SED1560 Series

The SED1560 Series, which went into full production in July 1993, was the world's first single-chip dot matrix LCD driver to feature on-chip energy-saving power supply logic. At the time, power circuits for LCDs drained a lot of power, but most manufacturers did not integrate their LCD drivers onto a single chip, and instead added the power supply logic to the board as an afterthought. However, with the ongoing miniaturization and greater sophistication of IT equipment, there was a steadily growing demand for low-power components integrated onto a single chip. In response, Epson continued to seek new advances in power-saving technologies, and developed an optimal logic configuration for LCD drivers, along with power supply logic that drives LCDs while using only one-tenth the current consumed by most other power supply units. Epson has successfully integrated these power-saving power supply units into its LCD driver products.

The SED1560 Series was well received in the marketplace because it managed to simultaneously support both larger display sizes and lower power consumption. By helping to spur the trend toward larger LCD panels in pagers, SED1560 Series products were long-selling hit products that kept pace with the rapid market growth of personal communication devices.

The power-saving technology that was originally developed for this SED1560 Series has been used as a base concept for Epson's subsequent development of several other low-power drivers, such as the successor SED1565 Series that helped Epson maintain its solid position as a manufacturer of drivers for mobile phones, as well as the world's first MLS (Multi Line Selection) type LCD driver.