category Archives: Top Story Right

January 31, 2012 — The Thick Film Division of Heraeus Precious Metals has announced a new name, Celcion, for its Insulated Aluminum Materials System. Celcion allows light emitting diode (LED) circuits to run cooler than metal-core printed circuit boards (MCPCBs).

Celcion, a Thick Film Materials System designed to insulate aluminum substrates, takes the same fit and form as traditional MCPCBs, while providing thermal conductivity and high dielectric breakdown strength. It is a simplified additive process that is faster, easier to use, and requires less materials than MCPCBs. The system allows circuits to be built directly onto aluminum substrates, eliminating the need for thermal interface materials (TIMs). This allows Celcion circuits to run 10°C cooler than MCPCBs.

Also read: LED test standards, packaging material challenges

Traditionally, MCPCBs are constructed using a subtractive process. Celcion features a selective additive process, applying material only where it is needed. It is reportedly faster with less waste, and enables inexpensive, fast-implementation design changes.

Figure. Actual thermal reading of LED circuits. Celcion-packaged LED reading is on the bottom. SOURCE: Heraeus.

With cooler circuits, fewer LEDs can be used to achieve the same light output. This suits high-power applications, such as general illumination, signs, signals and displays. It also offers increased performance benefits in power electronics, heaters and automotive manufacturing.   

Heraeus will feature Celcion at Booth 508 during the Strategies in Light 2012 conference and exhibition, Feb. 7 – 9, Santa Clara, CA, Booth 508. Through live, on-site product demonstrations, Heraeus will show how Celcion is used in manufacturing LEDs, and why it is a viable alternative to traditional MCPCBs.

Heraeus launched a website, http://celcionled.com/, to showcase the Insulated Aluminum Materials System. A video on the site describes the differences between the traditional MCPCB process and Celcion, and how LED performance is increased.

Heraeus Precious Metals North America Conshohocken LLC, Thick Film Division, is a worldwide supplier of thick film pastes, LTCC materials and precious metal powders to the hybrid microelectronics industry. The Thick Film Division offers products for thermal management applications, including LED packaging, power modules, and electronic heating units.

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January 31, 2012 — The global semiconductor chip market will see a slow 2012, reports IHS, with uncertainty in global economics and semiconductor inventory not moving quickly enough to stimulate new production. Semiconductor industry revenue in 2012 will hit $323.2 billion, up 3.3% from 2011, shows an IHS iSuppli Global Manufacturing Market Tracker report. This is better than the near-flat growth seen in 2011 (1.25%).

Expect negative growth in Q1 2012, a nascent rebound in Q2, and strong growth in Q3 2012.

  2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Billions of US Dollars $307.0 $312.8 $323.2 $348.7 $371.5 $397.7
Figure. Worldwide semiconductor industry revenue forecast. SOURCE: IHS iSuppli.

If the United States and the rest of the world recover economically in 2013, growth from 2013 to 2015 will average 6.6-7.9%, with total semiconductor revenue by 2015 rising to some $397.7 billion. The semiconductor industry has "no control" over the macro-economic forces at work on its growth, said Len Jelinek, director and chief analyst of semiconductor manufacturing research at IHS. The global economy, and in particular key markets like the US and Japan, exerts pressure on the chip industry.

Consumers did help lower semiconductor inventories during the 2011 holiday season, but not enough to trigger re-stocking demand. A deliberate decrease in manufacturing run rates by semiconductor companies in Q3 2011 could not bring inventory down far enough either. Semiconductor demand will remain depressed until Q2 2012.

Because factory utilization will not recover until the middle of 2012, the integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) that design and manufacture semiconductors in-house will experience greater stress with underperforming factories. Capital expenditures for efficiency-increasing tools will likely be pushed to 2013, as long as current manufacturing capacity meets demand.

Also read: Semiconductor fab capex forecast for 2012

Foundries dedicated to manufacturing semiconductors as their main activity will continue to outperform the industry, while IDMs will have lower growth, especially as they have abdicated manufacturing in leading-edge high-margin technology to the foundries. IDMs rish seeing fabless or foundry companies control leading-edge design or production, which could lead to IDM consolidation. This would have the unintended effect of providing rival foundries with even more opportunities for additional growth.

