New Computer Screen Technology Due Soon : High tech: Canon says it has made innovations in the liquid crystal display technique that also could be adapted for other uses.
Canon Inc., the Japanese office equipment maker, said Tuesday it has developed a liquid crystal display computer screen that uses a new technology that could eliminate the problems plaguing conventional LCDs.
LCDs are popular on laptops computers because of their light weight and low energy consumption. But the technologies used in today’s laptops have limitations for other applications envisioned by the industry. Either they cost too much to make, they lack resolution or they simply can’t be built large enough to be used on computer workstations for engineers, or to replace the typical family television set that some engineers see in the future as a flat screen hanging on the wall like a picture frame.
Canon’s said its new “ferroelectric liquid crystal display” screen--to be put on the market in the spring--has several critical advantages over existing technology. These screens have the capacity to “memorize” or hold the images even if the electricity is cut off. That means the screen doesn’t have to be continuously replenished with electricity and it is possible to manufacture far larger screens than is feasible in conventional technologies.
In addition, since the new screens don’t require a transistor to be built into each pixel, or picture element, as existing technology requires, manufacturing costs are expected to be far lower. Manufacturers have had trouble reducing production costs of current screens because if one of the transistors is defective, the entire screen must be thrown out. As the screen gets larger, potential defects multiply.
Hiroshi Tanaka, senior managing director in charge of the Business Machines Sector at Canon said he expects the new screens to surpass conventional LCD displays in cost and resolution in a relatively short period of time. He expects the technology to become competitive in screens for smaller laptops in about two to three years and in television sets in about 10 years.
“We see this as a $3.5-billion to $4.5-billion market in five years and we plan to get 50% of the market,” said Canon president Keizo Yamaji. He said he envisioned that the technology would eventually be used to build crystal clear high-definition television sets, tapping into a market he expects to ultimately be worth $15 billion.
But Canon said it won’t have ready until next year a display capable of showing the full range of colors now available on normal television screens.
Matsushita Electric Industrial also Tuesday introduced a full-color, 15-inch LCD screen using conventional “thin-film transistor” technology. The company said it has looked at the technology Canon is pushing but it believes that the conventional technology still has room for improvement and will be quicker to market. “The resolution on our screen is much higher,” a Matsushita spokesman said.
