sharp mobile lcd displays factory

The most advanced facility for the integrated production of LCD TVs from the manufacturing of LCD panels to assembly of final products was completed in Kameyama, Mie Perfecture, Japan, and started operation. The plant also provides rationalization in the process of production, inspection and delivery, as well as technology development, resulting in high production efficiency and high value-added performance.

With the expansion of the supply of large LCD panels from the Kameyama factories, Sharp is greatly advancing LCD TV production to meet increasing market needs.

LCD displays are still going to be around for a long time, at least for smart TVs such as the ones that use Android TV and other operating systems. Today, the massive electronic manufacturing company Foxconn announced a new partnership with Sharp to build and operate a new TV LCD flat-panel factory in China, which will cost $8.8 billion.AMOLED displays set to close in on LCD this year

Reuters reports that the new factory will help with the expected demand of new flat-screen TVs in Asia. Foxconn said that the LCD factory will make 10.5-generation 8K displays, along with screens for smart TVs and electronic whiteboards. Production is expected to begin in 2019.

This news comes even as other companies are embracing OLED displays for both TV as well as smartphones. However, there’s still some life in the LCD market. Panasonic recently announced an LCD IPS display with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It is supposed to have 600 times more contrast compared to normal LCD panels, and those levels are close to those found in OLED displays.

Consumers and device manufacturers demand low power consumption for long battery life and high resolution from their mobile displays. Sharp LCDs deliver, with a broad range of models and resolutions including HD720, FHD, WQHD, and even 4k2k for brilliant and immersive mobile experiences.

This unparalleled performance comes from research and development, combined with the manufacturing facilities needed to bring new technologies to market. Take for instance Sharp’s revolutionary new approach to touch displays, in-cell touch technology. Now being produced in the Mie Plant No. 3 as LTPS (CG silicon) and IGZO panels, these new displays integrate touch circuitry and LCD drivers into the LCD module itself. Without a separate touch layer required, displays – and devices – can now become even thinner.

From time-to-time, we"ve passed along some news on Apple"s long-time LCD supplier Japan Display. The company had the misfortune of sinking a lot of money into new factories just as Apple was making the move to OLED panels for the iPhone. Apple has helped prop up the company this year by investing a reported $100 million into a restructuring of the company and moving some of its LCD production from China to Japan Display"s facilities. Japan Display has lost money for 11 straight quarters, and while it was late to start producing OLED panels, it now produces the AMOLED screens employed by the Apple Watch Series 5. Apple contributes 60% of Japan Display"s annual revenue.

The Nikkei Business Daily reports today that Japan Display is talking to Apple and Sharp about selling its main smartphone display factory for as much as $820 million. Sharp is a unit of Foxconn, a contract manufacturer responsible for assembling the majority of iPhone units sold globally. Sharp also sells displays to Apple and said that it was talking to Japan Display about purchasing the factory after an unnamed client requested that it do so. In a statement it released, Sharp said, "We are carefully considering it, reviewing the impact that any purchase would have on our earnings, and whether and how much risk it would entail." Besides Foxconn, the report suggests that Wistron could be included in the purchase of the factory. Wistron is another company used by Apple to manufacture its products including the iPhone.

The factory, located in Hakusan City, Ishikawa prefecture in western Japan, cost $1.5 billion to build back in 2015, and Apple fronted that money to Japan Display. As part of the deal with the display manufacturer, Apple was to be reimbursed by taking a cut of each LCD panel display sold. But with smartphone manufacturers turning to AMOLED, the plant was running at only 50% capacity. As a result, Japan Display still owes Apple more than $800 million.

Another report says that Sharp will actually purchase the LCD production facilities by next March and will reach a separate agreement with Apple after the deal is closed. The factory has been shut since this past July. Japan Display released a statement today saying that it is looking at all options but isn"t sure what it will do about the factory. The company adds that nothing has been decided and when it does make a decision, it will notify the press. Earlier this month, the company said that it was looking to receive $200 million from a customer, believed to be Apple, for equipment from the plant. But now it appears that Japan Display is taking a different path.

Last year, the panel manufacturer lost $2.3 billion following a $260 million loss in 2017. The firm is one of three companies supplying Apple with the Liquid Retina Display for the iPhone 11 along with LG Display and Sharp. According to reliable TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple could release four new models next year. Forgetting the difference between 4G and 5G models, only one of the four will use an LCD display and that is expected to be the 4.7-inch iPhone9.

