The Business Of LCDs

Oct. 4, 2004
According to an August 2004 study from iSuppli Corp., large-sized LCD panel unit shipments increased by 17% between the first and second quarter of this year. Such growth is projected to slow down, at least for the rest of this year, because new...

According to an August 2004 study from iSuppli Corp., large-sized LCD panel unit shipments increased by 17% between the first and second quarter of this year. Such growth is projected to slow down, at least for the rest of this year, because new manufacturing facilities (as many as eight worldwide) are being readied to go into full production, making supply outstrip demand.

In fact, the thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD industry is in the midst of the largest spate of investment in production facilities in its history. Hitachi, Matsushita, and Toshiba are jointly investing $1 billion to build a new production plant for large-screen LCD panels. In addition, Sharp and Samsung lead the way in the number of LCD fabrication facilities being planned.

Color LCD flat panels continue to penetrate consumer TV screens. But they still constitute only 6% of all consumer TV sales due to relatively high prices, compared to the venerable CRT, and they continue to drop (see the table). "The CRT has been around for about 100 years, while TFT LCD technology has only been around for about seven years," says Dale Maunu, director of Business Development and Procurement for Optrex America Inc. "In that respect, TFT LCDs still have a long way to go for full maturity."

Most widescreen TVs that use color LCDs have diagonal sizes of 40 to 49 in. Many others use LCD color screens of 24 to 49 in. in diagonal.

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.

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