SANTA CLARA, CA – China is expected to surpass Japan in large-area TFT LCD panel production in the second quarter of this year, with Chinese suppliers indicating expanded production plans, says DisplaySearch.

Large-area TFT LCD panel production by Chinese makers, including mini-note, tablet PC, notebook, monitor, and TV applications, was 2.7 million units monthly in the first quarter, compared to 3.2 million units monthly from Japanese makers.

However, China will increase to 3.4 million units in the second quarter, while Japan is expected to fall to 2.3 million units. China is also expected to be higher than Japan in unit production from the third quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012.

On an area basis, Japan will remain larger than China for some time, as there are higher generation fabs, including Gen 6, Gen 8 and Gen 10, in Japan. However, Chinese companies like BOE, ChinaStar and CEC-Panda will be ramping up Gen 6 and Gen 8 fabs within the year, and there will be more expansions in 2012, says the research firm.

Chinese TFT LCD makers still lag behind counterparts in Korea, Taiwan and Japan in new technology implementation.

Sharp, LG Display and other panel makers will start producing tablet PC panels in Gen 8 using advanced array and thin glass technologies. In 2011, 10% of Gen 8 capacity is being allocated to produce tablet PC panels.

The majority of the fabs producing mini-note and tablet PC panels will be Gen 5 and below, which accounted for 90% of these panels in the second quarter of this year, while Gen 6 and Gen 8 accounted for 10% during that period. According to panel makers’ production plans, in the first quarter of 2012, 25% of mini-note and tablet PC panels will be made in Gen 6 to Gen 8 lines.

CEC-Panda, which has acquired capacity and technology from Sharp, will not only make LCD TV panels in its Gen 6 line, but will also allocate 27% of its capacity for LCD monitor panels.

While Korean and Japanese panel makers like Samsung, LG Display and Sharp are allocating some of their Gen 8 capacity to non-TV applications, Taiwanese Gen 8 owners AUO and Chimei Innolux are allocating 100% of their lines to LCD TV applications.

HannStar will allocate more than 50% of its capacity to small/medium panel production, says DisplaySearch.

ARMONK, NY – IBM researchers have designed a high-speed circuit made of graphene, a broadband frequency mixer built on a silicon wafer, the first known complete circuit derived from the material.

CORDOVA, IL – 3M has expanded its electronics cleaning materials manufacturing facility here.

The plant manufactures specialty chemicals and adhesives, including Novec brand products.

3M attributes the expansion to increased demand for sustainable chemicals.

BRUSSELS – The Council of the European Union revised the directive on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, extending protection from dangerous chemicals to more electrical appliances, and improving the safety of products such as mobile phones, refrigerators and electronic toys.

First adopted in 2003, the law bans six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, including lead, mercury and cadmium.

The review extends the scope of the ban to more products, now in principle applying to all electrical and electronic equipment, as well as to cables and spare parts.

Monitoring and control devices and medical devices will be covered in three years, in vitro medical devices in five years, and industrial control appliances in six years.

The new law obliges the commission to regularly review and adapt the list of restricted substances according to a number of criteria; further substances in electrical and electronic equipment may be banned in the future.

Photovoltaic panels to produce energy from solar light do not have to comply with the restriction. Energy-saving light bulbs are also temporarily exempted from the directive.

The revised act will enter into force shortly after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and must be transposed into national law within 18 months.

WOODRIDGE, IL – The Morey Corp. promoted Vincent Petrella to president. Petrella has served as CFO of the company for 10 years.

As president, Petrella will lead all day-to-day operations of manufacturing, engineering and corporate support functions.

The board of directors split the CEO and president roles, both of which were held by Scott Morey for the past 22 years. Employees have grown from 150 to 720 on 1500% revenue growth during that time. Morey will retain the CEO role.

Paul Callaghan will replace Petrella as CFO, coming to the firm from Motorola.

DONGGUAN, CHINA – Nordson Corp. today said it has opened a new demo center here for its Advanced Technology Systems operating segment.

The center will initially focus on products and solutions from Nordson Asymtek, Nordson Dage and Nordson YESTech.

The facility will provide greater access to equipment demonstrations, application engineering support, training, sales and service for customers in South China.

TOKYO -- Following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and electrical power crisis that severely impaired both the Japan and world semiconductor industry, many supply chain players now report that production has reached pre-earthquake levels with minimal risk to future shipments.

TAIPEI -- Foxconn will split itself into multiple companies as the contract manufacturing behemoth tries to boost its profitability and possibly shed underperforming business units.

ANAHEIM, CA -- Multi-Fineline Electronix has opened two printed circuit board fabrication and assembly facilities in China, bringing the company's total to five.

SAN JOSE — Capital expenditures and installed semiconductor manufacturing capacity is on the rise, and 2011 will be a record year for equipment expenditures, according to the SEMI World Fab Database.

MUNICH -- Manufacturers of SMT placement equipment saw first-quarter bookings set a record, boosted by a strong March, especially among Western electronics assembly companies.

SANTA CLARA, CA – Whitebox vendors are the fastest growing segment of the worldwide tablet PC market, says DisplaySearch. Whitebox tablet PC players increased shipments to 1.9 million units in the first quarter of 2011, up 235% sequentially.

China represented the largest market for whitebox tablet PCs, accounting for 44% of worldwide shipments, says the firm. Overall shipments of the tablet PC category were down 5.2% sequentially, to 9.7 million units, but up nearly thirteen-fold year-over-year.

Apple remains the leader in the tablet PC market with a 54% share, and is the leader in many aspects of the segment in terms of usage experience, hardware design and price, says DisplaySearch. The growing size of the whitebox tablet PC market, with nearly a 20% share in the first quarter, is a sign of increasing demand by the mainstream market for tablets.

The whitebox tablet PC space is made up of screen sizes primarily in the 7" and 10.1" wide categories, but also includes screens mirroring the Apple/HP form factor of a 9.7" 4:3 format.

The whitebox tablet market in emerging regions is price sensitive and is partially able to exist because whitebox tablet makers use panels left unused by major brands with slightly lower quality levels, like lower brightness, according to the research firm. Using panels from what is essentially a secondary market allows device makers to offer aggressive pricing compared to iPads. Despite some quality issues of these whitebox tablets, they remain appealing to value conscious buyers, such as students, who are shopping based on price.

Cross checks with tablet supply chain participants, such as chipset providers, indicate potential growth opportunities for the whitebox tablet market in the future. While China is the biggest market for whitebox tablet PCs, other emerging regions are also adopting these tablets, including Asia Pacific, Latin America, and parts of EMEA.

The other segments of the mobile PC market, mini-note and notebook PC, experienced sequential and year-over-year growth rates similar to tablet PCs. The mini-note segment grew 17.3% sequentially in China as a result of holiday demand, but year-over-year results declined 10.2%. The opposite occurred in the notebook segment, where shipments sequentially declined 5.9%, while shipments year-over-year slightly rose 1.6%.