That super-sharp OLED display on the latest iPhone XS models comes courtesy of Samsung and LG. The rival Korean manufacturers were pretty much your only choice for the pricey phone screens, but that could be about to change. Apple"s LCD supplier Sharp is now jumping on the bandwagon with the release of its first OLED smartphone, the Aquos Zero. Though the handset (pictured above) is only shipping in its native Japan, Sharp"s manufacturing shift could bring down the overarching cost of producing OLED displays -- which is good news for consumers that don"t want to pay upwards of $700 for the tech.

For its part, Sharp is cautiously optimistic about the move, admitting to Reuters that "the momentum for OLED panels is waning," while pouring 57.4 billion yen ($505 million) into producing them in Western Japan. That"s still less than a third of the planned 200 billion yen investment that was announced by Sharp"s parent Foxconn back when it acquired the company in 2016.

In the past, Sharp has talked of starting an OLED TV panel alliance with Japan Display -- which is reportedly eyeing a 2019 start for its OLED production line -- in a bid to shake up Korea"s dominance. Unconcerned with falling demand, LG is investing a further 7.8 trillion Korean won ($7 billion) into the displays over the next three years. And if anyone has a head-start in the industry its Samsung, which recently unveiled an "unbreakable" OLED panel.

Think smartphones are suitably thin and light enough already? Well, they might be about to get even slender, that’s if top component maker Sharp has its way with a new type of screen that it has begun manufacturing.

The Japanese electronics company has begun mass producing “in-cell type touch displays,” which it said combine the LCD and touch sensor that are usually fitted separately on mobile devices. Putting them both together, Sharp explained, frees up space and gives phone makers greater license for creativity.

“The in-cell type touch display has the touch sensor function built into the LCD, thus enabling thinner and lighter displays. This also gives more design freedom to smartphone manufacturers,” the company explained.

Sharp, which developed the display for Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6+ and manufactures components for a range of other tech companies, has been responsible for a sizable amount of innovation in the display panel space. Its past developments include low-power IZGO displays that helped greatly improve device battery life, and ‘free form’ displays — announced last year — which have the potential to change the form factor of devices.

In-cell type touch displays may not quite so flamboyant, but saving precious real estate in devices could help pack in longer lasting battery or just make our phones of the future even sleeker than they are now. Don’t discount the potential impact of seemingly incremental steps.

As CBN reports, after Sharp acquired the Hakusan factory of Japan Display Corporation (JDI) at the end of last month, yesterday Apple asked Sharp to increase the production of iPhone panels. So the Hakusan factory will restart within this year.

Chen Jun, chief analyst of Qunzhi Consulting, said today that Sharp will become the largest supplier of LCD (liquid crystal) screens for iPhones in the future and continue to increase its B2B business.

Apple’s latest iPhone 11 series currently uses LCD and OLED screens. The 5.8-inch iPhone 11 Pro and the 6.5-inch iPhone 11 Pro Max use OLED screens, while the 6.1-inch iPhone 11 use LCD panels.

Currently LGD, JDI and Sharp are the main LCD screen suppliers for Apple iPhones. However, LGD will supply OLED screens to Apple next year, thus exiting the list of LCD screen suppliers.

Prior to this, we also reported that the LCD screen required by Apple’s new SE series iPhone is currently exclusively supplied by its previous major LCD screen supplier, Japan Display Company (JDI). However, Sharp, which was acquired by Hon Hai Precision in 2016, subsequently also will supply LCD screens to Apple’s new iPhone SE.

Before the iPhone adopted the OLED screen, JDI was a major supplier of LCD panels for Apple smartphones. And Apple was also the main source of income for JDI. However, after Apple turned to OLED screens, JDI, which was not in time for transition, also fell into trouble. Apple has also rescued from multiple levels. In 2019, JDI still has 61% of revenue from Apple.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Displaysaid on Friday it has agreed to sell a smartphone screen plant in central Japan to Sharp Corpfor $390 million, raising funds to repay debt it owes Apple Incfor the plant construction costs.

The company said in a statement it will also sell screen plant equipment at the liquid crystal display (LCD) factory to “an overseas customer” for $285 million, or $85 million more than the amount announced in March. Sources said the customer is Apple.

Sharp, a supplier of sensors, camera modules and LCD screens for Apple’s iPhones, is buying the central Japan plant at the request of Apple and plans to consolidate its iPhone panel production there, a source familiar with the matter said.

