RE: I Fire news article-Dec5/2002'Inorganic EL Panels Can Beat Low-Priced LCD TVs': President of iFire
December 5, 2002 (TOKYO) -- Canada's iFire Technology Inc., which is taking a step toward using inorganic electroluminescent (IEL) panels for larger than 25-inch televisions by forming a technical partnership with Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., plans to start mass production by 2005.
Nikkei Electronics interviewed company President Barry M. Heck regarding the status of the development of IEL panels for televisions.
Nikkei Electronics: Tell us your schedule for commercial production.
Heck: A more television-like display, 17-inch IEL panel with reduced variations in colors and pixel glitches will be developed sometime in mid-2003. A new prototype production line, in which larger than 30-inch panels can be manufactured, will be set up by the end of 2003, and trial production of mid-30- inch panels will start in 2004. Mass production is scheduled to begin in 2005. The mass-produced panels will not only be sold to Sanyo Electric, but also to other television makers.
Q: In what areas in the development will the technical partnership with Sanyo prove of practical value?
A: There are mainly two areas: first, it enables us to improve the picture quality of IEL panels to the level required for television panels. Sanyo Electric as a television maker has the strength of making televisions according to consumers' liking, including the panel's color. Cooperating with this company will improve the quality of IEL panels.
Second, Sanyo Electric has the technology to mass-produce products. We, as a research-and-development company, have no experience in mass production. By the technical partnership, manufacturing technology with reduced cost can be learned.
Q: Until now, development of IEL materials was thought to be important. However, does it mean that, from now on, the focus in the development will move to the establishment of mass-production technology?
A: That is correct. Thus far we have concentrated on developing IEL materials that are high in color purity and long lasting, and that development almost has been completed. Granted, the development of such materials will not be terminated, but the main theme in development now is being shifted to areas such as improvement of the yield ratio and cost reduction of the production process.
Q: Among the larger than 30-inch flat-panel displays, built-in televisions, PDP televisions, liquid- crystal display (LCD) televisions, etc, already have been dominating the market. Are there any chances of success?
A: Compared with PDP and LCD panels, IEL panels employ a simpler manufacturing process, which makes it easier to reduce the cost. There are more than enough chances for us succeeding. PDP involves about 50 production processes. LCD panels require as many as about 100 production processes. By contrast, IEL panels only need 34 processes. Comparing the cost of a module, that is, a panel and peripheral circuits combined, an IEL panel can be 30 percent to 40 percent cheaper than PDP and LCD panels by nature.
Q: For TV sets, factories for large panels for LCD televisions will go into operation in rapid succession from 2004. Could the IEL panel's advantage in cost be maintained even when the LCD television side makes improvements in production capacity?
A: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. publicly announced that by 2005, a 40-inch LCD television can be reduced in price to US$2,500 from the current price of around US$7,000. We are confident that even if the price is reduced to as low as that level, televisions with IEL panels will still cost less, and the profit margin will be higher.
Cheers
The Bridgejumper