According to news report on the Nikkei Asian Review website Sharp has developed a flexible OLED display panel that is aimed at the smartphone market, and other markets that would benefit from having a flexible display. The new OLED panel was developed by Sharp as a prototype at the company's facility in Tenri, Nara Prefecture.
The prototype has a 3.4-inch screen -- somewhat smaller than that of a typical smartphone -- and utilises the company's IGZO (indium-gallium-zinc oxide) backplane technology.
Sharp plans to invest 200 billion yen (US$ 1.84 billion) into the OLED business over four years using money it will receive from Taiwan based parent company Foxconn - known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, which has recently agreed to buy the Japanese company. The company is working to strengthen that business and is accelerating development of proprietary technology with the aim of winning orders from smartphone manufacturers such as Apple, in addition to cultivating other applications.