Sharp, a unit of Taiwan"s Foxconn, has been operating its own smartphone panel plant almost at full capacity, in part due to the popularity of Apple"s new lower cost iPhone SE.

Sharp will use the vacated smartphone panel lines at its existing LCD plant to boost production of panels for autos and medical equipment, said the source, who declined to be identified because the issue is private.

Japan Display, who supplies screens for the iPhone and has been struggling of late, is planning to sell a smartphone screen factory to Sharp for around $377 million.

Reported by the Nikkei Asian Review, the company has been missing its revenue targets ever since it inability to switch manufacturing over to OLED displays that Apple needed for its new iPhone Pro models.A deal for the Hakusan liquid crystal display plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, along with the planned sale of equipment there to a customer believed to be Apple, are expected to earn Japan Display a total of 70 billion yen while cutting excess capacity that has weighed on its earnings.

The company had been planning to sell the idle factory by the end of March, but the pandemic slowed down its negotiations with Sharp as well as another buyer of the equipment inside the plant (most likely Apple).

Japan Display, also known as JDI, had intended to sell the factory by the end of March as part of its turnaround plan, but the coronavirus pandemic slowed down negotiations. The company announced a deal late that month with an unnamed customer for some equipment at the factory, while continuing to hold talks with Sharp to unload the remaining assets.

Osaka-based Sharp, part of top iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, is expected to consolidate production of LCD panels for Apple"s iPhone at the Hakusan plant, renting the equipment from Apple. Sharp"s Kameyama factory, currently used for that purpose, will likely switch to making panels for new customers in such areas as automotive and medical equipment.

TOKYO -- Struggling Apple supplier Japan Display plans to sell a smartphone screen factory and the land it sits on to Sharp for 41.2 billion yen ($386 million), the company has announced.

OSAKA -- Sharp has turned LCD factory operator Sakai Display Products into a wholly owned subsidiary for an estimated 40 billion yen ($296 million), Sharp announced Monday.

Sharp previously held a 20% stake in SDP, which produces large display panels for televisions in the city of Sakai, near Osaka. It acquired the rest from a Samoa-based investment company by handing over 11.45 Sharp shares for each SDP share it received.

In 2016, Apple loaned Japan Display Inc. (JDI) $1.5 billion to enable JDI to construct the Hakusan plant and further ensure Apple a stable supply of LCD panels for its iPhone series. The large production capacity combined with large orders, allowed JDI to become the biggest LCD panel supplier for its iPhone series line-up.

The company saw LCD technology as a big opportunity and decided to invest significantly, ramping up production to cater to the opportunity. However, the company was hit by increasing competition from China display panel vendors which includes BOE, Tianma and TCL CSOT, leading to price wars and unfavorable business deals. During the years, JDI was unable to grab design wins and expand the size of orders to other customers and kept relying on Apple for most of its orders. We estimate more than half of its total revenue was contributed by Apple.

Considering the common adoption of LCD with no unique value proposition, Apple decided to shift its focus on OLED panels and started to increase the utilization of OLED technology, partnering with Samsung Display and LG Display to produce panels for iPhone X, XS, 11 Pro series smartphones.

As per Strategy Analytics estimates, the vendor’s smartphone panel shipments declined annually by 20 percent in CY 2019. The vendor has been losing money for its LCD business and recently recorded its 6th consecutive annual net loss in the fiscal year ended in March 2020.

JDI also implemented structural reforms aimed at cost reduction which includes personnel cost reduction, suspending mobile display plant operation temporarily and asset sales especially the facilities that are currently a burden on JDI’s bottom line. JDI’s Hakusan plant has been underutilized for quite some time as demand for LCD based mobile products has been lower than expected. Hakusan Plant is a significant fixed cost for JDI and a sale is necessary to improve the company’s cash flow, turnaround its business.

Apple is set to announce the iPhone 12 series which will be completely based on OLED panel technology and would exclude an LCD mobile product for the first time in its announcement. JDI’s key customer, Apple has completely shifted to focus on OLED technology for new products which means that the JDI’s mobile LCD business is increasingly jeopardizing its financial position in the near future if it is continuing to rely on Apple"s LCD panel orders.

Japan Display announced today that they had struck a deal with Sharp Corporation to sell its LCD Display plant in Hakusan, Japan for $ 390 million and also agreed to sell plant equipment to Apple for a total of $ 285 million. The proceeds from the sales are expected to be used along with the company’s own funds, for repaying the advances received from Apple (close to $ 700 million).

