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Technology Stocks : THREE FIVE SYSTEM (TFS) - up from here? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dfloydr who wrote (1483)	5/19/1998 7:58:00 PM
From: dfloydr	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3247

In case some of you missed it, here is finally a sign of something concrete and deliverable out of the new technologies at TFS: Tuesday May 19, 2:32 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release Three-Five Systems Displays LCaD Technology Demonstration of Patented Technology at SID Offers 16 Shades of Gray Scale in a Standard Product ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1998--Three-Five Systems Inc. (NYSE:TFS - news) Tuesday announced that it will demonstrate its newly developed line of 1/4 VGA resolution LCaD(TM) modules here at the Society for Information Display 1998 International Symposium. The patented LCaD(TM) or Liquid Crystal active Drive technology yields a passive matrix display featuring 16 levels of gray scale. The addition of gray scale to this environment allows a completely new dimension of text and graphic images to be displayed for a price competitive with displays offering only two shades of gray. Being shown at SID is a negative transmissive LCaD module. The display features a standard 1/4 VGA format of 320 x 240 pixels, a full ten times the resolution of any LCaD(TM) previously shown by the company. The pixel pitch on the display is 0.31 mm square, creating a viewing area of 103 mm by 79 mm. The entire module size with CCFL backlight measures 134 mm x 115 mm x 14 mm. The display shows natural as well as computer-generated images, including multiple web browser formats and text images ranging from 8 to 24 points in type size. The introduction of LCaD(TM) marks Three-Five's first step into a standard product for the passive matrix LCD marketplace. Standard products mean that customers will be able to utilize the new technology without paying development costs. Developmental demonstration units are currently being shipped to several customers for consideration in applications including outdoor recreational imaging devices, bar code readers, fishfinders and office automation equipment. Developed at Three-Five's Tempe, Ariz. research laboratory, the new technology is an advanced electrical drive design technique used in the control of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The technique allows passive matrix LCDs to emulate active matrix LCDs by using customized semiconductors to scan multiple lines of the display simultaneously, rather than the standard approach of one-line-at-a-time. LCaD(TM) is available in reflective, transflective and transmissive modes. The company will offer standard products with the 320 X 240 resolution and standard microprocessor control interface, but will also customize displays up to 1/2 VGA in resolution. Michael G. Petera, director of Advanced Design Concepts, and developer of LCaD(TM) said, ''The beauty of LCaD(TM) is that people are already using a standard, two-level LCD in many applications. We can offer these manufacturers LCaD(TM) which gives them 16 shades of gray, a tremendous upgrade in gray scale performance, reduced power requirements and complete elimination of crosstalk. ''They'll get all of these features for about the same price they are currently paying for only two shades of gray in a traditional 1/4 VGA display. And the display utilizes the same computer interface these customers are using now.'' ''LCaD(TM) can bring our customers a depth and the ability to imaging, which can't be done with just a few levels of gray,'' added Petera. ''Standard 1/4 VGA displays are either 'on' or 'off' at the pixel. We now have 14 steps in between.'' Initial production of the display, beginning this month, will include FPGA technology to allow customers to design and evaluate the display for specific applications. The final ASIC version of LCaD(TM) will be introduced this summer and will be incorporated into volume production units manufactured later this year. No modification of the company's manufacturing procedures will be required, as the technology utilizes existing LCD manufacturing processes. Three-Five Systems developed the LCaD(TM) technology in response to market demands for higher performance in a standard product, cost-effective passive matrix display. The company plans to continue developing enhancements to the LCaD(TM) technology. A full 32 levels of gray scale and real time video speed performance are expected to be available by fourth quarter of 1998. Three-Five Systems Inc. designs and manufactures user interface devices for operational control and information display in products manufactured by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company specializes in liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies and provides its custom design and manufacturing services for customers in the communications, medical electronics, industrial process control, wireless data collection and office automation marketplaces. Three-Five's Web site is located at www.threefive.com.