Fujitsu Ltd has developed a new technology for high resolution PDP plasma display panels called ALiS (Alternate lighting of Surfaces) which it says can display 1,000 lines using current 500-line display technology and is twice as bright, but can be produced using the same mass production process. Fujitsu will use the technology in new HDTV sets that require much higher resolution that current screens, and will aim them initially at the US market which is expected to take off with the beginning of HDTV network broadcasts later this year. In Japan, the equivalent BS digital broadcasting is scheduled to begin in the year 2000. ALiS uses the same number of display electrodes and LSI large scale integrated chips as the current generation of 42-inch color PDPs, but can light those 512 electrodes in odd-even numbers alternately, providing the 1000-plus scan lines and 31.5 million dots required of HDTV. Other advantages over current technology include increased reliability, with double the lifespan, and a power consumption equivalent to current VGA video graphics adapter screens. The specification of prototypes which were on display in Tokyo this week were a screen 922 x 522mm in size, with a 0.9 pixel pitch, luminous intensity (brightness) of 500cd/sq meter supporting 16.7 million colors. Shunsuke Matsuyama, general manager of the company’s PDP division, says any size of PDP display, from 36 inch to 55 inch, is theoretically possible – although consistent yields pose a problem – and Fujitsu will work with TV manufacturers and Fujitsu Microelectronics in the US to develop sizes and applications. It will begin building 2,000 displays a month at its Miyazaki (Kyushu) plant rising to around 50,000 per month by the end of 2000 assuming a mass market develops. Currently the $7,000 price tag of a 42-inch PDP TV in Japan limits the wide PDP screen market to corporations. HDTV and PDP partners Philips Electronics NV and Hitachi Ltd look set to benefit from Fujitsu’s advance.
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