Prepared by:

Jayachandra.P.A
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Whats Liquid Crystals (LC) Introduction to Liquid Crystal Displays Operating Principle Display Addressing Applications A) Thin Film Transistor (TFT) B) Alpha-numeric Display C) Back Lighting System

intermediary substance between a liquid and solid state of matter. e.g. soapy water light passes through liquid crystal changes when it is stimulated by an electrical charge.

CRT

LCD

Bulky, heavy, use vacuum tube technology. Using technology that was developed in the 19th century.

First LCD laptop monitors were very small due to manufacturing costs. Light, sleek, energyefficient, have sharp picture.

Monochrome: Display two colors, one for the background and one for the foreground.

Gray-Scale: A special type of monochrome monitor capable of displaying different shades of gray. Color: Can display anywhere from 16 to over 1 million different colors. Sometimes called RGB monitors.

Quality: Manufacturers describe quality by dot pitch. Smaller dot pitches mean pixels are closely spaced which will yield a sharper image. Most monitors have dot pitches that range from 0.22mm to 0.39mm. Resolution: Indicates how densely packed the pixels are. Most modern monitors can display 1024x768 pixels. High end models can display 1280x1024.

Used for displays in notebooks, small computers, pagers, phones and other instruments. Uses a combination of fluorescent-based backlight, color filters, transistors, and liquid crystal to create and illuminate images. Until recently, was only used on notebook computers and other portable devices. In 1997, manufactures began to offer full size LCD monitors as alternatives to CRT monitors.

Used for displays in notebooks, small computers, pagers, phones and other instruments. Uses a combination of fluorescent-based backlight, color filters, transistors, and liquid crystal to create and illuminate images. Until recently, was only used on notebook computers and other portable devices. In 1997, manufactures began to offer full size LCD monitors as alternatives to CRT monitors.

Physical Size

Compact and Lightweight Space saving Can be mounted on a wall or panel

Display Size

Available at comparable in screen size as traditional CRT Shown on the next slide, a 12.1" LCD display (left) has only a slightly smaller viewing area than a typical 14" CRT monitor. Newer, larger LCD monitors are also appearing that have 15", 17", and even larger screen sizes that are comparable to the largest CRT monitors. (One thing to note is that LCD monitors are typically sized by their actual viewable diagonal measurement, but CRTs typically are not.)

Power Consumption and Radiation Emission

Consume less energy and more durable
A typical CRT losses approximately 50% of its brightness after 10,000 hours. An LCD bulb will maintain its brightness anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 hours. LCD consumes fewer watts than a CRT. LCD will use an average 30 watts compared to 120 watts for the CRT. Can reduce electric bill by 40-85%. Uses a combination of fluorescent-based backlight, color filters, transistors, and liquid crystal to create and illuminate images. It blocks light rather emit light

Power Consumption and Radiation Emission

Doest not emit Radiation Not subject to Electromagnetic Interference

Viewing
Cause less eyestrain Does not flicker or glare

Color
Most are capable of displaying unlimited colors.

Resolution
Multiple video Resolutions.

Response Time
Faster response time. Critical to people who watch videos or play games on their PCs. The fastest LCDs offer a response time of about 25 milliseconds as apposed to CRTs that have a response time of about 13 milliseconds.

Viewing Angle
Look @ a very wide angle

Resolution

Viewing Angle

Displays Native Resolutions (Resolution that it displays best)

Smaller, needed to be viewed more directly from the front. From the side the images on an LCD screen can seem to disappear, or invert colors. Newer displays that are coming out have a wider viewing angle so this is not as much of an issue as it has been in the past.

Price
Upfront cost it is more costly but long-term cost but will conserve energy in the long run. The energy savings may not be much for an individual use, but for a corporate office where 50 displays or more are in use, the energy savings might be more of an issue.

Installation
Need a plug interface to connect to the computer. Some require a special digital plug-interface in order to work . Problem: is that this plug is not available on most computers, so another video card or adapter must be purchased to plug these LCD monitors into the computer.

Response Time
It is much slower. The delay can cause a ghosting effect on images it displays.

Physical size
Takes more desktop space.

Power Consumption and Radiation Emission

Consumes more energy Emits harmful radiation. The metal shield behind the glass of your monitor protects your body from a flood of radiation. It holds a dangerous electrical charge even after turned off and can last up to several years and be hazardous and even deadly to anyone who opens a CRT monitor casing. Know to cause fires due to electrical malfunctions and excessive heat if the ventilation holes are accidentally covered up.

Consists of an array of tiny segments (called pixels) that can be manipulated to present information. Using polarization of lights to display objects. Use only ambient light to illuminate the display. Common wrist watch and pocket calculator to an advanced VGA computer screen

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Passive Matrix LCDs (AMLCD) and Active Matrix LCDs (AMLCD)

Passive Twisted Nematic Displays (TNLCD) Super Twisted nematic LCD (STNLCD) Thin Film Transistor LCD (TFT LCD) Reflective LCD Rear Projection LCD

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The parallel arrangement of liquid crystal molecules along grooves When coming into contact with grooved surface in a fixed direction, liquid crystal molecules line up parallel along the grooves.

