IBM develops sharpest screen

IBM claims it has developed the world's clearest computer display that is 12 times sharper than current monitors.

Boasting more than nine million pixels in total, divided by 200 pixels per inch, Big Blue claimed the new display is as clear as an original photograph and 4.5 times sharper than high-definition television screens.

IBM said the technology could make its way into displays for laptops, desktops and handheld devices, but initial applications include telemedicine, weather forecasting, publishing and graphic design, product development and satellite mapping.

The first units will be shipped to Lawrence Livermore Lab of the US, which will use it for the US Department of Energy's accelerated strategic computing initiative. The project is studying the operation and aging of nuclear weapons using 3D model simulations.

David Cooper, a Lawrence Livermore Lab associate director, said: "To study the data properly, we need to view and understand 3D visual models. The resolution offered by the IBM display makes that possible on the desktop."

Analysts had believed that mass production of such displays was more than 10 years away, but IBM has drastically undercut that estimate. It has been working on the technology since 1995, both in the US and Japan.

The technology's new active matrix liquid crystal display uses aluminium instead of the molybdenum and tungsten metals traditionally found in displays.

IBM plans to ship the display to other customers in 2001 and license the patented technologies to other manufacturers.