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Flat panel displays: Green expectations
AUSTIN, Texas – By 2012, 70 percent of
flat panel display shipments are expected
to feature environmentally friendly characteristics, up from 20 percent in 2008, and
by 2014, “green” shipments will dominate
the market, according to a report from
DisplaySearch, a market analysis firm
based in Austin.
Titled Green Technology in Flat Panel
Displays: Market Technology and Trends,
the report addresses three kinds of flat
panel displays: plasma, organic LED and
thin-film transistor liquid crystal. DisplaySearch considers displays to be eco-compatible if they meet one or more of
several conditions; that is, if they have
environmentally friendly components and
materials; achieve lower power consumption by using new components or technologies; are compliant with environmental regulations, such as for waste disposal;
use production processes that reduce the
amount of energy and materials consumed; are completely or partially recyclable; or incorporate eco-friendly concepts into their design, packaging,
methods or materials.
According to DisplaySearch, green flat
panel displays, which were in development in 2008, are expected to move into
the implementation phase in 2009 and into
marketing promotion in 2010, to pass the
50 percent mark in widespread adoption in
2011 and to achieve 100 percent adoption
in 2014.
Participants in the flat panel display
supply chain are interested in the greening
of the displays because of drivers such as
environmental regulations, including
EnergyStar; cost reduction, which should
happen as green technology improves and
more suppliers join the effort; reduced liability, by preventing future damages or
customer claims; and, finally, because of
social responsibility.
always a cost saver, he said, adding that
new green components may be more
costly than their nongreen counterparts, or
a new green manufacturing process might
hurt the production efficiency or yield rate
in the short term, even though it could be
more cost-effective and environmentally
friendly in the long term.
Many people in the industry question
the necessity for an emphasis on green
technology during the current economic
situation, in which there is an oversupply
of panels in a slow-demand-growth market, Hsieh said. Sometimes there are
higher costs initially, but in other cases,
such as the replacement of backlight
lamps with cheaper optical films, there
can be savings.
Paths to savings
DisplaySearch analysts believe that all
green technology will save costs in the
long run for both flat panel makers and
their customers, the latter of whom will
save in electricity costs by using more energy-efficient panels. Customer demand for these
green products will help
the industry gain
new momentum, according
to Hsieh.
LCDs are
still the dominant technology
in the television
and personal
computer industry, he said. Alternatively, organic LED
technology is
naturally
greener than
LCD and plasma
display panel technology
because of its simpler structure and
lower power consumption.
Greener plasma technology
can be brought about with
high luminous efficiency, eco-friendly material with lower electro-
magnetic interference, and new manufacturing processes that reduce the amount of
materials used.
There currently are four approaches to
achieving greener thin-film transistor
LCDs, according to DisplaySearch analysts.
The first is to adapt greener panel designs, such as new cell structures that increase panel transmittance, or new technologies, such as polymer sustained
alignment, color filter-on-array, superhigh-aperture ratio or AU Optronics Corp.’s advanced multidomain vertical alignment.
The second is to use energy-saving production processes, such as photomask
reduction and ink-jet printing of color
filters. The third is to incorporate green
components such as glass, color filters,
liquid crystal, optical films and LED backlights. And the fourth is to redesign packaging using recyclable materials and
space-saving containers for transportation
efficiency.
Caren B. Les
caren.les@laurin.com
Long-term benefits of green tech
The cost and performance balance is the
main challenge facing green flat panel display makers, according to David Hsieh,
vice president of Greater China Market at
DisplaySearch. Green technology is not
