台湾电子制造业巨擘鸿海精密创办人郭台铭一直积极强化富士康(Foxconn)的技术实力，以期能超越韩国电子业巨头三星电子(Samsung Electronics)。而与日本领先的LCD面板制造商夏普(Sharp Corp)建立合作关系，正实现这一目标的关键之一。
据日本经济新闻上周五报导，夏普会把该公司先进的中小尺寸LCD面板技术转移给鸿海目前正在中国四川兴建中的工厂。
此举也代表着这两家公司在三月底签署协议后的首个合作项目。根据初步协议，鸿海将取得夏普9.9%的股份，而郭台铭也将投资夏普的Sakai厂──约可获得46.5%股份。Sakai厂于2009年开始运转，主要生产超大玻璃基板，被视为量产LCD面板的一大里程碑，然而，该厂目前仍在设法解决过低的运转速度问题。
若夏普真的参与鸿海中国LCD面板厂业务，那么这两家公司的合作就不会再局限于其在日本Sakai厂的大尺寸电视面板了。未来两家公司的合作关系将扩展到智能手机和平板用的中小尺寸面板领域。
据日经表示，在这次的新技术转移中，夏普可能获得数百亿日圆的技术转移费用。
在大尺寸平面电视争战中败给了韩国业者的日本显示器制造商们，现正退守其中小尺寸平面显示器产品线。索尼(Sony)、东芝(Toshiba)和日立(Hitachi)去年便联合设立了一家名为Japan Display的合资公司。该公司专注于行动设备用的LCD面板业务，甫于上个月开始运作。索尼、东芝和日立各占新公司10%股份，其它部份则由官方的INCJ(Innovation Network Corporation of Japan)投资。
在此之前，夏普亦曾多次获邀加入Japan Display的经营。但夏普在经过与鸿海长达一年的协商后，夏普显然将它的未来押注在与鸿海的合作关系上。
在此同时，索尼和松下(Panasonic)也开始讨论透过技术合作实现OLED面板量产的潜在可能性。
2011年中小型面板显示器营收分布。 / 资料来源：NPD DisplaySearch中小型出货及预测季报
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编译： Joy Teng
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
本文下一页：参考英文原文：Sharp to transfer LCD technology to Hon Hai’s China plant ，by Junko Yoshida
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Sharp to transfer LCD technology to Hon Hai’s China plant
Junko Yoshida
TOKYO – Terry Gou, founder of Taiwan’s contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. (known as Foxconn), has been consistent in its one naked ambition: To build technology prowess at Foxconn that surpasses Korean giant Samsung Electronics. The key to that goal, in Gou’s mind, lies in Hon Hai’s building an intimate link with Japan’s leading LCD panel manufacturer Sharp Corp — which did not really exist.
Until now. A deal has been made at last, possibly rendering Gou’s goal good to go.
Sharp Corp. will transfer the company’s advanced, small-to-medium LCD panel technology to a Hon Hai fab -- currently under construction -- in China’s Sichuan province, Nikkei, Japan’s economic newspaper, reported Friday.
This move represents the first tangible joint project between the two companies, built upon a Hon Hai/Sharp deal that was signed at the end of March.
Under the initial deal, the two companies agreed to Hon Hai’s taking a 9.9 percent stake in Sharp, while the Taiwanese firm's billionaire founder Gou invested his own money into Sharp’s Sakai fab – gaining a
46.5 percent share. The Sakai fab – opened in 2009, capable of handling super large glass substrates – is considered an important milestone in LCD panel production but it has been struggling with a disappointingly low run rate.
If indeed Sharp participates in Hon Hai’s LCD panel production in China, the two companies’ collaboration won’t be limited to large LCD panel production for TVs at the Sakai fab in Japan. The partnership will include small-to-medium LCD panel production for smart phones and tablets.
Nikkei said the new technology transfer, for which Sharp will receive tens of billions of yen in fees, is aimed at improving quality management at Hon Hai's planned plant in Chengdu.
A Sharp spokeswoman said the company was "considering a number of options," but declined to comment on the report.