In the memory — mainly dynamic random access memory (DRAM) — sector, revenue will decline 16.1% in 2012, further depressing a sector that fell 26.8% in 2011. NAND Flash, despite strong performance in mobile handsets and media tablets in 2011, will not require another surge in production capacity.

The wireless communication segment, spurred by media tablets, smartphones and industrial electronics, will drive chip revenues. The core PC and peripheral markets must see significant demand increases to boost the semiconductor industry as a whole, IHS believes.

Learn more about this topic with the IHS iSuppli report, Weak Demand Pushes Manufacturing Recovery into Q2 2012 at http://www.isuppli.com/Semiconductor-Value-Chain/Pages/Weak-Demand-Pushed-Manufacturing-Recovery-into-Q2-2012.aspx?PRX

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of information and insight in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape, including 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. For more information, visit www.ihs.com.

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January 30, 2012 — Gamma Scientific, light measurement instrumentation maker, introduced a low-cost spectrometer for quick and accurate testing for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The RadOMA Lite linear CCD array spectrometer tests LED intensity and total flux.  

With near real-time speed and NIST-traceable measurement, the RadOMA Lite accepts an SMA905 fiber-optic input that can be connected to a various optics, including integrating spheres for total flux measurements or CIE127 Conditions A and B for intensity measurements. The RadOMA Lite features an 800kHz readout speed and slit options that can achieve resolutions between 0.5 and 3.0nm.

The custom RadOMA-Lite Windows software package for LEDs includes a simple, intuitive interface with automated report generation and a USB 2.0 interface.

Flexible custom configurations and application support are also available.

RadOMA spectroradiometers use a backside-thinned CCD detector with Gamma Scientific’s OMA optical multi-channel analyzer platform. The detector is a CCD Linear Array – 2048 pixels – 14μm x 200μm sensing pixel size – 1800 V/(l*s) @660nm sensitivity. It covers a spectral range of 380-780nm. Gratings: 600G/mm.

Gamma Scientific will be showcasing the RadOMA Lite and their complete line of LED test and measurement solutions in booths 501 and 600 at the Strategies in Light conference in Santa Clara, CA from February 7-9, 2012.

Gamma Scientific offers solutions for the LED and Solid-State Lighting (SSL) industries, ranging from single-device characterization to high-volume production testing, as well as measurement of integrated lamps and lumenaires. Learn more at http://www.gamma-sci.com/applications/led_test_measurement/.

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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 27, 2012 — Genalyte developed and produced a set of disposable silicon photonics biosensor chips with research body imec, for use in its diagnostic and molecular detection equipment. The chips use imec’s standard silicon photonic waveguide devices, modified for bio-compatibility.

These chips allow for high levels of multiplexed biosensing due to the high integration level of Si photonics.

A bio-compatible passivation technology was developed on 200mm wafers with high yields. The chips contain up to 128 proprietary ring resonator sensors coated by Genalyte with application-specific chemistry to create very sensitive molecular detection capability. On-chip grating couplers are used to couple the infrared light from and to Genalyte’s diagnostic equipment. The chips were tested in the field.

More Si photonics work at imec:

Imec’s silicon photonics platform densely integrates photonics and electronics, manufactured on standard microelectronic CMOS manufacturing processes. The high quality and reproducibility of the photonic waveguides and devices with features measuring 100-500nm requiring nm-scale accuracy are the keys to high yield. Genalyte first made a proof-of-concept using Multi-Project Wafers access to imec’s Silicon Photonics technology under ePIXfab (www.epixfab.eu).

The Si-photonics biosensor chips were made as part of imec’s silicon photonics CMORE service. Via this initiative, imec offers companies all the services needed to turn innovative ideas into smart packaged microsystem products. The CMORE toolbox includes 200mm CMOS, Si-photonics, MEMS, image sensors and device packaging. Services also cover design, testing and reliability, bringing products from feasibility studies to design, technology development, prototyping and low-volume manufacturing. Imec also is able to guide companies in tranferring to volume production at a foundry.
 
