New LCD: Toshiba Announces World's First 4-Inch VGA Resolution Low Temperature Poly-silicon LCD; Offering Ultra-High Resolution and Low-Power Consumption - Product Development

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, March 15, 1999

Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC) Tuesday announced that Toshiba Corporation has developed the world's first 4-inch Low Temperature Poly-silicon (LTPS) TFT LCD with VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels).

The new LTM04C380S offers ultra-high resolution, high durability, light weight, and low-power consumption. Toshiba's LTPS LCD technology, including this 4-inch product, will be among the topics discussed this week at the DisplaySearch EDI Conference in Austin, Texas on March 10 and 11.

Toshiba's new 4-inch LCD positions the company ahead of others in achieving the first commercial production of a LTPS TFT LCD with VGA resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The addition of Toshiba's 4-inch LTPS LCD provides a lighter, more versatile solution with high resolution capability. Higher durability, low weight and low-power consumption make Toshiba's 4-inch LTPS TFT LCD panel ideal for palm-top and hand-held portable applications including digital cameras, personal digital assistants, telecommunication devices as well as other information equipment.

"Toshiba's low-temperature Poly-silicon TFT LCD technology enables a new world of LCDs able to display resolution densities of 200 pixels per inch and more, for truly remarkable, life-like image quality," said Steve Vrablik, business development manager for LCDs in the Tube, Battery, LCD, and Materials Division of TAEC. "With its 200ppi VGA resolution, Toshiba's 4-inch LTPS TFT LCD, coupled with the growth in the PDA, cellular, and high-information content markets, provides customers the right solution who need brighter displays, low-power consumption and higher resolutions than could be found in similar-sized amorphous-silicon TFT LCDs."

Last October, Toshiba announced its 8.4-inch with SVGA 800 x 600 pixel resolution and 10.4-inch with XGA 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution LTPS TFT LCDs for use in ultra-portable computers. With the addition of its new 4-inch model, the company can now meet a wider range of high-resolution application demands.

Pricing and Availability: The new 4-inch LTPS TFT LCD is available this month. Sample pricing for the LTM04C380S is $500. The 4-inch LTPS TFT LCD will be produced at the company's Fukaya Display Devices Works in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.

Product Specification:
Model Number              LTM04C380S
Type                      4-inch VGA TFT LCD
Resolution                640 (x RGB) x 480 (VGA resolution)
Pixel Pitch / Density     0.126 x 0.126 mm / 200ppi, pixels per inch
Color Capability          6bits/color (256K colors)
Power Consumption         0.35W (panel only)
Transmissivity            5.2%
Response Time             40ms (T on   T off)
Contrast Ratio            250:1 (typical)
Outline Dimensions        94mm (W) x 70mm (H) x 1.8mm (thickness)
Weight                    30g

Low-Temperature Poly-silicon TFT LCD Technology: LTPS technology incorporates a cell composed of Poly-silicon, a material capable of achieving higher electron mobility than the amorphous-silicon found in typical active matrix and other LCDs today. Therefore, peripheral driver circuits that control the display can be integrated directly onto the substrate, eliminating the need for externally mounted driver ICs around the display panel. This enables an overall reduction in component count by as much as 40 percent compared to amorphous-silicon TFT LCDs, and a 95 percent reduction in the number of connections required in the LCD module system. It also alleviates many of the physical limitations imposed on LCDs which require peripheral driver circuits. In addition, Poly-silicon technology allows a smaller circuit pitch by patterning circuitry directly onto the glass to support high-resolution levels. All combined, Poly-silicon technology allows for more durable, thinner, brighter, lower power, higher resolution, and more simply-constructed TFT LCD modules.

Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. (TAEC) is the North American design, manufacturing, marketing and sales arm of Toshiba Corp., a global technology innovator. TAEC is recognized as a leading supplier of semiconductor, electronic component and storage solutions. The company delivers technology solutions that enable OEMs to develop advanced integrated products for the computing, networking, communications and digital consumer markets. In fact, its technology offerings account for more than 30 percent of the total possible components used in desktop and portable computers. FMI: http://www.toshiba.com/taec.>

COPYRIGHT 1999 EDGE Publishing

COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group