Taiwan's second-largest manufacturer of the flat panels used in slim computer displays and televisions, Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (
Chi Mei follows larger rival AU Optronics Corp (
The latest 5G fabs allow flat-panel manufacturers to produce panels for LCD televisions.
Last month, research firm DisplaySearch predicted that by 2007 33 percent of TFT-LCD panels will be used for television compared to 31 percent for computer displays.
This year only 9 percent of panels are destined for use in TVs.
The plant is expected to produce 120,000 sheets of the mother glass from which panels are cut by next year, Chi Mei's chairman Hsu Wen-long (
The new 5G panels measure 1.1m x 1.3m, from which a total of 12 17-inch, nine 19-inch or 20-inch, eight 22-inch or 23-inch, six 27-inch, or two 47-inch panels can be cut, the company said in a statement yesterday.
By the fourth quarter of the year, the new fab will begin the mass production of 17-inch and 27-inch panels, with 19-inch panels following in the first quarter of next year.
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For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
TECH WINNERS: Taiwan and South Korea reported robust trade, which suggests that they have critical advantages in the rapidly expanding AI supply chain, an official said Exports last month surged to a new high, as booming demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure fueled shipments of advanced technology components, underscoring the nation’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Outbound shipments climbed to US$80.18 billion, the highest ever for a single month, rising 61.8 percent from a year earlier and marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. “The surge was driven primarily by global investment in AI infrastructure,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said. The mass production of next-generation AI computing systems has accelerated procurement across the semiconductor supply
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