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Molecules movement
Offline (no voltage is applied) Along the upper plate : Point in direction 'a' Along the lower plate : Point in direction 'b Forcing the liquid crystals into a twisted structural arrangement. (Resultant force)

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Light movement
Offline (no voltage is applied) Light travels through the spacing of the molecular arrangement. The light also "twists" as it passes through the twisted liquid crystals. Light bends 90 degrees as it follows the twist of the molecules. Polarized light pass through the analyzer (lower polarizer).

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Molecules movement
Online (voltage is applied) Liquid crystal molecules straighten out of their helix pattern Molecules rearrange themselves vertically (Along with the electric field) No twisting thoughout the movement Forcing the liquid crystals into a straight structural arrangement. (Electric force)
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Light movement
Online (voltage is applied) Twisted light passes straight through. Light passes straight through along the arrangement of molecules. Polarized light cannot pass through the lower analyzer (lower polarizer). Screen darkens.

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Sequences of offline and online mode Offline 1. Surrounding light is polarized on the upper plate. 2. Light moves along with liquid crystals and twisted at right angle. 3. Molecules and lights are parallel to the lower analyzer. 4. Light passes through the plate. 5. Screen appear transparent.

Offline

Online
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Sequences of offline and online mode Online 1. Surrounding light is polarized on the upper plate. 2. Light moves along with liquid crystals which moves straight along the electric field. 3. Molecules and lights are perpendicular to the lower analyzer. 4. Light cannot pass through the plate. 5. Screen appear dark.

Offline

Online
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Polarization of light

When unpolarized light passes through a polarizing filter, only one plane of polarization is transmitted. Two polarizing filters used together transmit light differently depending on their relative orientation.

Online

Offline
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Construction of Liquid Crystal Display

Two bounding plates (usually glass slides), each with a transparent conductive coating (such as indium tin oxide) that acts as an electrode; A polymer alignment layer : undergoes a rubbing process as grooves. Spacers to control the cell gap precisely; Two crossed polarizers (the polarizer and the analyzer); Polarizers are usually perpendicular to each other.

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Properties of LCD Display

Small footprint (approx 1/6 of CRT) Light weight (typ. 1/5 of CRT) power consumption (typ. 1/4 of CRT) Completely flat screen - no geometrical errors Crisp pictures - digital and uniform colors No electromagnetic emission Fully digital signal processing possible Large screens (>20 inch) on desktops High price (presently 3x CRT) Poor viewing angle (typ. 50 degrees) Low contrast and luminance (typ. 1:100) Low luminance (typ. 200 cd/m2)

Maximum luminosity : 50% of CRT as 50% of light is blocked by the upper polarizer.
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Advantage of LCD over CRT

Smaller sizeAMLCDs occupy approximately 60 percent less space than CRT displaysan important feature when office space is limited. Lower power consumptionAMLCDs typically consume about half the power and emit much less heat than CRT displays. Lighter weightAMLCDs weigh approximately 70 percent less than CRT displays of comparable size. No electromagnetic fieldsAMLCDs do not emit electromagnetic fields and are not susceptible to them. Thus, they are suitable for use in areas where CRTs cannot be used. Longer lifeAMLCDs have a longer useful life than CRTs; however, they may require replacement of the backlight.

Maximum luminosity : 50% as 50% of light is blocked by the upper polarizer.

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Addressing is the process by which pixels are turned on and off in order to create an image. There are two main types of addressing, direct and multiplexing. Direct addressing is convenient for displays where there are only a few elements that have to be activated. With direct addressing, each pixel in the display has its own drive circuit. A microprocessor must individually apply a voltage to each element. A common application of direct addressing is the traditional seven segment liquid crystal display, found in wristwatches and similar devices.

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In multiplex addressing, a larger number of pixels are involved. When the elements are in a regular order, they can be addressed by their row and column instead of each element being driven separately. This reduces the complexity of the circuitry because each pixel no longer needs its own driver circuit. If you have a 10x10 matrix of pixels, with direct addressing, you need 100 individual drivers. However, if you use multiplex addressing, you only need 20 drivers, one for each row and one for each column. This is a tremendous advantage, especially as displays become larger and larger.

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Optical Response twisted nematic displays can switch between light and dark states, or somewhere in between (grayscale). Electro-distortional curve is shown as follows :

the electro-distortional response determines the transmission of light through the cell. Different light intensity of an image projected on the screen is determined by different voltage suppy. Thus the level of blocking of light may vary.

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A) Thin Film Transistor (TFT)

Constructed on a glass surface using a photolithographic process. The source and gate are the control electrodes. The drain electrode connects to the liquid crystal pixel. The thin layer of amorphous silicon is the semiconducting material that allows the TFT to function. The capacitor is attached to the pixel electrode, but is not an integral part of the TFT.

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B) Alpha-numeric display Digital letters can be displayed by blocking the lights in different plates we place. For applications such as digital watches and calculators, a mirror is used under the bottom polarizer. With no voltage applied, ambient light passes through the cell, reflects off the mirror, reverses its path, and re-emerges from the top of the cell, giving it a silvery appearance. When the electric field is on, the aligned LC molecules do not affect the polarization of the light. The analyzer prevents the incident light from reaching the mirror and no light is reflected, causing the cell to be dark. When the electrodes are shaped in the form of segments of numbers and letters they can be turned on and off to form an alpha-numeric display.
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