KYOCERA Enhances LCD Performance with New Optical Bonding Technology

Kyocera International, Inc., a world-leading electronic device manufacturer, today announced that it has expanded its U.S. production capabilities to provide full-service integration of LCD displays, touch-panels and protective glass using its new, state-of-the-art optical bonding technology, which dramatically enhances the LCD viewing experience. Optical bonding reduces reflection by 70 percent while improving color saturation, clarity and improving screens’ ruggedness.

Conventional LCD Bonding

LCD applications increasingly require a touch-panel interface and/or protective glass to guard against surface scratches and impact. Integrating these components has traditionally involved a process known as "perimeter bonding,” which creates an air gap between the surface of the LCD and the touch-panel or protective glass. This method is widely adopted because air introduces less optical distortion than liquid adhesive. However, the air gap limits optical performance.

Optical Challenges Resulting from Air Gaps

Air within an optical component interface creates internal reflectance (glare) that causes images to "wash out” and impedes visibility. Over time, the display can also become foggy and dirty as moisture and foreign particles get trapped inside. Finally, air gaps introduce optical distortion known as parallax, which creates variation in the apparent position of an object viewed along two lines of sight. For these reasons, alternative LCD bonding technologies are in great demand.

Kyocera’s New Optical Bonding Technology

Conventional adhesives that could eliminate the air gap within an LCD module generally introduce other optical challenges. However, Kyocera has developed a UV-cured adhesive that can eliminate the air gap while offering optical transparency comparable to that of air. Kyocera’s optical bonding technology reduces internal reflection by up to 70 percent by eliminating the air gap, dramatically enhancing front-of-screen performance in contrast, clarity and color saturation, while resolving issues relating to condensation, foreign particles and parallax. Additionally, by laminating the display and cover layer into a single integrated module, Kyocera’s optical bonding enhances ruggedness and shock resistance for applications in automotive, aviation, medical, mobile, ATM, kiosk and defense-related equipment.

"Kyocera is pleased to offer optical bonding technology at our Class 1000 cleanroom facility in Plymouth, Michigan,” said Cynthia Ferrell, Senior Division Vice President of Kyocera International, Inc.’s Display Division. "This new capability allows us to provide a one-stop total solution backed by our full manufacturer’s warranty.”

Four decades of LCD innovation make Kyocera a preferred supplier of displays for industrial, automotive and medical applications. All Kyocera TFT-LCDs are RoHS compliant. For more information, please visit www.kyocera-display.com, call +1-734-416-8500 or email displaysales@kyocera.com.

About KYOCERA

Kyocera International, Inc. serves as the sales, marketing and value-added assembly arm for Kyocera LCD products in the Americas, with warehousing, distribution and assembly in Plymouth, MI, and regional LCD sales offices in Michigan, California, Georgia and Washington State.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971) (www.kyocera.com), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as "advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of LCDs, industrial ceramics, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools, solar power generating systems, printers, copiers and telecommunications equipment. During the year ended March 31, 2017, the company’s consolidated net sales totaled 1.42 trillion yen (approx. USD12.7 billion). Kyocera appears on the "Top 100 Global Innovators” list by Clarivate Analytics and is ranked #522 on Forbes magazine’s 2017 "Global 2000” list of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.

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