KY (Kuen-Yao) Lee, chairman and CEO of AU Optronics (AUO), expressed concern over the tight supply of TFT LCD driver ICs at yesterday’s investors conference.
A supply shortfall of driver ICs is expected to persist throughout this year, as TFT LCD makers have to compete with companies from different industries to secure driver IC supply from foundries, he said.
Among the key components for TFT LCDs, glass substrates, driver ICs and polarizers are expected to have the tightest supply, said vice president Po-yen Lu.
Demand should outpace supply for glass substrates through the third quarter of this year due to slow capacity expansion from glass substrate makers, Lee explained.
Supply of polarizers may lag demand in the second half of this year, also due to slow capacity expansion from polarizer makers, said company president H.B. Chen.
In addition, AUO is working with Taiwan TFT LCD Association (TTLA) to recycle phosphoric acids for dry etching. This will help ease the tight supply of the material, Lu added.
Article translated by Carrie Yu and edited by Michael McManus
