sharp lcd panel factory free sample

Continuous grain (CG) silicon* provides startlingly fast electron transfer rates in comparison to the amorphous silicon used in conventional LCD panels.

CG silicon was used to develop Sharp"s ″System LCD", which features higher resolution than a CRT as well as a ground-breaking design in which the panel"s peripheral circuits and functional elements are integrated into the panel itself.

This revolutionary LCD panel combines high resolution, excellent reliability, stunning display performance and low power consumption in a thin, light, compact package.

Sharp has developed the Free-Form Display, a revolutionary advance over the conventional display shape concept that enables the creation of new display designs to match a variety of applications.

LCDs have contributed to the emergence and spread of a range of application products by offering not just display-related functions such as high brightness, wide viewing angle, high resolution, and superb color purity, but also by providing added value through, for example, greater environmental performance and a superior user interface thanks to touch-panel functions. In addition, LCD application product manufacturers want to offer consumers products with a more polished design, and Sharp has responded by providing these manufacturers with displays that boast features like slim profiles, light weight, and thin bezels.

Continuing on this tradition of innovation, Sharp announces the development of the Free-Form Display, a device that can be shaped to meet a wide range of user needs thanks to the incorporation of IGZO technology and proprietary circuit design methods. Conventional displays are rectangular because they require a minimal width for the bezel in order to accommodate the drive circuit, called the gate driver, around the perimeter of the screen"s display area. With the Free-Form Display, the gate driver"s function is dispersed throughout the pixels on the display area. This allows the bezel to be shrunk considerably, and it gives the freedom to design the LCD to match whatever shape the display area of the screen needs to be.

For in-vehicle applications, for example, this development makes it possible to have a single instrument panel on the car dashboard that combines a speedometer and other monitors. There are other possibilities for displays with sophisticated designs: these include wearable devices with elliptical displays and digital signage and other large monitors that draw the viewer into the onscreen world.

First, you need to check whether this display has On-cell or In-cell touch panel, if has, it only needs to add a cover glass on it. If not, it needs an external touch panel.

Because the shape of the cover glass depends on the design of the clients, to avoid infringement of appearance, most of the developers need different customized touch panels.

Sharp’s Kameyama Mie Plant No. 3 integrates production of LCD TVs, from the LCD panels themselves right through to final product assembly. With a site area of about 330,000m², the plant started production of “System LCDs” in June 2003, four months ahead of schedule. Production of large-screen LCD TVs began in January 2004.

A second production line for large-format LCDs has been installed to meet the high demand for large-screen LCD TVs, digital still cameras, mobile phones, PDAs and mini-notebook PCs. The expansion nearly doubled the substrate input capacity from 6.5 million to 12.2 million units per month (15,000 to 27,000 substrates/month).

The Kameyama (Mie Prefecture, Japan) plant is vertically integrated to streamline material flow, production and inspection/testing. It uses very large mother glass substrates (1,500mm x 1,800mm), approx. 4.5 times the surface area of the substrate used at the company’s Mie No.2 Plant. Each substrate yields eight 32in wide-format panels.

Sharp spent approximately ¥100 billion during phases 1 and 2 of the Kameyama Plant, followed by an additional ¥50 billion for the new 2004 phase 3, giving a total investment of around ¥150 billion.

Initial predictions were that LCD TVs would dominate screens sizes up to 30in, with plasma TVs taking over above that. Larger format LCDs are now available, however, and Sharp has even introduced a 45in model. The company has replaced all its conventional CRT TV sets in Japan and Europe with LCD-based models, and aims to do the same in the US by the end of 2006.

The LC Line of Sharp LCD TVs and video displays ranges from 13in to 45in with brightness levels from 350cd/m² to 450cd/m² (twice as bright as a CRT TV) and long life light bulbs. The displays can be operated on 12V making them perfect for mobile video LCDs. The super thin LCD TVs can also be wall mounted using optional mounts.

Sales of mobile phones with small- and medium-format colour LCDs are also growing fast, and Sharp is selling around 400 million units annually. Demands are continuing for higher display resolutions offering more functions.

The process can integrate display and associated electronics onto the same glass substrate, greatly reducing the area required for parts mounting and external component count. Products equipped with these System LCDs can be made more compact with a thinner profile, lighter weight and improved reliability, while still adding features. Sharp has for example developed a new display that delivers both images and sound by integrating audio circuitry on the same substrate as the LCD panel. Substrates can hold such audio circuits or an 8-bit CPU together with a 2.6in VGA (300ppi) ultra-high-resolution display for watching TV on a mobile phone.

