Recently, Qualcomm's investment in Sharp has attracted widespread attention in the industry. Sharp receives Qualcomm's capital injection at the cost of equity transfer. Qualcomm will become Sharp's largest single shareholder, and the two sides will work together to develop a new generation of panel technology. After the investment, both parties will accelerate the low power consumption MEMS display of Pixtronix and adopt Sharp's IGZO technology. We all know that Qualcomm is a leader in the communications technology industry. In fact, Qualcomm has also been involved in display technology. Let's talk about the development history of Qualcomm in the display field.
Mirasol display
In fact, prior to this event, Qualcomm had set foot in the field of screen display, represented by Qualcomm's own Mirasol display.
Mirasol, which means "sunflower", is a new display technology developed by Qualcomm MEMS Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm. Mirasol display screen is based on a reflective technology called interferometric modulation (IMOD). It uses ambient light and does not need background light, so its power consumption is greatly reduced. The reflective Mirasol display can also be automatically adjusted according to the surrounding lighting conditions, allowing users to view content in almost all environments, including bright sunlight.
▲ Qualcomm Mirasol display
Mirasol display does not need backlight, but relies on ambient light. Mirasol display technology consumes power only when the pixel color needs to be changed, so its power consumption is extremely low. It can also be said that Mirasol display is very suitable for e-readers that need to display fixed black and white or color content for a long time.
For a long time before, Mirasol has always been a high-profile appearance, and was once called the next technology with strong points. However, in July this year, Qualcomm announced that Mirasol production was stopped, and Mirasol officially stepped down from the altar. The reason is that the production and installation of Mirasol display is very difficult. The OEM loses nearly half of the display during production. In addition, the products using Mirasol in the United States are not popular with consumers.
Pixtronix
Pixtronix is an innovative multimedia display technology company, committed to developing display technology for tablets and smartphones. Pixtronix's "Digital Micro Shutter" technology integrates MEMS (micro electromechanical system) and TFT (thin film transistor), and "provides different experiences by using mature manufacturing equipment, processes and materials". "Digital micro shutter technology" is used on the PerfectLight display screen of Pixtronix, which is the first flat panel display with ultra-low power consumption and ultra-high image quality experience in the industry.
▲ Pixtronix
In the first quarter of 2012, Pixtronix was formally acquired by Qualcomm, becoming a member of Qualcomm, which further demonstrates Qualcomm's ambition in the display field. After the acquisition of Pixtronix, we focused on the development of MEMS displays. At SID 2012 in June 2012, Pixtronix exhibited a 640 × 480 pixel 5-inch MEMS display.
Pixtronix's MEMS display uses MEMS shutter, driving element (TFT), LED backlight and reflector for image display. MEMS devices have the characteristics of small size, light weight, low power consumption, excellent performance, etc. MEMS technology is increasingly valued in the flat panel display industry, and the display technology based on MEMS will promote the development of a new generation of flat panel displays.
MEMS MEMS
MEMS has been mentioned above. Here is a formal introduction. MEMS is the abbreviation of MEMS. MEMS mainly includes micro mechanism, micro sensor, micro actuator and corresponding processing circuit. It is a high-tech frontier discipline developed on the basis of integrating various micro processing technologies and applying the latest achievements of modern information technology.
The development of MEMS technology has opened up a new technical field and industry. Micro sensors, micro actuators, micro components, micro mechanical optical devices, vacuum micro electronic devices, power electronic devices, etc. made with MEMS technology are used in aviation, aerospace, automotive, biomedical, environmental monitoring Military and almost all the fields that people come into contact with have very broad application prospects. MEMS technology is developing into a huge industry. Just like the great changes brought to mankind by the microelectronics industry and computer industry in the past 20 years, MEMS is also pregnant with a profound technological change and has a new round of impact on human society. At present, the leading products in the MEMS market are pressure sensors, accelerometers, micro gyroscopes, ink nozzles and hard disk drive heads.
In the field of display applications, Qualcomm's Mirasol e-paper uses MEMS MEMS technology. In addition, the "digital micro shutter" in Pixtronix's early stage also integrates MEMS technology. Prior to the acquisition of Pixtronix, two 2.5-inch QVGA displays were jointly developed with Hitachi and demonstrated at CEATEC 2010. MEMS technology was integrated into these two products.
▲ MEMS display displayed by Hitachi in CEATEC 2010
IGZO display technology
Next, Qualcomm's participation in Sharp was officially involved. After Qualcomm becomes a shareholder of Sharp, the two sides will accelerate the research and development of low-power MEMS displays of Pixtronix, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, and use Sharp's IGZO technology in them, which is a combination of strength and strength. What about IGZO technology?
IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) is the abbreviation of Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide. It is a thin film transistor technology, which means that a layer of metal oxide is placed on the TFT-LCD active layer. IGZO material was first proposed by Hideo Hosono of Tokyo University of Technology in Japan to be applied in the TFT industry. At present, the material and technology patents are mainly owned by Japanese manufacturers. IGZO-TFT technology was first mass produced by Sharp in Japan.
IGZO is not directly related to IPS, AMOLED, PVA and other concepts. They do not belong to the same category. IGZO is an improved technology based on TFT drive. It uses the same working principle as the traditional TFT drive. The concepts of IPS, AMOLED, PVA, etc. we usually refer to the liquid crystal molecular arrangement. IGZO, as a driving technology, can be used on IPS LCD panels. Thanks to its performance advantages, it can make Sharp's small and medium-sized LCD panels more competitive.
IGZO technology can make the display power consumption close to OLED, but the cost is lower, the thickness is only 25% higher than OLED, and the resolution can reach the level of full HD or even ultra-high definition (resolution 4k * 2k). At present, most Taiwan panel manufacturers have the ability to produce IGZO panels, but because the process of IGZO is much more complex than the existing ordinary amorphous silicon TFT-LCD process, the yield of this panel is still low. Currently, it can achieve mass production in Sharp, and other panel manufacturers have difficulty in mass production.
▲ Sharp has achieved mass production of IGZO panels
At present, there are few application cases of IGZO panel. The AQUOS Pad SHT-21 tablet launched recently uses IGZO panel, and Sharp's own AQUOS Phone Zeta SH-02E phone also uses this panel. In addition, a few days ago, Sharp launched the first 32 inch 4K LCD display with IGZO panel. The model of this product is PN-K321. Sharp claims that its 35mm thickness is the thinnest in the industry. This product may be launched in February 2013, and the price is expected to be around 450000 yen (about 34260 yuan).
▲ Sharp 32 "IGZO panel 4K LCD display
Subsequent capital injection
Although IGZO mass production has just started, Sharp's recent financial situation is not good. This QUALCOMM capital injection, to some extent, can alleviate the urgent need. Perhaps in the next 2013, Sharp can use IGZO panel to stabilize its financial situation and gain a larger display screen market. After all, in the era of rapid growth of mobile terminals, the importance of display technology cannot be ignored. In addition, can Qualcomm make a difference in the display field with the combination of IGZO and MEMS? We may as well wait and see.
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