Sharp of Japan recently announced that it has commenced the commercial production
of blue laser diodes. The electronics company does not currently produce its
own blue laser media players, but said that it will introduce such products
early next year. For now, the blue lasers will be supplied to various partners
for the production of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players and recorders.
Sharp is able to produce 150,000 units per month at its Hiroshima
manufacturing plant, spokesman Hiroshi Takenami said. The company plans to
spend several billion yen increase production to 500,000 units monthly by the
end of 2007.
Japanese analysts say that Sharp’s hefty investment into
blue laser diode production is unlikely to yield big returns, at least in the
short term, but will benefit makers of high-definition video players with the
added supply. The addition of Sharp’s production to the pool would also
decrease the cost of blue laser components, which currently compose of nearly a
third of the costs of high definition machines, thus lowering prices for the
end user.
Shortages of blue laser diodes have been well publicized as
the reason for delays of many Blu-ray Disc players. Most notorious of all
delays is the PlayStation 3, which is in short supply in
both Japan and North America, and delayed months for Europe
due to the limited production of blue laser components. Standalone players also
fell victim to shortage of blue lasers, as Sony’s standalone BDP-S1 faced a small delay before
its recent release.