Piggybacking on an earlier agreement, Three-Five Systems has enlisted Mitsui & Co. of Japan to sell Three-Five's liquid-crystal displays in Taiwan and South Korea. Mitsui had been selling Three-Five's displays in Japan after signing agreements with the Tempe, AZ–based manufacturer in 1999 and 2000. The new pact calls for Mitsui to market the American firm's passive-matrix LCDs through its offices in Taipei and Seoul. Three-Five says the international market for passive-matrix LCDs will grow to $3.5 billion in 2006, citing figures from a Stanford Resources market study.

In other news, Three-Five has chosen the name "Brillian" for its new line of liquid-crystal-on-silicon microdisplays. The manufacturer says the name reflects product attributes such as high resolution and high reflectivity. The line includes three microdisplay models measuring 0.43, 0.5, and 0.78 in., respectively.

Toshiba and Matsushita Electric Industrial are planning to build what they say will be the world's largest plant for thin-film transistor LCDs. The Singapore factory is part of a $1.01-billion joint venture launched on May 1. Called AFPD, the venture will be a source of large-glass substrates for TFT-LCDs used in laptops, monitors, and televisions. The plant also will produce low-temperature polysilicon TFT-LCDs used for next-generation displays. Toshiba will own 67% of the partnership; Matsushita, the remaining 33%. Production is scheduled to start in July 2002. AFPD's capacity will reach 55,000 glass substrates per month by FY2003.