By eliminating the transport of LCD panels between different plants, the Kameyama Plant reduces the need for packaging material, with lower CO2 and NO2 emissions emitted from transport vehicles.

Sharp has also installed a solar power generation system, with about 600 photovoltaic modules incorporated into the factory walls. The plant collects all the wastewater from the production process (max. 9,000t per day) and 100% recycles it with water purification techniques using micro-organism treatment. The plant reduces discharges by reusing and recycling as much process waste as possible.

These design features won the plant the first ‘Super Green’ Factory in 2003. It also received a 2004 Pearl Japan Sustainable Management Award. The Kameyama Plant also received the grand prize at the 1st Nikkei Monozukuri Awards 2004, sponsored by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.

Leading Sharp brands include AQUOS Liquid Crystal Televisions, 1-Bit audio products, the SharpVision line of projection products, Viewcam camcorders, Sharp Carousel microwaves, Imager digital multi-functional systems, the Notevision line of multi-media projectors, and the Zaurus Personal Mobile Tool.

For example, the glass panels are made by Corning at a plant next to Sharp"s LCD factory and transported on a conveyer that connects the two operations. Across the street, Dai Nippon Printing and Toppan have factories that produce color filters for the LCD panels.

All told, some 19 vendors have operations somewhere on site. Of the 2000 workers at the complex currently, half are Sharp employees, and half toil at its suppliers’ operations. Eventually, the entire complex will employ some 5000 workers. Sharp says itself and the vendors will work as “one virtual company.” The vendors built and paid for their own facilities and rent the land from Sharp.

But if the vendors can produce more from its facilities in the complex than Sharp wants to buy, the suppliers are free to sell the products they make in Sakai to other companies.

There was a significant effort to link Sharp’s supply chain and procurement systems with those of the suppliers. “Kanban” signals and purchase orders are delivered in real time as production proceeds around the clock.

The factory also employs substantial levels of automation. AGV robots, for example, move the sheets of glass no thicker than a credit card into finishing ovens.

Elsewhere, even larger robots pick up crates holding 50 sheets of glass and whisk them to other areas of the factory for processing. A variety of automated systems constantly check for potential quality issues. Virtually all movement of product from the on-site vendors to Sharp’s operations are done either by conveyor or automated trolley – no trucks.

The 100,000 tons of water required per month to wash down the glass is recycled and used again and again. A central energy control center collectively manages the energy needs of all the factories on the site. Solar panels on the factory roofs supply 9 megawatts of power, a level that will be doubled over time.

Though these and other details are known, and Sharp did open up the factory to reporters earlier this month, there is still much secrecy around actual operations. Reporters were barred from bringing in cell phones, cameras and audio recorders. The response to many questions was, “We can’t tell you that.”

The gamble is not without doubters. The plans were put into place two years ago, when demand for panels may have been near a peak. The fickle nature of consumer demand and fast-paced technology change in the industry could mean the operation is less competitive or even obsolete much sooner than the projections used to justify the investment.

Even suppliers were hesitant. A Corning executive said it was leery of making the investment in part because, right now, the only customer for the larger size sheets of glass is Sharp. In the end though, it moved forward.

However, competitor and customer Sony apparently likes the idea. Before the end of the year, it will invest 10 billion yen for a 7 percent stake in Sharp Display Products, the company that runs the factory, and gradually build its stake to 34% by the end of April 2011.

Samsung Electronics says it is considering building a new LCD-panel factory using even bigger glass sheets than Sharp, while LG Display says it plans to build a new factory in China using current glass size.

What is your reaction to the Sharp factory complex? Smart investment – or too much given the changing market? Can it enable Sharp to keep competitive with lower cost countries? Do you think we will see more total integration of suppliers with customer manufacturing plants? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.

Sharp’s Kameyama Mie Plant No. 3 integrates production of LCD TVs, from the LCD panels themselves right through to final product assembly. With a site area of about 330,000m², the plant started production of “System LCDs” in June 2003, four months ahead of schedule. Production of large-screen LCD TVs began in January 2004.

A second production line for large-format LCDs has been installed to meet the high demand for large-screen LCD TVs, digital still cameras, mobile phones, PDAs and mini-notebook PCs. The expansion nearly doubled the substrate input capacity from 6.5 million to 12.2 million units per month (15,000 to 27,000 substrates/month).

