According to observers, the main purpose of the Foxconn investment in Sharp Electronics is the development of AMOLED panels, mainly for use in the next generation of Apple smartphones. The latest announcement from Sharp confirms these assumptions.
The Japanese manufacturer introduced a flexible OLED display that is suitable for use in smartphones. The prototype has the size of 3.4 inches diagonally, which is less than the screens on the latest iPhone, but enough to demonstrate the capabilities. The prototype resolution is 540 x 960 pixels, which corresponds to the density 326 ppi.
In the panel uses a proprietary technology IGZO. As is well known, thin film transistors used in the latest generation iPhone and iPad, have low power consumption. Panel thickness OLED 70 μm, weight — 2 g. the Panel may bend around the radius of 10 mm.
After absorbing Sharp the main direction of development chosen OLED displays: it has allocated more than half of all funds invested Foxconn ($1.8 billion). This can be useful leadership Sharp’s IGZO technology, as it is supposed to be used in OLED panels. The first time Foxconn is planning to focus on OLED displays small size for smartphones, and then to master the production of panels larger.
It is worth noting that sometimes encountered the opposition of technology IGZO and OLED is incorrect because thin-film transistors IGZO can be used to control the pixels as liquid crystal panel, and the panel for organic light emitting diode.
