Sharp fab begins 40-inch LCD production

Sharp Corp. has begun operations at its LCD panel plant in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Construction began in November 2007 on Sharp's state-of-the-art manufacturing complex—Sharp Green Front Sakai—which includes this LCD panel plant and as well as another plant for thin-film solar cells.

The LCD panel plant is the first facility in the world to adopt 10th-generation glass substrates. Using Sharp's proprietary UV2A photo-alignment technology, the plant is capable of producing high-contrast, energy-efficient panels 40 inches and larger, marking a new era in large displays.

Sharp Green Front Sakai will manufacture two environmentally friendly products: energy-saving LCD panels and energy-creating solar panels. Sharp aims to make this complex an environmentally advanced production base through such environmental measures as adopting LEDs for all indoor and outdoor lighting (approximately 100,000 LED lights) throughout the complex. Also, Sharp will install solar panels on all factory roofs to provide some of the needed electricity.

Sharp Green Front Sakai is the new driving force behind Sharp's efforts to make environmentally friendly products at an environmentally conscious plant, thus helping to realise a greener society.