The Kameyama (Mie Prefecture, Japan) plant is vertically integrated to streamline material flow, production and inspection/testing. It uses very large mother glass substrates (1,500mm x 1,800mm), approx. 4.5 times the surface area of the substrate used at the company’s Mie No.2 Plant. Each substrate yields eight 32in wide-format panels.

Sharp spent approximately ¥100 billion during phases 1 and 2 of the Kameyama Plant, followed by an additional ¥50 billion for the new 2004 phase 3, giving a total investment of around ¥150 billion.

Initial predictions were that LCD TVs would dominate screens sizes up to 30in, with plasma TVs taking over above that. Larger format LCDs are now available, however, and Sharp has even introduced a 45in model. The company has replaced all its conventional CRT TV sets in Japan and Europe with LCD-based models, and aims to do the same in the US by the end of 2006.

The LC Line of Sharp LCD TVs and video displays ranges from 13in to 45in with brightness levels from 350cd/m² to 450cd/m² (twice as bright as a CRT TV) and long life light bulbs. The displays can be operated on 12V making them perfect for mobile video LCDs. The super thin LCD TVs can also be wall mounted using optional mounts.

Sales of mobile phones with small- and medium-format colour LCDs are also growing fast, and Sharp is selling around 400 million units annually. Demands are continuing for higher display resolutions offering more functions.

The process can integrate display and associated electronics onto the same glass substrate, greatly reducing the area required for parts mounting and external component count. Products equipped with these System LCDs can be made more compact with a thinner profile, lighter weight and improved reliability, while still adding features. Sharp has for example developed a new display that delivers both images and sound by integrating audio circuitry on the same substrate as the LCD panel. Substrates can hold such audio circuits or an 8-bit CPU together with a 2.6in VGA (300ppi) ultra-high-resolution display for watching TV on a mobile phone.

By eliminating the transport of LCD panels between different plants, the Kameyama Plant reduces the need for packaging material, with lower CO2 and NO2 emissions emitted from transport vehicles.

Sharp has also installed a solar power generation system, with about 600 photovoltaic modules incorporated into the factory walls. The plant collects all the wastewater from the production process (max. 9,000t per day) and 100% recycles it with water purification techniques using micro-organism treatment. The plant reduces discharges by reusing and recycling as much process waste as possible.

These design features won the plant the first ‘Super Green’ Factory in 2003. It also received a 2004 Pearl Japan Sustainable Management Award. The Kameyama Plant also received the grand prize at the 1st Nikkei Monozukuri Awards 2004, sponsored by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.

Leading Sharp brands include AQUOS Liquid Crystal Televisions, 1-Bit audio products, the SharpVision line of projection products, Viewcam camcorders, Sharp Carousel microwaves, Imager digital multi-functional systems, the Notevision line of multi-media projectors, and the Zaurus Personal Mobile Tool.

Large Format Displays are an indispensable part of Digital Signage, as well as for presentations and interactive meeting room applications. Sharp/NEC stands for a safe investment secured by high quality components and design, plus high operational safety. With a broad choice of LFD ranges and numerous customisation options, Sharp/NEC delivers tailor-made display solutions.

Enter the world of Digital Signage with Sharp/NEC’s entry-level displays. Designed to bring Sharp/NEC’s heritage of performance and quality to cost-conscious yet demanding customers, the E Series perfectly suits basic signage applications. Operating standalone via an integrated media player, signage starts automatically with the embedded auto-start function.

Present impactful advertising, entertainment and information with Sharp/NEC’s reliable display solutions, achieving the lowest operational investment. The slim design with small bezel styling perfectly complements modern surroundings whilst multiple display inputs and the smart connection of computing sources, power impressive signage applications.

Showcase products and highlight every little detail like never before with the Sharp/NEC 8K displays for professional use. Beautiful images with a stunning 8K resolution set a new benchmark for image quality, while also ensuring that fine text is precise and legible.

Adaptable, scalable and modular, Sharp/NEC video wall solutions offer unlimited creativity in delivering a seamless viewing experience. Responding to all high quality demands such as 24/7 operation, centralised control, colour accuracy and uniformity; the Sharp/NEC offering also includes pre-configuration and mounting solutions, content management and after sales support.

Ensuring operational safety even under the toughest conditions, Sharp/NEC Protective Glass screens deliver superb readability and image clarity whilst protecting your investment. An upgrade path available on many Sharp/NEC display series, Protective Glass is advisable for signage applications in public spaces protecting against vandalism and accidental damage.

