LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. today reported that mass production at its sixth generation thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) plant in Gumi, South Korea, began last month. The plant is producing TFT-LCDs for 32-inch, 37-inch and 42-inch wide screens for TV applications, as well as 17-inch PC monitors and is currently in the first phase of ramp-up, to reach full production capacity of 90,000 sheets per month -- which represents approximately 250,000 square meters of input glass -- by Q3 2005.

LG.Philips is touting its factory as the first to use 1500mm x 1850mm glass substrates, meant to increase factory productivity and panel throughput of large and wide TFT-LCD production. Equipped with the latest LCD manufacturing equipment, the fab is the first sixth-generation factory to apply new technologies including one-drop fill (ODF) technology without pre-cutting the substrate glass, the company said.

“The plant, which began depreciation in August, is the first sixth-generation factory to exist outside of Japan,” said Ron Wirahadiraksa, CFO at LG.Philips LCD, in a statement. "This fab represents a significant step forward in manufacturing and innovation, and follows a tradition of record-setting production ramps that LG.Philips LCD experienced in its world’s first fourth- and fifth-generation factories in 2000 and 2002, respectively. With [the plant] online, LG.Philips LCD will be able to realize better efficiency in producing large and wide TV panels and continue to deliver the highest-quality products to our leading consumer electronics customers around the world."