Field Emission Technologies, a Sony affiliate, is preparing to mass-produce a new kind of flat panel starting 2009. Sony owns 37.8 percent of the company.
The so-called FEDs (field emission displays) offer higher picture quality than LCDs. Backlighting FEDs is not necessary so that they are said to be twice as energy-efficient as LCDs. While Sony’s first OLED-TV, the XEL-1, measures 11 inches, Field Emission Technologies aims at producing FEDs sized 26 inches from the start. The company announced it will eventually produce 60-inch TV displays.
Field Emission Technologies will buy a Pioneer plant in Southern Japan, which is currently producing plasma TVs. Japanese media estimate the company is ready to invest between $190 and $280 million in the new technology, expecting to achieve $235 million in sales in the first two years of production.
Sony presented a self-developed 19-inch FED TV prototype in Japan last year.
Via Tech-On [JP]