Canon to invest $188 mln on new panel R&D centre

TOKYO: Canon Inc. said on Monday it would invest about $188 million on a new centre in Japan to develop production technology for surface conduction electron emitter displays, a promising new type of flat panel.

Canon and Toshiba Corp. formed a joint venture last year to develop and make the panels, which are thinner and consume less energy than liquid crystal and plasma display panels, the two main technologies used for flat panel TVs.

Canon, the world's top copier and digital camera maker, said it would build the research centre in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, at a cost of about 20.8 billion yen ($188.3 million).