Samsung commercializes 7in LCDs with single chip driver

Samsung Electronics, Seoul, Korea , has begun producing 7 in LCDs, with the aim of achieving a leading position in the WVGA display market for mobile devices, according to Optics.org.

The 7 in LCD is suitable for high-end multimedia products such as handsets for digital multimedia broadcasting, portable multimedia, DVD players and navigation systems.

Until this development, the market for mobile LCDs with WVGA resolution has been centered around 8 in and 9 in models. Samsung's single-chip solution replaces the up to seven driver ICs common for a 7 in platform. The novel display eliminates the need to have a separate printed circuit board that contains timing control and power components to drive the display. Previously, multi-chip approaches have limited the design of very slim portable electronics.

Samsung has applied its proprietary amorphous silicon gate technology to the development of the new 7 in LCD, enabling the gate driver IC to be fabricated directly on the glass substrate, with the timing controller integrated within the driver IC. An onboard digital chip eliminates the need for mobile developers to design their own circuits. The overall circuit footprint and component count have been reduced to about one third of the size of a conventional seven-inch LCD.

The company plans to expand the 7 in LCD production capacity to 10 million units by 2007, and also expand the product line up to the 5 in class within the first half of next year.