Pioneer to Construct Third PDP Plant
Kyocera Introduces Compact PLL Module with Embedded TCXO
Fuji Film and Konica to Enter Cellular Phone Camera Component Market
Japanese Companies Tie up in Development of Next-Generation Mobile Electronics Display
Idemitsu Develops Improved White OEL Material
Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Showcases Low Molecule OEL Display

Japan’s Pioneer announced on July 1, 2002, that it would construct a new PDP (Plasma Display Panel) manufacturing line by investing 16 billion yen ($133.33 million @ yen 120/$US 1). The new plant will kick off manufacturing in September 2003 with annual production capacity of 100,000 units. When considered with its existing manufacturing facilities, Pioneer’s PDP production capacity will reach 250,000 units a month with the addition of the new line.

The new PDP line – the third for Pioneer -- will be constructed in Pioneer’s PDP manufacturing subsidiary, Shizuoka Pioneer. The construction will begin in September 2002. The new line will produce 43-inch and 50-inch PDP panels.

The global market size for PDP panels is estimated as 360,000 units in 2001, 500,000 units in 2002, and 3,545,000 units in 2005. Pioneer originally planned to begin construction of the third PDP line in spring 2003. By pushing its construction plan, Pioneer aims to respond to growing demand for PDP. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Kyocera has developed a PLL (Phase-Locked Loop) synthesizer module, which incorporates a TCXO (Temperature-Compensated Crystal Oscillator) for the first time in the industry, and will begin mass production of the module at its Kokubu Plant in Kagoshima, Japan, in September 2002.

The module is for CDMA wireless handsets equipped with the GPS (Global Positioning System) function. The KS9880T module is priced at 380 yen ($3.17 @ yen 120/$US 1). The TCXO, which generates a signal at a standard frequency, was integrated into the PLL synthesizer module, which selects the necessary frequency. By revising the substrate layering structure, Kyocera achieved a unit size of 9.8 mm x 8.0 mm x 1.7 mm. Until Kyocera’s introduction of the device, the PLL synthesizer module and TCXO were mounted individually. By integrating the two functions, Kyocera was able to reduce packaging area by 80 percent. Additionally, the number of wiring lines between the TCXO and the PLL modules are reduced, contributing to substantial noise reduction. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Two leading Japanese camera manufacturers, Fuji Photo Film and Konica, are going to enter the image module market for cellular phones. With improved image quality as a weapon, the companies will market their image modules to cellular phone manufacturers. J-Phone was the first wireless service provider in Japan to offer camera-equipped cellular phones. NTT DoCoMo and KDDI have now also begun offering similar services, making camera modules an increasingly standard part of mid- and high-end handsets.

Fuji Photo Film will supply high-performance CCD camera components to cellular phone manufacturers starting in summer 2002. The company has adopted a proprietary Super CCD Honeycomb structure in its CCD and achieved a 300,000-pixel equivalent picture quality using a 170,000-pixel device. The technology is already adopted in many of Fuji Photo Film’s digital still cameras. Its sensitivity is high and it is suitable for picture taking in dark environments such as at night and inside buildings. The company will manufacture the CCD modules at its manufacturing subsidiary, Fuji Film Microdevices. It plans to ship one million units in the first year.

Sanyo Electric and Sharp are currently known as the dominant image-module suppliers to the cellular phone market. With the entry of camera manufacturers such as Fuji and Konica into the cellular phone image-module market, competition will intensify. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

NEC, Toray, and eight other Japanese firms are going to tie up in the development of new materials for LCD displays, which will be used in next-generation cellular phones and digital still cameras. The companies will establish an R&D consortium before the end of 2002. The project is a part of METI’s (the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry) industry/academia/government technology development program. Tokyo Agricultural University, several quasi-public corporations, and AIST (the National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology) are also going to participate in the R&D.

Other than NEC and Toray, the participating members include Konica, Sumitomo Chemical Industry, Sumitomo Bakelite, Hitachi Chemical, JSR, Dai Nippon Ink Chemical, Toppan Printing, and Dai Nippon Printing. The companies will engage in development of substrate materials that will drive color TFT LCDs. The R&D expenditure for three years is estimated to exceed 10 billion yen ($83.33 million @ yen 120/$US 1). Sumitomo Bakelite and JSR will develop film substrates, Dai Nippon Ink and Toppan Printing will develop color filters, while NEC will fabricate TFT panels using the new materials technologies. The efficient distribution of tasks has the objective of reducing development costs. METI has injected 3.4 billion yen ($28.33 million), which it earmarked as part of the second increment of the national budget in fiscal 2001, into installation of clean rooms in the Tokyo Agricultural University campus. The clean rooms are going to be completed in September 2003, and the ten firms participating in the joint LCD materials project will use them as a research center. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Idemitsu Kosan has developed a white OEL (organic electroluminescent) material that can maintain 100cd/m2 brightness for over 100,000 hours. The lifespan of the new material, which mixes compounds that emit blue and orange light, is double that of other white OEL materials. The heat resistance was also improved to +120C from +85C in existing white OEL materials. The company targets the new white OEL materials to applications in backlight LCD panels, as well as displays in car audio equipment, automobile dashboards, and lighting devices. Adoption of the new OEL material allows manufacturers to make the devices thinner. Idemitsu plans to commence sample shipments in August 2002 and will move to mass production when demand rises. It plans to generate 4 billion yen ($33.33 million @ yen 120/$US 1) in sales in around 2007.

Roughly divided, there are two types of OEL materials, the low molecule type and the polymer type. The new material belongs to the low molecule category. Generally speaking, manufacture of the low molecule type requires vacuum equipment to paste the material on a glass substrate. Because of this, it was thought to be less suitable for mass production compared to the polymer type, which can be manufactured in air. Idemitsu’s new white OEL material does require vacuum equipment. However, the company is currently developing a low molecule type material that can be pasted in air. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (TMDT) has developed a low molecule 2.2-inch OEL (Organic Electroluminescent) display and exhibited it at Finetech Japan, which was held in Tokyo, July 3 and July 5, 2002. The Toshiba/Matsushita joint venture had demonstrated polymer type OEL modules in the past. Research groups in Japan have been active in developing for low molecule type OELs for small-format applications, while polymer OELs are believed to be more suitable for large formats and for mass production.

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology has announced a plan to commercialize polymer OELs, and the firm has indicated it will ship polymer OELs for use in cellular phones by the end of March 2003. The company has not yet released a commercialization plan for low molecule type displays. Yet, according to TMDT representatives at Finetech Japan, the degree of completion is about the same for both technologies. The new low molecule type OEL panel has 176 x 220 pixels (QCIF resolution). It can display a maximum of 260,000 colors. The brightness is 100cd/m2. The specifications of the new panel are the same as those of the 2.2-inch polymer OEL module, which the company showcased at EDEX 2002 in April 2002. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]