| Nippon Paint and
Sharp combine efforts to advance LCD color filter technology |
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| Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. and Sharp Corporation
have concluded an agreement for jointly developing color filter
technology for STN-LCDs. This technology is an essential element
in cellular phone and other mobile equipment displays. The new
agreement will allow the two companies to reinforce a collaborative
relationship that has strong potential. Cellular phone demand
will continue to grow as the convenience and ease of use they
offer are so significant. The type of information cellular phones
are capable of is also expanding steadily, including voice data,
text and even images. There is also an ongoing transition from
b/w image display to full-color images, helping cellular phones
evolve into mobile information terminals for accessing digital
networks. Prior to this, Nippon Paint and Sharp had independently
worked on color filter R&D for use with STN-LCDs. Color filters
are key materials for LCDs as they are crucial to LCD panel
clarity and brightness. The recently concluded agreement intends
to combine Sharp's renowned LCD technology and Nippon Paint's
advanced color filter technology in order to develop higher
performance color filters for use with STN-LCDs that exhibit
such rapid growth potential. The agreement covers three areas: |
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| (1) |
Nippon Paint will concentrate on
producing color filter materials and developing related
new technologies, and will also supply color filter materials
to Sharp. |
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| (2) |
Nippon Paint will transfer its color
filter manufacturing line equipment to Sharp, so that
Sharp can commence color filter production in April 2000. |
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| (3) |
Initially, color filters produced
will be employed for translucent type (glass) LCDs, and
later for plastic color LCDs as the two companies' collaborative
efforts aim to develop a solid technology. |
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| This agreement will benefit both companies,
allowing them to expand more efficiently. While Sharp will solidify
its technological base by equipping itself with a color filter
manufacturing line essential for producing higher-quality, translucent
type color STN-LCDs such as plastic LCDs, Nippon Paint will
be able to solidify and expand its color filter material business.
Drawing on previous success in joint-development projects, they
are striving to develop the jointly developed color filter into
a core component for plastic color LCDs and other specialized
devices in order to expand the market and create new demands
for color LCDs in mobile equipment. |
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Jointly developed color filter features
Using an electrodeposition coating process allows this color
filter to exhibit increased brightness and finer patterns than
conventional color filter products. Such properties help reduce
the power consumption of reflection/translucent type color LCDs
and prove ideal for color plastic LCDs that feature high visibility. |
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| Electrodeposition
coating features |
| (1) |
Uniform and smooth color
filter coating. |
| (2) |
High-precision patterning
for greater image resolution. |
| (3) |
Usable with thin and flexible
substrates. |
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| Outline
of the color filter manufacturing line to be transferred
to Sharp |
| (1) |
Date of transfer: March
31, 2000 |
| (2) |
Current manufacturing
capacity: 2 million units per month (converted into cellular
phone LCD panels) |
| (3) |
Location of the manufacturing
line: Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. Okayama Plant (Shoo-cho,
Katsuta-gun, Okayama, Japan) |
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| Plastic LCD characteristics |
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| Compared to conventional glass LCDs, a plastic
LCD reduces thickness by half and weight by two thirds while
increasing strength by a factor of 10. Such characteristics
make the plastic LCD an ideal display for cellular phones and
other mobile equipment that require increasingly compact and
lightweight configurations. |