The LCD plant transfer is expected to be completed by this September and Sharp is expected to start production as soon as Q4 2020 (October) and will rent the plant equipment owned by Apple. Sharp will take over any debt associated with the Hakusan plant.

The Hakusan plant focuses on the production of mobile LCD display panels for Apple iPhones. The transfer of the asset allows Sharp to take over the plant. Sharp is expected to spin off its display business and combine the new plant capabilities to raise the production capacity and meet customer demand. Sharp also negotiated a deal with Apple to use this plant to produce panels to supply other smartphone customers.

The mobile LCD panel production for the company is expected to consolidate at the Mobara plant (G6 LTPS fab) that has twice the production capacity along with an OLED production site. This allows JDI to continue meeting the smartphone LCD demand from its customers.

Now having taken over the Hakusan plant, Sharp is expected to become a major player in the Apple iPhone supply chain. This allows the display vendor to strengthen its market position in the smartphone display segment. The increased production capacity also ensures a steady supply of LCD panels to Apple’s iPhone series based on LCD technology.

We also cannot ignore the role of Foxconn in this picture, who is being contracted by Apple to produce iPhones. We note that Foxconn being a major shareholder in Sharp Corporation, is looking to integrate the entire supply chain for iPhone production and display is a crucial component where Foxconn wants to control pricing and supply.

Sharp is expected to route all the smartphone panel orders through the Hakusan plant and tap the remaining capacity at the Kameyama plant (G6 LTPS fab) for new opportunities in the automotive and medical sectors.

• Since Sharp has boosted its panel capacity with the acquisition, will the panel vendor replace JDI in the supply chain for supplying LCD panels to Apple iPhone series?

• The plant acquisition also presents a risk of increasing fixed costs and the vendor would need to expand its customers beyond Apple, which all smartphone OEMs can be potential customers for Sharp?

The plant sale is expected to provide Japan Display and Sharp, a unique position to focus on next-generation technologies, especially on OLEDs. Apple has played a crucial role in facilitating this deal as it looks to reduce the reliance on Samsung Display and expand OLED supply to multiple panel vendors.

A Sharp is allocating a large chunk of its LCD production to Apple -- but it isn"t terribly sanguine about the prospect, a company executive said on Monday.

The entire output of the Japanese display maker"s Kameyama No. 1 plant "goes to just one company (Apple)," according to an interview with Sharp Senior Executive Managing Officer Norikazu Hoshi published by Japanese newspaper Nikkei on Monday.

"If you look at just this plant, it certainly presents a high level of volatility risk. But if we make LCD panels for smartphones in large quantities at the No. 2 plant, we can absorb the impact even when the No. 1 plant is not doing so well," he said to Nikkei.

The Sharp executive"s comments about volatility supply to Apple, including Japan Display. In short, having Apple as a customer leads to dramatic swings in production from quarter to quarter. And market growth for the iPhone is stalling in the face of other brands that run on Google"s Android operating system.

Sharp will invest about 35 billion yen ($340 million, £202 million, AU$366 million) in the LCD business in the current fiscal year. Much of that is going to IGZO panels -- the same kind of panel used in the iPad Mini Retina -- Hoshi said.

Sharp founder Tokuji Hayakawa coined this phrase to embody the management concept at Sharp. In 1912, he invented the snap belt buckle and three years later brought the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil to the market. Since then, Sharp has been on the cutting edge of technology, consistently innovating new appliances, industrial equipment and office solutions, and changing the lives of people around the world.

In 1962, Sharp expanded outside of Japan and established Sharp Electronics Corporation in the United States—the company"s first overseas sales base—and in 1979 it set up the Sharp Manufacturing Company of America to create a manufacturing base in the U.S.

Sharp didn"t limit itself to sales and manufacturing in the U.S. In 1995, Sharp opened Sharp Laboratories of America, its U.S.-based research and development laboratory designed to take advantage of American ingenuity and research.

As the array of products offered by Sharp grew, Sharp Electronics Corporation expanded to include a new sales office in Los Angeles, California, in 1996. In this same year, Sharp made its presence known on the Internet, with the creation of www.sharp.co.jp and www.sharp-world.com.

As a manufacturer, Sharp contributes to society by being the first to make unique products that meet the new needs of each decade. Successive generations of Sharp leaders have, in their own way, pursued this concept by making products that contribute to society, in the process creating a corporation known and trusted around the globe.

