Flat panel display manufacturing overview

Electronics applications will be expanding more and more into the visual arena with the rise of multimedia and the growing pervasiveness of the information highway. Displays will be the means for obtaining information from this infrastructure and placing it in front of the user, and so the market projections for displays are huge. Flat panel displays (FPDs) then represent a critical link in the electronics food chain to support these applications. Moreover, product functionality will migrate into the display, placing more importance on this critical component. Manufacturing is the most important skill in bringing displays to the marketplace. A product such as the TFT-LCD spans a wide range of electronics manufacturing disciplines and these must be mastered in a complete process to hold a position in this important area of electronics. The author presents an overview of FPD manufacturing processes, with particular emphasis on the process for TFT-LCD displays