Targeting the market for advertising signs (retail outlets, etc.) and information display boards using LEDs as their light source, Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. has introduced new products into its lineup employing SHINKOLITE-A acrylic sheets (sold under the name ACRYLITE in Japan). These new products are the light-emitting sheets in the edge-light-type LED backlight modules LX N875 and LX N885, and the diffusion sheets in the direct-type LED backlight modules L NE14, L NE15, and L NE16, which utilize lighting by LEDs located immediately below the diffusion sheets. These products were recently launched on the market, and the Company’s targets call for sales of ¥200 million worldwide in the term ending March 2009.

    Production of the soon-to-be-launched light-emitting sheets and diffusion sheets has been made possible by Mitsubishi Rayon’s development of its unique continuous casting method. Compared with conventional acrylic resin plate extrusion methods, this new method enables the production of sheets with a heat resistance approximately 10 degrees Celsius higher. Accordingly, the material exhibits higher values than conventional materials in the categories of heat-formability, mechanical processability, weatherability, resistance to solvents, and optical strain.

The Company enjoys large market shares both in Japan and overseas in light-guiding panels for LCD backlights. Making full use of our technological expertise in this area, we have developed and manufactured light-guiding panels in edge-light-type backlight modules with high levels of uniformity and brightness (luminosity). The thicknesses of these latest products have been designed for optimal luminosity effect when LEDs are used as the light source. The most outstanding technical feature of these products is the fact that we have realized high levels of uniformity and brightness without recourse to printing or equivalent processes. The LX N875 has been designed for large displays, and the LX N885 for small and medium-sized displays.

Leveraging the technological expertise in the fields of transparency and light-diffusion control that we have built up in our development of lighting equipment and advertising displays, we have focused our attention on the design of diffusion sheets compatible with LEDs, which allow the creation of light sources with stronger directional beam features than those using fluorescent tubes. We have succeeded in creating a diffusion plate with both a high diffusion factor and excellent brightness. A sufficient level of uniform brightness is achieved despite the fact that the light source is very close to the diffusion plate. Thanks to this, a very slim backlight can be realized.

    As well as the L NE14 standard type, we also offer the L NE15 type for extra brightness and the L NE16 for higher color temperature*.
Note: “Color temperature” refers to the measurement of color expressed in kelvin (k) degrees.