From the first solar-powered calculator to the largest commercially available LCD monitor, from copiers to solar cells, from air purifiers to steam ovens, and from microelectronics to microwave ovens, Sharp covers all of the needs of the contemporary lifestyle.

Sharp aims to realize its business philosophy throughout all its activities. Possessing a "gene of creativity" since its foundation, Sharp will continue to offer one-of-a-kind products and new lifestyles as a corporation trusted around the world.

Tokuji Hayakawa invents, manufactures and sells the Ever-Sharp Mechanical Pencil, one of the most innovative and popular writing instruments of its time.

Cooperative agreement with Rockwell Corporation of the United States leads to production of extra large-scale integrated (ELSI) chips that form the core of Sharp"s popular cutting-edge Microcompet calculator.

The Company changes its name from Hayakawa Electric Industry Co., Ltd. to Sharp Corporation. The new name reflects the Company’s broad vision and competencies.

Sharp establishes Sharp Manufacturing Company of America (SMCA) in Memphis, Tennessee. This is the company"s first overseas manufacturing facility in the industrialized world. Production of color TVs and microwave ovens gets under way the same year.

Sharp begins to produce VCRs in Japan as part of an integrated audio-visual lineup of products. The Company includes an arsenal of innovative features in its new products, such as a proprietary APSS (automatic program search system) and front-loading configuration.

Sharp completes conversion to a full-range electronic office equipment manufacturer and distributor by having products in the categories of computers, word processors, copiers and facsimiles.

Sharp completes a plant in Shinjo (Katsuragi), Nara Prefecture, devoted entirely to manufacturing solar power-related products such as solar heat collectors, water heaters, heat regeneration chambers, and solar cells for use in outer space, and to conducting research into energy utilization technology.

Sharp becomes the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce thin film EL panels. These devices are ideal for displays in office equipment and measuring instruments. Because of their thinness, reliability and low power consumption, they are chosen for use in the US Space Shuttle.

An industry first, Sharp establishes a Creative Lifestyle Focus Center to discover consumers’ true preferences in order to guide development of demand-generating “new-lifestyle” products.

Sharp launches the Liquid Crystal Display Group and establishes Liquid Crystal Display Laboratories within the Corporate Research and Development Group.

The name Sharp becomes inextricably linked with LCD. The Company creates a TFT LCD module containing 92,160 pixels, the most in the industry, and incorporates it into an LCD color TV.

After a two-year development, Sharp debuts its electronic organizer (known as the Wizard in the US). The new organizers give users a calendar, memo pad, phone book, scheduler and calculator, all in a single unit. Also, users can add to the built-in functions by inserting IC cards for specific applications.

Sharp pledges to become a full-range electronics company with optoelectronics as its core technology. Optoelectronics, which fuses light and electronics, surpasses conventional optical data transmission technologies. Its major advantages are data compression, excellent reliability and high transfer rates.

Sharp made an early start with optoelectronics research. Spinoffs have included LCDs, solar cells, laser diodes, EL devices, CCDs (charge-coupled devices) and LEDs. Today the company is number one in the world market for optoelectronics, which is the key to growth in fast expanding areas such as audio-visual and data communications.

One Sharp success in the optoelectronics field at this time is the development of the world"s first 14-inch color TFT LCD. A mere 2.7 cm thick, it boasts a sharp, bright picture.

Sharp takes a lead in the field of LCD-based products by developing a 100-inch large-screen LCD video projector consisting of three 3-inch color TFT LCD panels and unveiling a high-definition television (HDTV) LCD projector.

The Company continues to reinforce its leadership position in the LCD field by completing a new LCD plant in Japan and a facility for mass-producing LCD panels in the US.

Ahead of the popularity curve, Sharp polishes its credentials as an ecologically responsible corporate citizen by addressing global environmental problems as a priority, and establishing product quality and reliability, and ecological responsibility as key corporate themes. The definition of product quality is expanded to include all aspects from design to after-sales service.

The Zaurus creates whole new markets and joins the ViewCam as one of Sharp"s flagship products. The Zaurus is a PDA that incorporates new features such as facsimile transmission, PC linking, handwriting recognition, and multimedia.

Sharp makes waves by introducing a reflective-type TFT color LCD that can be viewed clearly in natural or normal room light. Compared to conventional transmissive-type LCD, which required a backlight, this new display uses just one-thirtieth the power and boasts a wide viewing angle. The reflective TFT LCD becomes popular as a display for mobile devices.

