Demand for liquid crystal displays is set to soar by 91 per cent by the year 2006 according to new analysis.

The spike in demand is fuelled by the need for LCDs in notebook PCs and flat screen models, which are expected to grow in popularity and render traditional cathode ray tube displays obsolete.

Annual demand will surpass 170 million units by 2006, nearly doubling the 90.1 million units shifted in 2003, according to Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

JEITA identified the LCD screens for desktop PCs as the main driver of growth, with LCD usage in PCs soaring 102 per cent by 2006.

"The trend towards LCD displays has been decisively established…By 2005, CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors will be losing their price competitiveness against LCDs," explained Seiji Komine, a member of JEITA's display market research team, to Reuters.

Platinum and platinum-rhodium alloys are used in the fabrication of vessels that hold, channel and form molten glass.

LCD glass, used in applications such as laptop computers, is the most intensive user of platinum and rhodium per unit of glass produced.