Sharp begins production of High Pixel Density IGZO LCD panels

In March 2012 at Kameyama Plant No. 2, Sharp began producing the world’s first high-performance LCD panels incorporating IGZO oxide semiconductors. Sharp is expanding production scale through April to meet market demand.

IGZO (InGaZnO) is an oxide comprising indium (In), gallium (Ga), and zinc (Zn). A thin-film transistor using this material has been developed by Sharp in collaboration with Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (a company based in Kanagawa, Japan, and led by President Shunpei Yamazaki).
 
By using IGZO oxide semiconductors, Sharp will be able to produce LCD screens that require lower energy consumption through smaller, thin-film transistors and increased pixel transparency.

The technology lends itself well to mobile devices that require low-power components. With a new breed of ultrabooks promised by Intel and updates to Apple's mobile lineup, it seems highly likely that Sharp will work its way in as a primary supplier of display panels.

Sharp has converted Kameyama Plant No. 2, which had previously been used to create advanced LCD panels for televisions, to produce small to medium-size screens for smartphones and other mobile devices.

A year ago, Sharp was rumored to be converting Kameyama Plant No. 1 from TV displays to low-temperature, polysilicon LCD screens to be used on a next-generation iPhone. Peter Misek, according to 9to5Mac, claims that up to 5 million Apple television units (iTVs) are being produced by Sharp for a May or June release.

Just as the new iPad was about to be released, it was reported that Sharp was not able to meet Apple's requirements for producing its IPS displays, despite earlier rumors that Sharp's IGZO technology would replace IPS for 2012's iPad.

Now, with an official company statement that Sharp is producing IGZO displays for mobile devices, expect to see plenty of rumors resurfacing that Apple's iPhone, iPad, and perhaps even iMacs and a television set, could all be using Sharp's IGZO displays.