The liquid crystal research of the 1960s was characterized by the discovery of and experiments on the properties of the liquid crystals. George H. Heilmeier of the RCA based his research on that of Williams, diving into the electro-optical nature of the crystals. After many attempts to use the liquid crystals to display different colors, he created the first working LCD using something called a dynamic scattering mode (DSM) that, when voltage is applied, turns the clear liquid crystal layer into a more translucent state. Heilmeier was thus deemed the inventor of the LCD.

In the late 1960s, the United Kingdom Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) discovered the cyanobiphenyl liquid crystal, a type that was fitting for LCD usage in terms of stability and temperature. In 1968, Bernard Lechner of RCA created the idea of a TFT-based LCD, and in that same year, he and several others brought that idea into reality using Heilmeier’s DSM LCD.

After the LCD’s entrance into the field of display technology, the 1970s were full of expansive research into improving the LCD and making it appropriate for a greater variety of applications. In 1970, the twisted nematic field effect was patented in Switzerland with credited inventors being Wolfgang Helfrich and Martin Schadt. This twisted nematic (TN) effect soon conjoined with products that entered the international markets like Japan’s electronic industry. In the US, the same patent was filed by James Fergason in 1971. His company, ILIXCO, known today as LXD Incorporated, manufactured TN-effect LCDs which grew to overshadow the DSM models. TN LCDs offered better features like lower operating voltages and power consumption.

From this, the first digital clock, or more specifically an electronic quartz wristwatch, using a TN-LCD and consisting of four digits was patented in the US and released to consumers in 1972. Japan’s Sharp Corporation, in 1975, began mass production of digital watch and pocket calculator TN LCDs, and eventually, other Japanese corporations began to rise in the market for wristwatch displays. Seiko, as an example, developed the first six-digit TN-based LCD quartz watch, an upgrade from the original four-digit watch.

Nevertheless, the DSM LCD was not rendered completely useless. A 1972 development by the North American Rockwell Microelectronics Corp integrated the DSM LCD into calculators marketed by Lloyds Electronics. These required a form of internal light to show the display, and so backlightswere also incorporated into these calculators. Shortly after, in 1973, Sharp Corporation brought DSM LCD pocket-sized calculators into the picture. A polymer called polyimide was used as the orientation layer of liquid crystal molecules.

In the 1980s, there was rapid progress made in creating usable products with this new LCD research. Color LCD television screens were first developed in Japan during this decade. Because of the limit in response times due to large display size (correlated with a large number of pixels), the first TVs were handheld/pocket TVs. Seiko Epson, or Epson, created the first LCD TV, releasing it to the public in 1982, which was soon followed by their first fully colored display pocket LCD TV in 1984. Also in 1984 was the first commercial TFT LCD display: Citizen Watch’s 2.7 inch color LCD TV. Shortly after, in 1988, Sharp Corporation created a 14 inch full-color TFT LCD that used an active matrix and had full-motion properties. Large-size LCDs now made LCD integration into large flat-panel displays like LCD screens and LCD monitors possible. LCD projection technology, first created by Epson, became readily available to consumers in compact and fully colored modes in 1989.

The LCD growth in the 1990s focused more on the optical properties of these new displays in attempts to advance their quality and abilities. Hitachi engineers were integral to the analysis of the LCD industry, previously centered in Japan, began expanding and moving towards South Korea, Taiwan, and later China as well.

As we entered the new century, the prominence of LCDs boomed. They surpassed the previously popular cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays in both image quality and sales across the world in 2007. Other developments continued to be made, such as the manufacturing of even larger displays, adoption of transparent and flexible materials for LCD hardware, and creation of more methods to

As of today, as LCD displays have developed quite a bit, but have remained consistent in structure. Illuminated by a backlight, the display consists of, from outermost to innermost two polarizers, two substrates (typically glass), electrodes, and the liquid crystal layer. Closer to the surface is sometimes a color filter as well, using an RGB scheme. As light passes through the polarizer closest to the backlight, it enters the liquid crystal layer. Now, depending on whether an electric field directed by the electrodes is present, the liquid crystal will behave differently. Whether using a TN, IPS, or MVS LCD, the electrode electric field will alter the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules to then affect the polarization of the passing light. If the light is polarized properly, it will pass completely through the color filter and surface polarizer, displaying a certain color. If partially polarized correctly, it will display a medium level of light, or a less bright color. If not polarized properly, the light will not pass the surface, and no color will be displayed.