Imec performs world-leading research in nanoelectronics. Imec’s research activities in the field of silicon photonics are coordinated closely with those at Ghent University. The Photonics Research Group in the Department of Information Technology of Ghent University has been active in photonic integration for more than 20 years. Since 2000 the focus has shifted to silicon photonics. Further information on imec can be found at www.imec.be.

Genalyte Inc. is a privately held company focused on improving the costs and performance of diagnostic and life sciences molecular testing.  To this end, Genalyte has developed a next-generation molecular detection capable of higher levels of multiplexing, high sensitivity and faster time-to-result directly from clinical samples. Learn more at www.genalyte.com

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January 26, 2012 — National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) materials scientists, Robert Keller and Roy Geiss, have modified a standard scanning electron microscope (SEM) for a roughly 10-fold improvement in measuring the crystal structure of nanoparticles and extremely thin films. It enables crystal structure study of particles as small as 10nm.

Figure. At top, a transmission electron diffraction pattern of a 50nm-diameter indium gallium nitride (InGaN) nanowire, taken with an SEM using the new NIST technique, showing a unique pattern associated with crystal diffraction. Bottom: Same pattern with an overlay showing the crystallographic indexing associated with the atomic structure of the material. SOURCE: Geiss/NIST.

Different crystal phases of a material demonstrate different chemical behavoirs. Understanding the crystalline structure can lead to optimization of thin films in nanoelectronics manufacturing, and other applications in criminal forensics, etc.

In standard SEM-based electron diffraction, the researcher uses an electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) detector to analyze patterns formed by electrons bouncing back after striking atoms in the sample. If the sample is a crystalline material, with a regular pattern to the arrangement of atoms, these diffracted electrons form a pattern of lines that reveals the particular crystal structure, or phase and orientation, of the material. "You can determine the crystal structure of an isolated particle down to a size of about 100 to 120nm, but below that the crystals are so small that you’re getting information about the sample holder instead," report the researchers. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performs better with samples to about 50nm in size, below which they show very limited diffraction patterns because of the high power of the electron beam.

The two researchers altered the sample position to perform electron diffraction with a SEM in a different way. Keller and Geiss moved the SEM sample holder closer to the beam source and adjusted the angles so that, instead of imaging electrons bouncing back from the sample, the EBSD detector is seeing electrons that scatter forward through the sample in a manner similar to a TEM. A unique sample-holding method contributes to this imaging. This technique produces reliable crystal phase information for nanoparticles as small as 10nm across, as well as for single crystalline grains as small as 15nm in an ultrathin film.

Electron diffraction in an SEM, says Keller, "in general represents the only approach capable of measuring the atomic structure, defect content, or crystallographic phase of single nanoparticles.

Results are scheduled to appear in the Journal of Microscopy, March 2012: R.R. Keller and R.H. Geiss. Transmission EBSD from 10 nm domains in a scanning electron microscope. Journal of Microscopy, 2011. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2011.03566.x.

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January 25, 2012 — SCHOTT North America Inc. introduced MEMpax borosilicate glass for use in micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing, available in thicknesses from 1.1 to 0.1mm.

MEMpax glass is produced in the same way as the company’s AF32 and D 263, then finished with a fire-polished surface, for the needs of MEMS and related ultra-thin borosilicate glass applications. Fire polishing gives the glass a high-quality, pristine surface and can help reduce processing costs.

The new glass shares physical, thermal, and chemical properties with the company’s Borofloat 33. The material properties of MEMpax allow anodic bonding with silicon wafers: Under the influence of temperature and pressure, ions diffuse between silicon and glass, which results in a hermetic bond, protecting the silicon wafer elements or connecting various components. The glass boasts a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) corresponding to silicon’s CTE to avoid warpage in bonding.

The glass is a high-quality insulator with low alkali content. It maintains good dielectric properties up to 450°C.
 
