Academician Ouyang Zhongcan: "China Screen" counterattack

"More than 60% of people receive information by the eyes, and the screen is the core." Ouyang Zhongcan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. In the field of electronic technology, the reason why China is "stuck neck" is mainly because of "lack of core and less screen". The "screen" is the liquid crystal display (LCD) that we can see everywhere now. Nowadays, China's liquid crystal display technology has led the world. The road of "China Screen" counterattack reflects the development history of Chinese pursuit of independent technological innovation since the reform and opening up.

Why did Ouyang Zhongcan say that "in the era of great development of informatization, 'shaoping' was once a pain in the hearts of Chinese"? How did China's display industry break through the "less screen" dilemma in 20 years and take the lead? Why can an LCD TV be reduced from tens of thousands of yuan to two or three thousand yuan?

The "Academician Science Popularization" column is jointly produced by China Youth Daily and Good Looking Video, which aims to further promote the spirit of scientists, create contemporary "science and technology stars", and stimulate the audience's interest in science and technology. This issue invited Ouyang Zhongcan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and researcher of the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to listen to him talk about the development history of the "Chinese screen".

If you can't produce it independently, overseas manufacturers can set prices at will

The recording site is located in the southeast corner of the Zhongguancun Campus of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a red building, this seemingly ordinary building, is the famous Institute of Theoretical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where 16 academicians of the two academies have come out in more than 40 years. When Ouyang Zhongcan appeared on the scene of the show, he was wearing a dark blue blazer, a light blue shirt and a dark red vest, looking simple and low-key.

Before 2003, China's TV screen completely dependent on imports, when the quality of the general LCD TV price is also 10,000 to 20,000 yuan, we independently produced primary electronic screen can only be used for digital watches. This is what we call "less screen".

In 1968, the American Radio Corporation developed the first liquid crystal display. In 1972, Japan's Sharp bought the LCD technology of the American Radio Corporation, and in 1988, Sharp successfully developed the industry's highest level of TFT-LCD (thin-film transistor liquid crystal display). Later, Japan's Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi and other electronics companies have joined the LCD industry. By 1994, relying on the complete industrial chain system, Japan's TFT-LCD liquid crystal display has accounted for 95%, which can be said to be the "bellwether" of the industry.

It was also during this time period that South Korea's Samsung and LG invested in the TFT-LCD industry on a large scale. By 1999, Samsung and LG ranked first and second in the world with market shares of 18.8% and 16.2% respectively in the LCD panel industry. With the strong growth of Korean companies in the TFT-LCD industry, Taiwan, with the help of the technological advantages of Japanese companies, began to take off in the TFT-LCD industry, and eventually surpassed Japan and became the second in the world.

The display screen is the core component of terminal products such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions, and the "card neck" on the display screen has made many domestic electronic product manufacturers miserable. For example, before 2009, tv factories also mainly relied on imports for screens, which led to high prices for TV products.

"The world's largest TV market is in China, and if we can't produce it ourselves, overseas manufacturers can set prices at will." In the past, several companies such as Samsung, LG and Taiwan in China raised the screen price very high. Ouyang Zhongcan said, "So we must build our own factories and production lines." Only by having its own screen can the price come down and bring benefits to the people."

Although China had not yet mastered liquid crystal technology in 1990, at that time, the state began to vigorously strengthen basic research and promote scientific and technological innovation, so that China's liquid crystal could be from 0 to 1, from scratch, from weak to strong.

In the 20 years of counterattack, the company has made an indispensable contribution

China's display enterprises have also made continuous efforts in technological innovation, and have made great contributions to breaking the situation of foreign manufacturers' technological blockade and price gouging. Ouyang Zhongcan said, "The difficulty in producing display screens lies in actively driven thin-film transistors. In the early days, our technical level could not achieve independent production, in 2003, the representative of China's display companies BOE acquired the 3rd generation production line of South Korea's Hyundai display for 380 million US dollars, and then opened a counterattack for 20 years. ”

In the same year, BOE independently built the fifth generation of TFT-LCD production line, and finally ended the era of china's non-autonomous LCD screen in 2005. From 2008 to 2013, BOE successively built a number of TFT-LCD production lines in various parts of the country. At the same time, Huaxing Electronics, another emerging display company in China, completed the independent construction of China's second 8.5-generation line in 19 months. In 2019, BOE became the world's largest LCD screen supplier, ranking first in shipments in five major segments: notebook computers, tablets, smartphones, monitors, and televisions.

In 2020, China's LCD display production capacity will account for 55% of the world, and liquid crystal displays have leapt to the first place in the world. With the gradual withdrawal of large manufacturers such as Samsung and LG from the LCD market, the market share of Chinese display companies is expected to further increase in the future.

Now, an LCD TV can be bought for only two or three thousand yuan, and people have more and more independent choices. This fully confirms what Ouyang Zhongcan said: "Science and technology are ultimately for the people." ”

"China Screen" has built a smooth industrial chain, what enlightenment does it give to "China Core"

From the first generation of CRT (cathode ray tube) display technology, to the second generation of liquid crystal (LCD) display technology, and then to the third generation of organic light-emitting materials (OLED) display technology, display technology is constantly changing. For the development of China's OLED display, Ouyang Zhongcan is very confident, "OLED display, we and South Korea have no generation difference, flexible screen research and development we started almost at the same time, now Samsung built a 6-generation line, we also have a 6-generation line." Tsinghua and other universities are engaged in basic research, and ENTERPRISES SUCH AS BOE invest in process research, and the industrial chain is very smooth. So I don't think there's a problem with the speed of OLED technology, and in a few years we'll still be able to catch up. ”

The screen is the appearance of electronic products, and the chip is its soul. The phenomenon of "lack of core" still exists. "Core" refers to high-end chips, the current high-end chips on mobile phones are mainly Qualcomm, Samsung, Apple A series, and the computer is mainly Intel. In 2020, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the demand for electronic products such as laptops and tablets has increased significantly, which has made the demand for chips larger. The automotive industry has also been affected by the "lack of cores". China's chip companies have been constantly improving their own technical advantages, and I believe that "China Core" will also break the monopoly of foreign manufacturers like the "Chinese screen" in the past.

Undergraduate science automatic control, master's study of liquid crystal, doctoral transfer to optics, many people ask Ouyang Zhongcan academician why not study one in depth? Ouyang Zhongcan believes that interest is the best teacher, and only interested will concentrate on research. These three majors are not absolutely separate before and after, and many of the knowledge learned at that time helped a lot for future research. Ouyang Zhongcan said: "My current key research direction is mainly from the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology, materials and other disciplines, which promotes the research of domestic soft matter, including display technology. In Ouyang Zhongcan's view, scientific research is like guessing, the puzzle is a natural phenomenon, and the mystery is an objective law, so we must "always maintain proper curiosity."

Ouyang Zhongcan finally sent a message to young scientific researchers: "First of all, we must gain a firm foothold on the issue of position direction, so as to meet the requirements of the new era." To engage in scientific research, we must concentrate on our efforts, and we must not always think of right and wrong. Second, we must integrate our work into the development of scientific and technological innovation, which work needs us, we will do what work, can not overemphasize personal gains and losses. Of course, engaging in technical research work must be able to endure, and the bench must be cold for ten years to sit still. ”

China Youth Daily, trainee reporter Xu Danyang Source: China Youth Daily

Source: China Youth Daily