SED displayhttps://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2002/12/17/rtr825426.html
REUTERS
Toshiba says SED screens set to take on plasma TVs
Reuters, 12.17.02, 5:44 AM ET
TOKYO, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp <6502.T> said it plans to roll out next year a new flat-panel display under development with Canon Inc <7751.T> that will challenge plasma displays as the screen of choice for large, flat-panel TVs.
"We're reaching the stage of deciding on capital investment and marketing plans. We'll make a formal announcement next year," Toshiba President Tadashi Okamura told a reception for reporters on Monday night.
Toshiba, Japan's biggest chipmaker, and Canon, its biggest office machines maker, have been cooperating since June 1999 in developing surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) technology, which fires electrons at fluorescent-coated glass to generate light.
The technology is geared toward achieving the same brightness and vivid colours as a standard picture tube, but with screens only a few centimetres thick.
It is also expected to be less power-hungry than plasma displays, which are increasingly popular for flat-screen TVs measuring 40 inches or more diagonally.
The plasma TV market is expected to grow to 9.4 million units in 2006 from only 400,000 units this year, according to market researcher DisplaySearch.
It also forecast retail prices for plasma TVs will drop to $50 per inch from more than $100 per inch for screens up to 42 inches.
Several Japanese electronics companies, including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co <6752.T>, Pioneer Corp <6773.T> and a joint venture between Fujitsu Ltd <6702.T> and Hitachi Ltd <6501.T> are major players in plasma display manufacturing.
Okamura said the SED technology was expected to produce screens bigger than 40 inches, putting it in direct competition with plasma displays.
"We're studying how far we may be able to lower costs for plant and equipment, although we haven't decided yet on building a factory," he added.
Canon President Fujio Mitarai told reporters in October he was committed to the SED project in large part because it offered a way for Canon, long focused on still-image technologies such as printers, copiers and still cameras, to expand in video-related technology.
Toshiba's shares ended 1.4 percent higher on Tuesday at 362 yen while Canon was down 1.96 percent at 4,510 yen. The benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> rose 0.71 percent