Sharp announces development of a 21-inch TFT color LCD, the world"s largest. This is 1.5 times larger than the 17-inch model Sharp introduced in 1992, showing the world Sharp"s high standard of LCD technology. Sharp finally breaks the 20-inch barrier with this wall-mounted TV.

Sharp announces the establishment of Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc. (SLA) in Camas, Washington, to give Sharp a global tripolar research network linking Japan, the US, and the UK. SLA is founded so that America"s superb researchers could use rapidly advancing multimedia technology to create original products for Sharp.

Sharp introduces the Mebius notebook PC, a culmination of the company’s expertise in several technologies: LCD, high-density and downsizing technologies fostered in PDAs and word processors, and user-friendly interfaces.

Japan"s leading economic daily chooses Sharp as the second best domestic company for fiscal 1995, out of a total of 1,054 companies. Using a multivariate company evaluation system, the newspaper rates Sharp highly for the development of key devices and original products with unique features such as the company"s LCDs, its continuous effort of releasing demand-creating products, and increased sales and profitability for four continuous years.

Sharp launches the Environmental Protection Group and promotes a 3G1R strategy company-wide. (The three Gs stand for Green products, Green factories, Green mind, and the one R stands for Recycling business.) Sharp aims to become the No.1 environmentally responsible company from product planning, factory operation, and work processing to employee actions.

Using new CG-Silicon (continuous grain silicon) technology developed through a joint venture, Sharp makes a splash with its prototype ultra high-definition 60-inch rear projector that uses three 2.6-inch CG-Silicon LCD panels.

Sharp takes advantage of its core competencies and establishes itself as a leading brand in notebook PCs by unveiling a model equipped with an 11.3-inch high-definition LCD, the largest in its class, despite the entire unit being half the thickness and half the weight of conventional notebooks of that time. The notebook could be run for an amazingly long time (approximately 8.5 hours using the separately sold battery) and had revolutionary specifications for its era, such as a 3.2 GB hard drive.

Sharp announces the world’s first 20-inch LCD TVs in February and begins sales the following month. The large 20-inch screen is the ideal size for a main TV in a home. With a thickness of only 4.95 cm, these TVs save space and use only 43% of the power consumed by conventional models.

Sharp releases the world"s first Internet-capable microwave oven. This one-of-a-kind microwave oven lets users download recipes from the Internet. These recipes include automatic heating instructions, allowing even novices to cook like a pro.

Sharp announces the introduction of a 1-bit amp, which uses the world"s first high-order delta-sigma modulation 1-bit amplifier technology to reproduce sounds that are as close as possible to the original. The technology produces ultra high-fidelity sound by digitally extracting and processing audio signals at 64 times the sampling rate of standard audio CDs, while also making possible smaller and more power-efficient equipment.

Having provided many world-first and industry-first copiers since entering the market in 1972 with a wet-type electrostatic copier, Sharp"s total worldwide copier production reaches 10 million in 2000. Sharp becomes the second copier manufacturer to achieve this outstanding milestone.

Sharp starts production of a high-definition TFT LCD that has the ability to faithfully display objects in fine detail. Sharp"s original UHA (ultra high aperture) technology enables ultra high definition that is difficult to achieve with conventional CRT monitors. The new LCD can be used in a wide range of fields, including digital broadcast-compatible LCD TVs and displays for highly intricate medical applications.

Sharp successfully developes the world"s first Plasmacluster ion air purification technology -- a technology that emits positive and negative ions into the air, thus deactivating impurities.

Sharp introduces the world"s thinnest and lightest (as of May 2001) 12.1-inch notebook PC. In addition to a thickness of just 16.6 mm and a weight of just 1.31 kg thanks to an enclosure-integrated display unit, the notebook PC’s proprietary retractable keyboard, metallic casing and structure make it portable, easy to use and rugged, giving users a new generation of mobile PC.

Sharp strengthens its foundation for future success by starting construction of new manufacturing facilities including the highly efficient Kameyama Plant (in Japan) as a site for the integrated production of LCD TVs—from the LCD panel to the final assembly of large-screen TVs.

Sharp announces a new plant to produce System LCDs. System LCDs make it possible to display higher resolution images and build ICs such as LCD drivers onto a single glass panel. They contribute to more compact devices with thinner profiles and lower power consumption, enabling equipment such as handsets to be thinner than ever.

The shift to high-resolution LCDs for mobile devices rapidly progresses, and Sharp begins full-scale production of System LCDs, which enable an ultra-high-resolution display on a par with photogravure printing. System LCDs quickly find applications in mobile phones and PDAs.

