Great stuff Tim. Would be interested to know what you think of the Chinese LCD giants: are they going to be able to pivot into higher margin businesses, like AUO and Innolux? Or is this a classic example of why Taiwan is a better bet for investors because the ecosystem with TSMC at its core is so much more adaptable?
If Chinese can find new innovations that aren't focused on merely on scale-up and cost-down, then they can get out of the low-margin trap. Huawei, BYD & CATL are examples of companies that have done so in the past. But, LCDs are such a monolithic & commodity business that I think they'll need to pull off something extraordinary.
I am not sure they can without significant government help. But packaging is become a big issue in semiconductors, and Panel-Level is a future trend. I believe there’s a high chance that SMIC or JCET may take a stake in an LCD player like BOE (or vice versa), or some other type of JV/cooperation.
Great substack, Tim! I think the untapped value in Taiwan's LCD manufacturing expertise is its potential to lead the development of hybrid material systems, integrating glass and semiconductor processes to unlock higher performance in AI and quantum computing. By blending display panel precision with advanced chip technologies, Taiwan could pioneer a new wave of multi-functional substrates, elevating its role from chip packaging to a key innovator in semiconductor architecture itself.
agree Volker! The potential is there. It will require Taiwan industry, perhaps with academia, to get back to fundamental materials research before there can be any hope to scale up with commercially viable yields. It's doable, but let's see if it actually happens.
100% BS, LCD is a technology that's always in use, probably will be here until we get something equally practical and easy to manufacture LCD & LEDs of all sizes are and need to be everywhere, might decline? probably, but will always be market for them; but to what other product? there's nothing like it, this is a Lie, so this charlatan can give himself credit
I miss the days of the old green tinted passive matrix displays on laptops. I would go to Best buy and compare the IBM Thinkpads with active matrix and passive matrix in the 90s. They had a soft intensity that is hard to recreate on new screens, even OLEDs. But e-paper/ e-ink has round pixels and there is only one company that tried to give new life to passive matrix displays:
There certainly were disadvantages to DTSN but with 30+ years of advances in process technology, materials, and knowledge, surely alternative displays can improve on those screens, offer ultra low-power, and return without all the dominant display makers getting all the market share?
Great stuff Tim. Would be interested to know what you think of the Chinese LCD giants: are they going to be able to pivot into higher margin businesses, like AUO and Innolux? Or is this a classic example of why Taiwan is a better bet for investors because the ecosystem with TSMC at its core is so much more adaptable?
If Chinese can find new innovations that aren't focused on merely on scale-up and cost-down, then they can get out of the low-margin trap. Huawei, BYD & CATL are examples of companies that have done so in the past. But, LCDs are such a monolithic & commodity business that I think they'll need to pull off something extraordinary.
I am not sure they can without significant government help. But packaging is become a big issue in semiconductors, and Panel-Level is a future trend. I believe there’s a high chance that SMIC or JCET may take a stake in an LCD player like BOE (or vice versa), or some other type of JV/cooperation.
Great substack, Tim! I think the untapped value in Taiwan's LCD manufacturing expertise is its potential to lead the development of hybrid material systems, integrating glass and semiconductor processes to unlock higher performance in AI and quantum computing. By blending display panel precision with advanced chip technologies, Taiwan could pioneer a new wave of multi-functional substrates, elevating its role from chip packaging to a key innovator in semiconductor architecture itself.
agree Volker! The potential is there. It will require Taiwan industry, perhaps with academia, to get back to fundamental materials research before there can be any hope to scale up with commercially viable yields. It's doable, but let's see if it actually happens.
100% BS, LCD is a technology that's always in use, probably will be here until we get something equally practical and easy to manufacture LCD & LEDs of all sizes are and need to be everywhere, might decline? probably, but will always be market for them; but to what other product? there's nothing like it, this is a Lie, so this charlatan can give himself credit
“Technopredator” lol
I miss the days of the old green tinted passive matrix displays on laptops. I would go to Best buy and compare the IBM Thinkpads with active matrix and passive matrix in the 90s. They had a soft intensity that is hard to recreate on new screens, even OLEDs. But e-paper/ e-ink has round pixels and there is only one company that tried to give new life to passive matrix displays:
https://rdotdisplays.com/articles/passive-matrix
https://rdotdisplays.com/articles/how-to-drive-displays (that was 2019 but there hasn't been any research recently by the company that acquired it)
There certainly were disadvantages to DTSN but with 30+ years of advances in process technology, materials, and knowledge, surely alternative displays can improve on those screens, offer ultra low-power, and return without all the dominant display makers getting all the market share?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSTN