Analysis:
The invention of liquid crystal display technology
The discovery of liquid crystal was completed by Austrian botanist F Reizer a hundred years ago, but it did not bring much benefit to human beings for a long time. Until the 1960s, several young electricians broke the silence.
196 1 year, a young electronic scholar, F. Heimeier, was preparing his doctoral thesis defense in Princeton laboratory of RCA company in the United States. His major is microwave solid components. He has made great achievements in this field. On this day, one of his friends told him about the ongoing research on organic semiconductors, which aroused his great interest. He consulted his tutor, and with the support and encouragement of his tutor, he resolutely gave up his professional field and entered a new field he knew little about. He applied his knowledge of electronics to organic chemistry and soon made achievements. Soon, he became interested in another new topic-laser, and set foot in crystals. In order to study the influence of external electric field on the internal electric field of crystal, he thought of liquid crystal. He sandwiched a dye-doped nematic liquid crystal between two transparent conductive glasses. When a voltage of several volts is applied to both sides of the liquid crystal layer, the liquid crystal layer changes from red to transparent. He immediately realized that this is not a color flat-screen TV! The excited team members and He immediately began to study day and night, and they successively discovered a series of electro-optical effects such as dynamic scattering and phase transition of liquid crystals. And successfully developed a series of digital and character display devices, as well as LCD clocks, bridge displays and other practical products. RCA attaches great importance to their research and has always listed it as a major confidential project of the enterprise. It was not until 1968 that it was reported to the world in a broadcast report of the latest scientific and technological achievements. This report immediately attracted the attention of Japanese scientific and industrial circles. Japan combines emerging large-scale integrated circuits with liquid crystals, and rapidly develops a series of commercialized products guided by the "personal electronics" market, which opens up the practical situation of liquid crystal display and grasps the initiative, leading to the amazing development of Japanese microelectronics industry. In the United States, the leaders of some production departments in RCA company, on the one hand, are limited to traditional semiconductor products, on the other hand, they overemphasize the shortcomings of liquid crystal display devices that have just started, and try their best to destroy the industrialization of liquid crystal display on the pretext that the market has not yet been developed. To this end, LCD team members began to flow out, and the patents for LCD display were also sold. It is said that in the mid-1970s, when liquid crystal display had formed an industry, RCA company made a painful conclusion at a board meeting that the loss of liquid crystal display technology was a big mistake in RCA's century-old development history.
Looking back on this history, we can't help feeling:
(1) The inquiry of a generation of new technologies and products, especially the inquiry of contemporary high-tech products, is always discovered and completed by young people who are interdisciplinary, cross-industry and innovative.
(2) Although the discovery and invention of new technology are important, its real development must be based on the practical application technology and market demand. Applied technology is the guarantee of the development of high-tech industries, and market demand is the driving force of high-tech development. (3) Leaders of enterprises, especially leaders of production departments, should have a scientific mind. Limited to the original industries and products, being troubled by recent, superficial and temporary interests will often ruin some new technologies and products that are very valuable, promising, vital and high-yielding, resulting in career losses and lifelong regrets.
(4) An invention that breaks through the shackles of tradition often appears in independent working groups with small scale, strong innovation and multi-discipline. These groups should be able to withstand failure and all the pressures of not being recognized, supported and understood.
The discovery of liquid crystal
The discovery of liquid crystal can be traced back to 1888. At that time, Austrian botanist Reinitzer accidentally discovered the abnormal melting phenomenon when gallstone alcohol was heated in benzoic acid. Because this substance melts at 145℃, but it presents a turbid paste, and suddenly becomes a transparent gurgling liquid at 179℃; If we observe the cooling process from high temperature, it suddenly becomes a paste-like liquid at 179℃, and becomes a solid crystal when it exceeds 145℃. Later, the German physicist Lehmann[ 1] observed the turbid state of this benzoic acid gallstone alcohol with a polarizing microscope and confirmed that it was a "crystallization liquid". The existence of liquid crystal was officially confirmed and the research on liquid crystal began.
Development course of liquid crystal display
Liquid crystal materials are found in 1 and1888; 1968, the first LCD product was made in the United States;
1973 sharp domestic TN-LCD；; ; STN-LCD and TFT-LCD were invented in 1984.
2. Development process:
-1888 ~ 1968 is the research period of the performance and application of liquid crystal materials.
-1973 ~ 1985 was the period when TN-LCD was widely used.
-1985 ~ 1993 is the popularization and application period of STN-LCD.
-1993 ~ 2000 is the great development period of TFT-LCD, and the performance of TFT-LCD in this period can be comparable to that of CRT.
The development of LCD has greatly expanded the application range of displays, making it possible for individuals to use mobile handheld displays. Therefore, after 2000, LCD and CRT will enter the era of competing for the mainstream market of displays.
3. The development process of main LCD technologies.
-color low-power reflective LCD technology.
-Mass production technology of low-temperature polysilicon (P-Si) liquid crystal display.
-Developing color TFT-LCD with large size, wide viewing angle and high resolution. Before 1993, the main products were 10.4 inch, 640×480 pixels; 1993 ~ 1997 mainly produces 10 inch ~ 13 inch and 1024×768 pixel products; 1997 ~ 1999 mainly produces products with pixels of 15 inch ~ 18 inch, 1024×768 and above; After 1999, 20-30 inch products will be produced.
-1998, began to vigorously develop high-resolution, large-screen LCD projection TV.
LCD product characteristics
1, fast product cycle
After 1993, Japanese LCD manufacturers expanded their production capacity one after another, which made the output of 1995 exceed the market demand in the second half of the year and the price dropped by 50%. However, due to narrowing the price gap between LCD and CRT, and promoting the promotion of LCD products, 1996 triggered a new wave of demand peak. With the continuous expansion of Japanese manufacturers and the catch-up of Korean big enterprises, after the end of 1997, it entered a wave of oversupply and began to recover in the fourth quarter of 1998. Due to the development of large-size LCD, the production line was changed from 6 12. 1 inch panels to 4 13.3-inch panels, the output could not keep up with the demand, and the price rose for one year. However, due to the expansion of factories in Japan and South Korea,
2. High-tech capital-intensive products
The manufacture of liquid crystal products involves optics, semiconductors, motors, chemicals, materials and other fields. The upstream and downstream technologies are extremely extensive and the technical obstacles are quite high. However, for the sake of cost competition, it is inevitable to plan the production capacity of large-size panels. Therefore, the cost of building a factory is getting higher and higher, and the investment scale is as fast as that of a chip factory. For example, Taiwan Province Quanta invested in Guanghui, which produces TFT-LCD, and Linkou No.1 Factory invested about 55 billion Taiwan dollars.
3. The diversity and complexity of materials account for a large proportion in the product cost.
Liquid crystal materials span photoelectric, semiconductor, printing and manufacturing technologies, which not only have many kinds and different fields, but also occupy an important position in the industry, accounting for about 60% of the total cost. Therefore, in order to ensure the source of raw materials and control costs, it is necessary to carry out in-depth operations, or adopt strategic alliances or invest in other ways. After 1998, a large number of LCD panel manufacturers in Taiwan Province province entered, which created huge business opportunities for upstream materials, and interested manufacturers gradually entered.