Sony to Invest 22 Bn Yen in 20-inch Class OLED Panels

Feb 20, 2008 19:12 Masao Oonishi, Nikkei Microdevices

Sony Corp will set up facilities to produce middle to large size OLED panels in Sony Mobile Display Corp's Higashiura factory (former ST-LCD Corp in Higashiura Town, Aichi Pref, Japan). It plans to invest approximately ¥22 billion (US$204 million) to build the facilities.

"We are aiming to establish production technologies for OLED panels in the 20-inch range," a Sony spokesperson said.

The company will start the investment in the later half of fiscal 2008 and launch the production in fiscal 2009.

Sony plans to reinforce its TFT and organic EL layer coating processing facilities with the investment. The facilities will be built in the existing site and building. The company plans to process 600 x 720mm glass substrates at the facilities. The production capacity has yet to be announced.

According to Sony, OLED panels to be produced at the facilities are intended for use in displays of home, personal, and professional appliances. In addition to TVs, the panels will be used in "11-inch OLED viewfinders on broadcasting camcorders targeted for launch during fiscal 2008," the spokesperson said.

With the introduction of the facilities, Sony intends to establish production technologies for middle to large size OLED panels with higher resolution and accelerate the development.

Presently, panels used in Sony's 11-inch OLED TV released in December 2007 are manufactured at its Higashiura factory (See related article). The factory has a monthly output of 2,000 units in terms of 11-inch panel.

"The new facilities are not intended to increase the production of 11-inch panels for this OLED TV," the spokesperson said. "First, we will establish production technologies for OLED panels in the 20-inch range, and then for the 40-inch range."

Sony Mobile Display, established on December 1, 2007, is a joint company of ST-LCD and ST Mobile Display Corp.

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