Sharp suffered a huge loss in 2011, with a loss of 290 billion yen (about 3.8 billion US dollars) for the whole year, becoming the largest annual loss since the company was founded. In addition to the natural disasters such as earthquakes, it is also related to the shrinking demand for LCD TVs. Even the development of large-size LCD panels may not improve the company's revenue soon. At this time, Sharp also moved out its latest ace technology - IGZO (In-Ga-Zn-O) TFT uses high-precision LCD panels with oxide semiconductor drive components, so Sharp will convert its large-size panel production line. For the small and medium size with advantages, the development of the market will bring better benefits. Let's explain what IGZO TFT technology is.

This article refers to the address: http://

1_copy.jpg

What is the best screen for the new iPad? Sharp new IGZO technology analysis

I first heard about IGZO screen technology, but at the end of 2011, it was rumored that the new iPad would use Sharp's IGZO screen panel. However, Apple could not choose it because it could not be mass-produced in time. In April of this year, Sharp finally transferred this technology panel to mass production, which was delayed by three months compared with the original estimated time. There are three kinds of IGZO TFT screens exhibited by Sharp. The 11-inch resolution is 1366×800, the 32-inch resolution is 3840×2160 (screen precision 140ppi), the 10-inch resolution is 2560×1600 (screen precision 300ppi), 7 inch 1280. ×800 (accuracy 217ppi), these screen samples can be mass-produced.

What exactly is IGZO TFT?

When it comes to "IGZO TFT", everyone may be confused, and it is easy to be confused with panel types such as IPS and AMOLED. In fact, IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) is an abbreviation for indium gallium zinc oxide, which is a thin film transistor technology, which is based on a metal oxide layer on the active layer of the TFT-LCD. Therefore, it has nothing to do with the convenience of liquid crystal molecular alignment (not a conceptual category with IPS, PVA, etc.), but an improved technology based on TFT driving, which Sharp uses to improve its competitiveness in small and medium-sized LCD panels. In other words, even IPS LCD panels can use IGZO TFT technology at the same time, and there is no contradiction between the two.

2_copy.jpg

TFT (Thin Film Transistor) refers to a thin film field effect transistor. A TFT liquid crystal screen means that each liquid crystal pixel on the liquid crystal panel is driven by a thin film transistor integrated therein, that is, it is often heard in the mobile phone field. Go to the "TFT screen". Common TFT driver classifications mainly include a-Si TFTs (amorphous silicon) and LTPS TFTs (low-temperature polysilicon), and IGZO TFTs also fall into this category. So in the end, Sharp's proposed IGZO panel is still a TFT LCD screen. In fact, IGZO TFT technology can also be used on OLED panels, so I won't say much here.

3_copy.jpg

Secondly, we will introduce the characteristics of the two technologies of a-Si TFT and LTPS TFT, so that everyone can better understand the meaning of IGZO. Traditional a-Si TFTs (amorphous silicon) are currently the most widely used technology, covering most mobile phones, tablets, notebook screens and almost all LCD TV screens. The LTPS TFT technology is applied to small and medium-sized high-precision liquid crystal panels (such as HTC One X should use this technology), ppi can achieve more than 500, and its electron mobility is about 100 times that of a-Si TFT.

4_copy.jpg

The main advantages of IGZO TFTs are in miniaturization, high precision, low power consumption, etc. The electron mobility is about 20 to 50 times that of a-Si TFTs, which is slightly lower than that of LTPS TFTs, but LTPS TFTs have a complicated recrystallization. The process, therefore, IGZO has a lower transformation difficulty and manufacturing cost for the production line. For Sharp with multiple panel lines, only IGZO screens can be produced with minor modifications, and small and medium-sized panels will be produced on the production line that originally manufactured large panels. Bring greater mass production.

Advantages of IGZO TFT

IGZO TFTs can improve the performance of TFTs compared to a-Si TFTs used in large-size TV panels. However, unlike the low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) TFT, it is not necessary to irradiate the laser to crystallize the semiconductor layer, so that the size of the glass substrate can be easily increased. Compared with traditional a-Si (amorphous silicon) TFTs, IGZO has three major advantages in performance: high precision, low power consumption and high touch performance. The main supply targets are tablet PCs and ultra-books. product.

5_copy.jpg

Panel high precision

6.jpg

Since the electron mobility of IGZO is about 20 to 50 times that of a-Si TFT, the utilization of the backlight is improved, because the resolution can achieve more than twice the resolution of the ordinary TFT screen, because the gate-source wiring is fine. The linearization technology, the drive components reach the original 1/4, maintaining the original light transmittance.

Low power consumption

7_copy.jpg

8.jpg

The IGZO TFT has a leakage current of less than 1 pA compared to the a-Si TFT and the LTPS TFT. The driving frequency is reduced from the original 30-50Hz to 2-5Hz. Although the number of driving of the TFT is reduced, the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules can be maintained without affecting the picture, so that the power consumption of the original LCD panel can be 1/5-1/10 ( Does not include backlight components).

Improve touch performance

9_copy.jpg

10.jpg

When combined with a capacitive touch panel, IGZO TFTs also improve touch detection sensitivity. This is because the touch is still detected when the TFT driving is stopped, and the influence of the noise generated by the TFT driving is suppressed, and the touch precision is improved. A high-precision touch experience such as pen input can be achieved even without using a dedicated product.

What changes will IGZO bring?

There are three kinds of IGZO TFT screens exhibited by Sharp. The 11-inch resolution is 1366×800, the 32-inch resolution is 3840×2160 (screen precision 140ppi), the 10-inch resolution is 2560×1600 (screen precision 300ppi), 7 inch 1280. ×800 (accuracy 217ppi), these screen samples can be mass-produced. In terms of accuracy, there is no advantage over the high-precision panels released by other manufacturers. Toshiba even released a 498ppi 5-inch LCD panel. However, Sharp's IGZO has better electronic performance and thinner thickness (only 20% thicker than OLED), and the lower transformation difficulty and manufacturing cost will bring more opportunities to Sharp, making high-precision panels more popular.

11.jpg

12.jpg

However, Sharp has been focusing more on large-size LCD panels. After that, Sharp will mass produce these small and medium-sized panels at the Kameyama No. 2 Plant (8th generation line). It is then possible to renovate the å º factory (10th generation line). Supplying portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebooks that require expansion, larger-sized panels are not available for consumer TVs, but are high-precision screens for medical and healthcare applications.

13.jpg

From the comparison photos of the scene, Sharp's IGZO panel has a good display effect, and higher display precision brings more information. Of course, this resolution is compared to the Retina used by the New iPad. The screen does not have a bigger advantage. Although Sharp did not emphasize IGZO's change in image quality, in the live comparison, you can see that the color reproduction of the IGZO screen is deeper, the contrast feels higher, and the display of white is more accurate, so we have reason to expect IGZO to be better in the future. Quality performance.

14.jpg

15.jpg

16.jpg

Summary: IGZO TFT technology has given Sharp a chance to transform into a small and medium panel market, with better electronic performance, low power consumption, high screen accuracy, high touch performance and thickness exceeding the current LCD screen in the future. We are likely to see more devices using Sharp's IGZO screens. If it is not because of the delay in the progress of the production line, perhaps the new version of the iPad will use this Sharp screen, after all, the new iPad's most criticized heat, thickness and other aspects are exactly what IGZO can improve.

Japanese Lamp

Japanese Lamp,Japanese LED Bedroom Lamp,Japanese LED Light,LED Lighting Japanese Standard

Dongguan baiyou electronic co.,ltd , https://www.dgbaiyou.com