Liquid Crystals and LCD

Displays
References: Links and
documents posted on ANGEL

Liquid Crystal Structures

S = order parameter (Typically from 0.3 to 0.9)

There is a general tendency to pint to a specific
direction defined by a vector called the director.
This leads to anisotropic properties such as
birefringence

Liquid Crystal Structures

(Contd.)

S-T curve for Nematic liquid

crystals

Reorientation of nematic liquid

crystals in the presence of E-Field

Twisted Nematic Liquid

Crystals

Twisted nematic structure Director orientation by rubbing a

polymer coating

LCD: Simplified Structure

LCD: Simplified Operation for passive

addressing

TN LCD: Simplified Operation

(Contd.)

90 degree twist of the

director

Disadvantages of TN Passive Displays and

other variations
Low switching speed and degraded contrast ratio for large
number of pixels
Crosstalk which leads to ghosting due to stray electrical paths
Limited viewing angle
STN
Supertwisted nematic (270 degree twist)
Crosstalk minimized and viewing angle increased
Cons: Slow response times and more expensive to manufacture

DSTN
Double supertwisted
Improved contrast
Cons: Results in a bulky display and more expensive

FSTN
Film compensated supertwisted to compensate for color distortion

Active Matrix TFT LCDs

Uses individual transistors (indium tin oxide or ITO) to
control charges on each cell
Amorphous(more common) or polycrystalline silicon(more
expensive) used for transistors
Indium tin oxide (ITO) sandwiched between LC used as each
subpixel
The grid in this this case is a grid of transistors
One transistor for each subpixel
No ghosting or crosstalk
Light weight and wider viewing angle
Better contrast
Cons: Expensive, lower yield and higher probability of
defective pixels

OLED Displays

Organic LED displays do not require backlighting

Flexible and lightweight
Better Contrast
Easy to see at almost any angle
Dielectric light emitting phosphor layers
sandwiched between two conductive surfaces
Doping of the OLED material helps control color
and brightness
Cons: Sharp trade-off between operation lifetime
and operating temperatures