Sharp begins solar production in US: Solar module assembly operations begin at Sharp Manufacturing Company of America in Memphis, Tennessee. The facility produces a variety of modules for commercial and residential solar installations.

Sharp develops and puts into practical use a technology to enable the repeated recycling and reuse of waste plastic as material for use in new products (air conditioners, TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.), an industry first.

Sharp develops the Mobile Advanced Super View LCD and LCD Panel Speakers for portable devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and digital cameras. The Mobile Advanced Super View LCD represents a breakthrough in high-resolution displays, making it possible to attain crisp, clear images with super-wide viewing angles. The LCD Panel Speakers integrally formed audio circuitry on the glass substrate of a System LCD panel. Both of these technologies received high ratings as technologies to simultaneously enable high-resolution image display and high-quality audio without the need for external speaker components.

Sharp’s state-of-the-art Kameyama Plant becomes fully operational. It integrates production of large-screen LCD TVs – from fabricating the LCD panel to final assembly - and is the first such facility in the world.

Sharp introduces Illuminating Solar Panels that integrate high-luminance LEDs (light-emitting diodes) with transparent, high-conversion-efficiency thin-film solar cells. In addition to using the solar cells to generate electricity during the daytime, the solar panels are transparent and allow natural light to pass through. At night these panels can provide illumination using the embedded LEDs.

Sharp introduces a Superheated Steam Oven using a technology that achieves low-calorie, low-salt cooking using superheated steam at about 300°C. The process enjoys three major features—reduced fat, lower salt, and preservation of vitamin C in foods.

Sharp achieves the world’s highest solar cell production total for the sixth year in a row, and Sharp receives high ratings as a leading environmental company.

4.5 kW Sharp solar system is installed at Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park. The system generates 120 kW of clean electricity that is fed back into the grid serving PG&E"s customers throughout northern and central California.

904 kW Sharp solar system is installed at FedEx’s hub at Oakland International Airport. The system provides about 80 percent of the facility’s peak-demand electricity needs.

Sharp initiates a system to ensure a consistent supply of large-format LCD panels in the 40- and 50-inch class by adopting eighth-generation glass substrates (2,160 x 2,460 mm), a world first, and sets up a global five-base production system with the goal of producing products in the region in which they are used.

Sharp acquires the Eco Mark, the only Type I environmental labeling in Japan, administered by the Japanese Environment Association, for a photovoltaic module, an industry first.

Sharp developed and begins sample shipments of a blue-violet laser diode with 20-mW maximum power that achieves a 10,000-hour service lifetime, among the longest in the industry, with power consumption of only 168 mW, the industry’s lowest. This diode is ideal for playback of next-generation DVDs, such as Blu-ray Discs and HD-DVD.

Sharp develops a 108V-inch LCD TV that it shows at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. This 108V-inch LCD TV, the world’s largest at that time, uses a Black Advanced Super View full-HD panel, measuring 2,386 x 1,344 mm, that is made at Kameyama Plant No. 2 from the first-ever eighth-generation glass substrates.

Sharp continues to develop new LCD technologies such as the Mobile Advanced Super View LCD, an ideal product for One-Seg-compatible mobile phones with its 2,000:1 contrast (industry’s highest for the two-inch class at the time), one of the industry’s widest viewing angles (176°), fast response speed (8 ms); and System LCD technology with embedded optical sensors which offer input through touch-screen and scanning.

Sharp solar system is installed on Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. The 1.6 MW system is the largest commercial solar installation at that time. In addition to roof-mounted arrays, the system also features a new structure that encompasses two carports under which employees can park – and if they drive a plug-in hybrid - recharge their car.

Sharp wins Stevie Award (American Business Awards) “Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program” for the SOLA in NOLA charity reconstruction project. Sharp donated and arranged for the installation of ten solar systems on homes being rebuilt in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward to demonstrate the role solar power could play in the community’s rebuilding efforts.

Sharp breaks ground on a new manufacturing complex to include a LCD panel plant that will be the first facility to use tenth-generation glass substrates (2,850 x 3,050 mm), the world’s largest. A solar cell plant will have an annual production volume of 1,000 MW (one million kW) for thin-film solar cells.