1927: Vsevolod Frederiks in Russian devised the electrically switched light valve, called the Fréedericksz transition, the essential effect of all LCD technology.

1967: Bernard Lechner, Frank Marlowe, Edward Nester and Juri Tults built the first LCD to operate at television rates using discrete MOS transistors wired to the device.

1968: A research group at RCA laboratories in the US, headed by George Heilmeier, developed the first LCDs based on DSM (dynamic scattering mode) and the first bistable LCD using a mixture of cholesteric and nematic liquid crystals. The result sparked a worldwide effort to further develop LCDs. George H. Heilmeier was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame and credited with the invention of LCDs. Heilmeier’s work is an IEEE Milestone.

1979, Peter Le Comber and Walter Spear at University of Dundee discovered that hydrogenated amorphous silicon (Alpha-Si:H) thin film transistors were suitable to drive LCDs. This is the major breakthrough that led to LCD television and computer displays.

1972: Tadashi Sasaki and Tomio Wada at Sharp Corporation built a prototype desktop calculator with a dynamic scattering LCD and started a program to build the first truly portable handheld calculator.

We have thousands of standard products that are in stock and available from our Seattle, WA and Hong Kong warehouses to support fast product development and preproduction without MOQ. The stock covers TN, STN LCD display panels, COB, COG character LCD display, graphic LCD display, PMOLED, AMOLED display, TFT display, IPS display, high brightness and transflective, blanview sunlight readable display, super high contrast ratio display, lightning fast response displays, efficient low power consumption display, extreme temperature range display, HMI display, HDMI display, Raspberry Pi Display, Arduino display, embedded display, capacitive touch screen, LED backlight etc.  Customers can easily purchase samples directly from our website to avoid time delays with setting up accounts and credit terms and shipping within 24 hours.

Many of our customers require customized OEM display solutions.  With over two decades of experience, we apply our understanding of available display solutions to meet our customer’s requirements and assist from project concept to mass production. Using your ideas and requirements as a foundation, we work side by side with you to develop ideas/concepts into drawings, build prototypes and to final production seamlessly. In order to meet the fast changing world, we can provide the fastest turnaround in the industry, it takes only 3-4 weeks to produce LCD panels samples and 4-6 weeks for LCD display module, TFT LCD, IPS LCD display, and touch screen samples. The production time is only 4-5 weeks for LCD panels and 5-8 weeks for LCD display module, TFT LCD, IPS LCD display, and touch screen.

STONE Technologies is a proud manufacturer of superior quality TFT LCD modules and LCD screens. The company also provides intelligent HMI solutions that perfectly fit in with its excellent hardware offerings.

STONE TFT LCD modules come with a microcontroller unit that has a 1GHz Cortex-A8 CPU. Such a module can easily be transformed into an HMI screen. Simple hexadecimal instructions can be used to control the module through the UART port. Furthermore, you can seamlessly develop STONE TFT LCD color user interface modules and add touch control, features to them.

Becoming a reputable TFT LCD manufacturer is no piece of cake. It requires a company to pay attention to detail, have excellent manufacturing processes, the right TFT display technology, and have a consumer mindset.

Now, we list down 10 of the best famous LCD manufacturers globally. We’ll also explore why they became among the top 10 LCD display Manufacturers in the world.

Interface Devises Business includes Display and Senor, Sensor, and Application Solutions. As a leading company in the global semiconductor display industry, BOE has made the Chinese display industry develop from scratch to maturity and prosperity. Now, more than one-quarter of the global display panels are made by BOE, with its UHD, flexible display, microdisplay, and other solutions broadly applied to well-known worldwide brands.

LG Display is a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, OLED, and flexible displays.LG Display began developing TFT-LCD in 1987 and currently offers Display panels in a variety of sizes and specifications using different cutting-edge technologies (IPS, OLED, and flexible technology).

Founded in 2003, Innolink listed its shares in Taiwan in 2006. In March 2010, it merged with Chi Mei Optoelectronics and Tong Bao Optoelectronics, the largest merger in the panel industry. Qunchuang is the surviving company and Chi Mei Electronics is the company name. In December 2012, it was renamed As Qunchuang Optoelectronics.

