Epson and the Almighty HTPS Wafer.

High-Temperature Poly-Silicon (HTPS) wafers are selling faster than hotcakes. So, what in the world are HTPS wafers? Well, that is an interesting question, and in this article I will delve into the world of quartz wafers and how they are used in 3LCD technology. I will also discuss the recent announcement from Epson of a new HTPS technology.

HTPS wafers are the heart and soul of most high-quality LCD projectors these days. They are a variant technology of the basic LCD panel – and they allow for a brighter and more natural image to be filtered through to any given projector. One of the major proprietor’s of the HTPS technology is a little Japanese company called Seiko Epson or just Epson for short (Tokyo Stock Exchange symbol: 6724). Epson has recently announced the launch of a test-run HTPS wafer called ‘Crystal Clear Fine 2’ or CF2 for short. The technology offers improved contrast, with some people stating that it is capable of contrast ratio of up to six times more detailed than any previous technology. The reason the new CF2 technology is able to achieve such dizzying contrast ratios is because Epson has really focused on defining darker colors such asmidnight black. And as contrast has long been one of the drawbacks with projectors in general, consumers should welcome this news with open arms.

As of April 2005, Epson plants have been spitting out 2000 units of 300mm2 HTPS wafers in order to keep up with the demand that is certain to flood in once these wafers are made available to projector manufacturers.

This new technology will definitely keep Epson at the top of the liquid-crystal wafer manufacturer short list. Epson is currently the number one manufacturer of these products and in fact controls a mind-blowing 50% of the entire market. The only thing hindering Epson at the moment is that these HTPS wafers are being manufactured in Hokkaido, Japan, while a lot, if not all of Epson direct competitors in this market of manufacturing their wafers in China. But then again, perhaps Epson knows something we don’t about manufacturing the HTPS wafers, I am sure it’s a possibility.