SCHOTT North America can be found at www.us.schott.com.

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January 24, 2012 — The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeks nominees in the US for the 2012 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI), honoring "this nation’s creative geniuses," said Richard Maulsby, the USPTO

January 24, 2012 — Leading electronic equipment manufacturers accounted for $105.6 billion of semiconductors on a design total available market (TAM) basis in 2011, 35% of semiconductor vendors’ worldwide chip revenue, according to Gartner Inc. This represented a year-over-year increase of $1.8 billion, or 1.8% from 2010.

"The major growth drivers in 2011 were smartphones, media tablets and solid-state drives (SSDs)," said Masatsune Yamaji, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Those companies that gained share in the smartphone market, such as Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC, increased their semiconductor demand, while those who lost market share in this segment, such as Nokia and LG Electronics, decreased their semiconductor demand. Media tablets were also a growth driver for the semiconductor market throughout 2011."

"Given the rapidly changing competitive structure of the IT and electronics industry, no semiconductor device vendor can afford just to monitor the requirements of the current market leaders," Mr. Yamaji said. "Vendors need to be constantly looking for new market entrants who will, in turn, be tomorrow’s market leaders."

Within the top 10 rankings, three companies were from the Americas, three from Asia/Pacific, three from Japan and one from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Apple led the market in 2011 (see Table), achieving significant growth, as it has done for the past five years. As a result, Apple became the biggest customer of semiconductor chip vendors in 2011, climbing two places in the ranking, from third in 2010.

Also read:

Apple gained a much greater share of the smartphone market, and its media tablet business was also highly successful in 2011. While DRAM prices fell drastically in 2011, and many PC vendors decreased their total semiconductor demand accordingly, the success of the MacBook Air enabled Apple to increase semiconductor chip demand even in its PC business.

Table. Top 10 Semiconductor Design TAM by Company, Worldwide 2011, Preliminary (Millions of Dollars).

Rank

2010

Rank

2011

Company

2010

2011

Growth (%)

Share (%)

3

1

Apple

12,819

17,257

34.6

5.7

2

2

Samsung Electronics

15,272

16,681

9.2

5.5

1

3

HP

17,585

16,618

-5.5

5.5

5

4

Dell

10,497

9,792

-6.7

3.2

4

5

Nokia*

11,318

9,042

-20.1

3.0

6

6

Sony*

9,020

8,210

-9.0

2.7

7

7

Toshiba

7,768 

7,589

-2.3

2.5

10

8

Lenovo

6,091

7,537

23.7

2.5

8

9

LG Electronics

6,738 

6,645

-1.4

2.2

9

10

Panasonic

6,704

6,267

-6.5

2.1

 

 

Others

195,552

196,413

0.4

65.0

 

 

Total

299,364

302,051

0.9

100.0
*2 joint ventures are included as stand-alone firms, as they are independent buying centers: Sony Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Design TAM represents the total silicon content in all products designed by a certain electronic equipment manufacturer or in a certain region, while purchasing TAM represents the total silicon content purchased directly by a certain electronic equipment manufacturer or in a certain region. Design TAM is a useful index for semiconductor vendors when they are considering how to allocate their sales or field application engineer resources by customer or region. Purchasing TAM is a useful index for semiconductor vendors when they are considering how to establish an efficient distribution network by customer or region.

As more brand-name companies are increasing their production outsourcing to original design manufacturers (ODMs) and electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers, semiconductor procurement by ODMs and EMS providers has increased year over year, Yamaji said. Currently, three of the top 10 purchasing TAM companies are contract manufacturers.

"Semiconductor chip vendors must pay attention not just to the design TAM and purchasing TAM by company, but also by region," said Yamaji. "This is the key to avoiding inappropriate sales resource allocation. They must keep an eye on design-win opportunities in the U.S., while also establishing a strong distribution network in China."

Additional information is available in the report "Market Insight: Apple Led OEM, ODM and EMS Semiconductor Demand in 2011" at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1517414.

Gartner Inc. (NYSE:IT) is a leading information technology research and advisory company. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

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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