TOKYO -- Philips Electronics NV has thrown its considerable weight behind plasma-addressed liquid-crystal (PALC) display technology, announcing last week th at it will join Sharp Electronics and Sony Corp. in their quest to develop 40-inch wall-hanging panels that could be used for either computers or TVs.

The three companies did not disclose production plans for the hybrid flat panels, but a Sony spokesman promised a demonstration of a prototype 40-inch display soon. Sony expects to have a VGA-class computer display ready by the fall of 1998, he added.

The partners will put several hundred engineers to work on refining the PALC technology, which Sony licensed in 1993 from its inventor, Tektronix Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.), according to the spokesman. "PALC offers intrinsically higher contrast and brightness than plasma and is easier to manufacture," he said, adding that Sony doesn't expect production to reach high volumes before the turn of the century.

PALC borrows from both plasma and liquid-crystal technology. In monochrome plasma displays, driving a matrix of X-Y electrodes ignites a gas plasma, which generates visible light. Color plasma technology generates ultraviolet light, which excites red, green and blue phosphors.

A PALC display generates electrons rather than light. Then the X-Y electrodes combine with a single electrode in the liquid-crystal section to form a three-terminal switching device, in much the same way that thin-film transistors form in an active-matrix LCD, but without the TFT's manufacturing complexities.

During the next phase of PALC development, Sharp engineers at the Tenri research center will focus on wide-viewing-angle LC technology, while Philips (Eindhoven, the Netherlands) will work on high-resolution plasma technology, improving the aperture, power consumption and brightness.

Sony will be in charge of technology integration, and will build a prototype production line at a subsidiary production company, Sony Mizunami. "To overcome the current minor disadvantage in respect to the viewing angle, solutions are being worked out," the Sony spokesman said.

The PALC partners must move quickly to outrun the compan ies supporting plasma for the next generation of large flat panels. Fujitsu Ltd. is in the early stages of volume manufacturing, while Matsushita, Mitsubishi, NEC and Pioneer are readying volume production. Several of these companies sell commercial displays, as well as wall-hanging TVs priced in the $10,000 range.

Though Sony does not market a plasma wall-hanging television, it does sell a 25-inch wall-hanging TV, called Flight, based on active-matrix LCD panels, the spokesman said.

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