NEC Electronics announces two new Liquid Crystal Display Driver ICs to improve cost efficiency in Large-Size Displays

NEC Electronics Corporation and its subsidiary in Europe, NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, announced today the release of the µPD160063P and µPD160095, the source driver ICs for thin film transistor (TFT) color liquid color display (LCD) panels for use in large-scale LCD televisions and PC displays.  Both driver ICs are designed to offer an excellent solution for realizing economical  TFT color LCD panels, targeted at XGA (1024 RGB x 768 resolution) and WXGA (1280 RGB x 768 resolution) sizes.  The µPD160063P features the wiring on array (WOA) method, a data signal connection method in LCD panels configured of multiple driver ICs which significantly reduces the signal data lines required.  The µPD160095 provides data output pins of 768, increasing the number by approximately 100 percent from the company’s conventional LCD driver ICs, thereby reducing the number of LCD driver ICs to be used in a display by half.

“Demand for TFT-LCD panels in the TV, PC and industrial markets is rising dramatically, forcing manufacturers to raise the resolution (pixel count) of TFT-LCD panels.  The subsequent increase in the number of TFT-LCD driver ICs used, however, has resulted in higher component and assembly costs,” said Kazumichi Aoki, general manager, 5th System LSI Division, NEC Electronics Corporation.  “In response, NEC Electronics has developed new TFT-LCD driver IC solutions that improve cost efficiency in TFT-LCD panels by using the WOA method and newly developed high-output-count technology.”

The WOA applied to µPD160063P is a method in which image data is transmitted like a relay from one driver IC to the next like a row of beads simply by inputting the data signals from the controller board to the first driver IC, thus enabling image data to be transmitted between multiple driver ICs via the wiring on the liquid crystal glass.  With this method, only power supply signals have to be input to each LCD driver IC from controller board, reducing the width and layers of the flexible tape or substrate compared with the current method where data signals as well as power supply signals have to be input to each of the LCD driver ICs from controller board.  This method also reduces the size of the controller board itself by approximately 50 percent.

The µPD160095, on the other hand, cuts the number of TFT-LCD driver ICs used by increasing the number of data output pins to 768 from the currently mainstream 384 or 480, through a newly developed technology to reduce peak current by distributing the timing of output signals.  For example, eight conventional 384-output TFT-LCD drivers would be required in an XGA-size TFT-LCD panel (1024 RGB x 768 resolution), whereas only four are necessary with the µPD160095.  In a WXGA-size TFT-LCD panel (1280 RGB x 768 resolution), eight conventional 480-output TFT-LCD drivers would normally be required, whereas only five µPD160095 ICs are needed.

Availability
Engineering samples are available now for the µPD160063P and will be available in May this year for the µPD160095 respectively.  Mass production is slated to start in August 2004 for the µPD160063P and in September 2004 for the µPD160095.  Monthly production volume is expected to start from 100,000 units each and reach 1,000,000 units each by March 2005.  Availability is subject to change. 

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1.Specifications of µPD160063P
Part number: µPD160063P
Gray scale: 6 bit
Out put (ch): 384
Interface: CMOS
Driver part supply voltage: 8~10
Logic part supply voltage: 2.7~3.6
Max frequency: 70 MHz
Additional function: COG cascade (pad pitch 34.5 µm)
Resolution mainly supported: XGA (1024x768), WXGA (1280x768)
Application: Monitor, note PC

2.Specifications of µPD160095
Part number: µPD160095
Gray scale: 6 bit
Out put (ch): 768
Interface: RSDS
Driver part supply voltage: 8~10.5
Logic part supply voltage: 2.7~3.6
Max frequency: 85 MHz
Additional function: Square inversion
Resolution mainly supported: XGA (1024x768), WXGA (1280x768)
Application: Monitor, note PC

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