February. 5, 2002

Taiwan's industrial think tank ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) recently announced that it will help Taiwan's optoelectronics industry become more competitive by promoting the application of nanotechnology in the design and manufacturer of displays, especially LCD and FED monitor4s, over the next five years.

This statement gains importance as Taiwan's LCD production volume in 2001 reached over 9 million units, a 208% increase from 2000, and is expected to grow even more this year, according to the institute.

"Nanotechnology" is a branch of engineering that holds promise in the quest for more powerful-than-ever computers and other devices. It deals with the design and manufacturer of extremely small electronic circuits and mechanical devices including alarm clocks, electronic watches, mobile phones, television and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

ITRI commented current display technologies are used for the production of LCD displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) polymeric light emitting diodes (OLEDPLED) and field emission displays (FED). Among them OLEDPLED displays boast a manufacturing process involving the nanometer science and have achieved some breakthroughs.

ITRI further mentioned Taiwan companies' investments in the LCD sector have totaled 300 billion Taiwan dollars over the past three years. To maintain their competitiveness in the world, companies must develop better raw materials for displays instead of continuing with the traditional materials such as glass and other optoelectronic materials that are not only thick but also brittle.

ITRI maintained that it will commit itself to the research and development of LCD and FED displays using nanotechnology over the next five years. FEDs developed with nanotechnology will be thinner, brighter, and greater in contrast, more efficient yet lower in production cost, ITRI promised. For example, the display panel of a computer monitor could shrink to 0.5 mm in thickness.