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The shortage of driver ICs used to control liquid crystal panels has restricted the supply of various liquid crystal products ranging from televisions to monitors.

According to a Japanese media report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, LCD panel manufacturers usually purchase driver ICs for control panel work from IC design companies. In the case of global semiconductor shortages, increasing the output of driver ICs with lower profit margins is of lower priority for semiconductor manufacturers. Therefore, the current shortage of driver ICs is very likely to continue.

In response to this situation, according to CINNO Research industry information, Sharp will increase the production of semiconductors used in large-scale LCD displays such as TVs, and is considering increasing the production of driver ICs by about 10% this fall.

It is reported that Sharp's LCD panel driver ICs have been realized through two methods: production and external procurement by the company. The increased production is used internally by Sharp Group and will not be supplied to external customers, but its driver IC self-sufficiency rate has not been announced.

Affected by the increasing demand for people who stay at home since last year, the demand for LCD TVs and monitors has been rising. Coupled with the shortage of driver ICs, display driver IC manufacturers have also increased their product prices, which also led to the continuous increase in the price of large-size LCD panels.

According to data from DSCC in the United States, the price of a 55-inch LCD panel in March was around US$201 (1367 yuan), which doubled the price in only a year or so. Yoshio Tamura, head of DSCC Asia, said that under the current circumstances, the trend of rising prices is expected to continue.