With innovative and differentiated technologies, QINNOOptoelectronics provides advanced display integration solutions, including 4K2K ultra-high resolution, 3D naked eye, IGZO, LTPS, AMOLED, OLED, and touch solutions. Qinnooptoelectronics sets specifications and leads the market. A wide range of product line is across all kinds of TFT LCD panel modules, touch modules, for example, TV panel, desktop and laptop computer monitor with panels, small and medium scale “panels, medical, automotive, etc., the supply of cutting-edge information and consumer electronics customers around the world, for the world TFT – LCD (thin-film transistor liquid crystal display) leading manufacturers.

AU Optronics Co., LTD., formerly AU Optronics Corporation, was founded in August 1996. It changed its name to AU Optronics after its merger with UNIOPtronics in 2001. Through two mergers, AU has been able to have a full range of generations of production lines for panels of all sizes.Au Optronics is a TFT-LCD design, manufacturing, and r&d company. Since 2008, au Optronics has entered the green energy industry, providing customers with high-efficiency solar energy solutions.

Sharp has been called the “father of LCD panels”.Since its founding in 1912, Sharp developed the world’s first calculator and LIQUID crystal display, represented by the living pencil, which was invented as the company name. At the same time, Sharp is actively expanding into new areas to improve people’s living standards and social progress. Made a contribution.

Sharp is committed to creating a unique company, creating life in the 21st century through unparalleled “originality” and “sophistication”, and is a sales company, operating video, home appliances, mobile phones, and information products throughout the major cities of the country. Establish a business point, establish a perfect after-sale service network, satisfy consumer demand.

BYD IT products and businesses mainly include rechargeable batteries, plastic mechanism parts, metal parts, hardware electronic products, cell phone keys, microelectronics products, LCD modules, optoelectronics products, flexible circuit boards, chargers, connectors, uninterruptible power supplies, DC power supplies, solar products, cell phone decoration, cell phone ODM, cell phone testing, cell phone assembly business, notebook computer ODM, testing and manufacturing and assembly business, etc.

Tianma microelectronics co., LTD., founded in 1983, the company focus on smartphones, tablets, represented by high order laptop display market of consumer goods and automotive, medical, POS, HMI, etc., represented by professional display market, and actively layout smart home, intelligent wear, AR/VR, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other emerging markets, to provide customers with the best product experience.IN terms of technology, the company has independently mastered leading technologies such as LTPS-TFT, AMOLED, flexible display, Oxide-TFT, 3D display, transparent display, and in-cell/on-cell integrated touch control. TFT-LCD key Materials and Technologies National Engineering Laboratory, national enterprise Technology Center, post-doctoral mobile workstation, and undertake national Development and Reform Commission, The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other major national thematic projects. The company’s long-term accumulation and continuous investment in advanced technology lay the foundation for innovation and development in the field of application.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s loss-making Sharp Corp intends to cut 12 percent of its workforce in a global restructuring expected to cost more than $1.7 billion (1 billion pounds), a person familiar with the plan said on Thursday.A shopper using a smartphone rides an escalator past under a logo of Sharp Corp at an electronics shop in Tokyo March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

On track for its third annual net loss in four years, the LCD screen and consumer electronics manufacturer has been in talks with banks, seeking to secure its second major bailout since 2012 while working on a fresh plan to overhaul its business.

Sources have said a debt-to-equity swap would be a logical option and that Sharp has also asked Japan Industrial Solutions, a corporate turnaround fund, to invest up to $250 million in capital.

Any decision to slash headcount would come on top of 5,000 jobs cut in Sharp’s previous round of restructuring that began three years ago when it was bailed out by banks with loans and credit lines worth 360 billion yen, or $3 billion at today’s exchange rates.

Media reports have also said new steps that Sharp may embark on include shedding its North American television business, lowering pay for workers in Japan, shutting a TV factory in Mexico and cutting the size of its North American sales division.

But Sharp, which supplies screens to Apple Inc and other smartphone makers, so far seems unwilling to bite the bullet on problems in its LCD panel business, said UBS analyst Ryosuke Katsura who reiterated a “sell” rating on its shares.

“Sharp’s LCD panel factories are currently operating at close to full capacity, but with demand limited... we believe inventories are building up, which is a problem the firm seems to be putting off,” he said.

There has also been much speculation that Sharp’s LCD business, which accounts for the bulk of its profits, would be better off if was bought by rival Japan Display Inc which has staged a strong comeback to eat into Sharp’s sales of smartphone screens in China. Sharp has denied that it is considering such a move.