Apr. 25, 2008 - A technique developed by a team from the Kochi U. of Technology, Casio Computer, and Geomatec can be used to manufacture TFT-LCD panels using far less of the increasingly costly material indium, reports the Nikkei Business Daily.

The technique uses zinc oxide for the transparent electrodes, which has better electrical resistance than the incumbent material indium tin oxide, and also has lower adhesive qualities as a thin film -- but the researchers found a way to make a zinc oxide nanopowder with even lower resistance. Geomatec is contributing a process for sputtering the powder down evenly as a thin film.

Using the zinc oxide electrode for the color filter, the collaboration has made a 3-in. TFT-LCD panel comparable in all ways, including optical properties, to products currently sold by Casio, the Nikkei reports. A manufacturing-ready technology is expected to be ready in about three years.