Gadgets

According to reports, the stand at the IFA tradeshow this year featured Sharp's new breakthrough display technology - IGZO. The technology allows significant energy savings over conventional LCD displays and it is reported it could be inside Apple mobile devices in the near future.

R eports from the IFA 2012 Consumer Electronics Tradeshow in Berlin this week suggest that Sharp's new IGZO display is to be used in upcoming Apple mobile devices like iPads and iPhones.

The technology is impressive,with reports stating that it is sharper than current screens and offers something that has been long-needed in the smartphone and tablet world – a low-power screen solution.
Sharp claims that IGZO provides significant energy savings over conventional LCD displays.

The core technology behind IGZO involves the implementation of thin-film transistors. In an ordinary LCD display, these are made from amorphous silicon. In IGZO, the transistors are made from an alloy of indium, gallium and zinc oxide.

Along with improved image quality, the displays are also said to feature improved interactive touch performance.

"This new technology allows us to make the panel more transparent, so less energy is required for the light to come through the transistors to our eyes," Alexander Sivolap, Project Manager of Sharp Electronics Russia, told Gizmag.

The IGZO display can therefore provide energy savings of 25 to 40 percent compared to conventional LCD displays is typical, due to the less powerful backlights required. IGZO's integrated circuits also require less energy, Sharp claims.

 "We are going to use this technology to make LCD panels for Apple iPads and maybe iPhones as well," Sivolap told Gizmag, indicating that other display manufacturers are now rushing to catch up.

The technology looks to be capable of disruption, judging by the 498-ppi IGZO screen on show. The retina display of the iPhone 4 is 'only' 326 ppi, and that's the highest-resolution display of any current Apple device. The higher resolution is made possible by the virtue of the IGZO's transistors being physically smaller. Though IGZO will first appear in small and medium-sized screens (think phones and tablets), Sharp indicated that televisions and larger displays are definitely in the pipeline as well.


SOURCE  Tech Radar, Gizmag, 9to5 Mac

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