Sharp releases Next-Generation X Series AQUOS® LCD TVs that feature Sharp’s newly developed next-generation Mega Advanced Super View LCD. The Mega Advanced Super View LCD offers amazingly superb picture quality, an innovative thin-profile design, and outstanding environmental performance. This new LCD boasts “mega-contrast”—a TV contrast of more than 1,000,000:1 —producing deep, rich blacks, expanding the reproducible color gamut to 150% of the NTSC color space, and enabling a display that is only 2.28 cm thick at its thinnest part. For optimal sound quality, X Series models incorporate Sharp’s original 1-Bit digital amp.

Sharp and Italy’s largest power company, Enel SpA (Enel), agree to establish a joint venture to operate as an independent power producer (IPP). As such, they plan to develop a number of solar power plants with a total capacity of 189 MW by the end of 2012.

2 MW Sharp solar system is installed at Denver International Airport. Spanning seven and a half acres, the system will generate over three million kWh of clean electricity annually.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum and Sharp Electronics Corporation announced a technology partnership. Sharp, in addition to providing future audio/video techonology support, has donated a new video installation at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site. The 13" x 7" video wall, comprised of nine Sharp LCD monitors, features animated renderings of the Memorial and an official "opening day counter." Stop by the Preview Site to see for yourself!

Sharp already makes smaller glass panels at a nearby plant, producing 60,000 panels a month there, for TVs with a diagonal measure around 30 inches, or 76 centimeters. It has sped up the start of the new plant to meet growing demand for larger 40-inch and 50- inch TVs, a company spokeswoman, Miyuki Nakayama, said.

The new plant will produce 15,000 panels a month, enough for 120,000 40- inch TVs. Production will be raised to 30,000 panels a month by March, Sharp said.

Last week, Sharp said its profit in the first fiscal quarter jumped 23 percent to ¥23.9 billion on growing sales of flat panel TVs and mobile phones. Quarterly sales totaled ¥693.7 billion, up 12.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.

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Flat-panel displays are thin panels of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying text, images, or video. Liquid crystal displays (LCD), OLED (organic light emitting diode) and microLED displays are not quite the same; since LCD uses a liquid crystal that reacts to an electric current blocking light or allowing it to pass through the panel, whereas OLED/microLED displays consist of electroluminescent organic/inorganic materials that generate light when a current is passed through the material. LCD, OLED and microLED displays are driven using LTPS, IGZO, LTPO, and A-Si TFT transistor technologies as their backplane using ITO to supply current to the transistors and in turn to the liquid crystal or electroluminescent material. Segment and passive OLED and LCD displays do not use a backplane but use indium tin oxide (ITO), a transparent conductive material, to pass current to the electroluminescent material or liquid crystal. In LCDs, there is an even layer of liquid crystal throughout the panel whereas an OLED display has the electroluminescent material only where it is meant to light up. OLEDs, LCDs and microLEDs can be made flexible and transparent, but LCDs require a backlight because they cannot emit light on their own like OLEDs and microLEDs.

Liquid-crystal display (or LCD) is a thin, flat panel used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. They are usually made of glass but they can also be made out of plastic. Some manufacturers make transparent LCD panels and special sequential color segment LCDs that have higher than usual refresh rates and an RGB backlight. The backlight is synchronized with the display so that the colors will show up as needed. The list of LCD manufacturers:

Organic light emitting diode (or OLED displays) is a thin, flat panel made of glass or plastic used for electronically displaying information such as text, images, and moving pictures. OLED panels can also take the shape of a light panel, where red, green and blue light emitting materials are stacked to create a white light panel. OLED displays can also be made transparent and/or flexible and these transparent panels are available on the market and are widely used in smartphones with under-display optical fingerprint sensors. LCD and OLED displays are available in different shapes, the most prominent of which is a circular display, which is used in smartwatches. The list of OLED display manufacturers:

MicroLED displays is an emerging flat-panel display technology consisting of arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements. Like OLED, microLED offers infinite contrast ratio, but unlike OLED, microLED is immune to screen burn-in, and consumes less power while having higher light output, as it uses LEDs instead of organic electroluminescent materials, The list of MicroLED display manufacturers:

Sony produces and sells commercial MicroLED displays called CLEDIS (Crystal-LED Integrated Displays, also called Canvas-LED) in small quantities.video walls.

LCDs are made in a glass substrate. For OLED, the substrate can also be plastic. The size of the substrates are specified in generations, with each generation using a larger substrate. For example, a 4th generation substrate is larger in size than a 3rd generation substrate. A larger substrate allows for more panels to be cut from a single substrate, or for larger panels to be made, akin to increasing wafer sizes in the semiconductor industry.

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