Sharp has begun developing a 4K liquid crystal display panel for smartphones, according to a Japanese report. The size of the new display will be about 5 to 6 inches and it will be made at Sharp's plant in Mie Prefecture as early as fiscal 2016, sources told Yonap News agency.

Sharp plans to further improve the quality of what is called low-temperature polysilicon LCDs in order to develop the 4K display panel. The cmompany has developed a way to coat polycrystalline silicon uniformly on glass substrates to fabricate LCD panels with extreme clarity.

Seperately, Sharp has been also developing high-end panels with a density of nearly 600 pixels per inch (ppi) mainly for the Chinese market, aiming to put them into practical use in the next fiscal year starting April 1. But the planned 4K panel is expected to have an even bigger density.

Sharp, along with Sony, are already offering smartphones that can record 4K videos, but the 4k quality cannot be maintained when the recorded videos are played on those devices.

Sharp is ranking second in the global market of high-quality LCD panels, behind Japan Display. Once mass production of the new panels kicks off, it aims to expand share by targeting such customers as leading Chinese smartphone makers.