Professor Wayne Cranton

wayne.cranton@ntu.ac.uk
Interface Technology & Design
Display Technology Overview
Dictionaries define a display as an
optical image one consumes, not as the device
that generates or transforms the image for view
Terms like electronic display, display
transducer, or display device are used to
refer to the components used to generate visual
images, as distinguished from their content
What is a DISPLAY ?
Why are Displays so important?
We live in a display-centric society.
Flat Panel Displays are essential elements of: transportation -
communications - education & learning - work environment-
domestic appliances -(tools & toys)
Displays are strategic components - they increasingly
facilitatethe process of human and machine interaction
The convergence of mobile communications and mobile
computing has heightened the reliance on displays
technology
Displays
Overview (1)
There are only two basic families of electronic
displays
Passive displays (modulate incident light)
Emissive displays (convert electricity into light)
Displays
Overview (3)
There are only three sizes of display
Microdisplays
Small & Medium Displays
Large & Very Large Displays
Diagonal dimension < 1.5 inches
2.0 inches < Diagonal dimension < 12 inches
Diagonal dimension > 12 inches
LG.Philips 1000 x 1200
9-up 18.1
TFT Displays - Very, Very large scale ICs !!
Displays
Overview (4)
3 types of display system
Direct view - display image is almost the same size as the
display glass.
Near-to-eye - display image is viewed directly with slight
magnification, or virtually with complicated optics.
Projection - virtual display image is magnified and
projected using optical system onto a front or rear-
illuminated screen.
PLASMA EL FED VFD
Polymer Small Molecule
Organic Inorganic
LED
Emissive displays
ECD
AM TFT
LT p-Si
HT p-Si
LCOS
Active
STN
TN
FLCD
PLLCD
PDLC
Passive
DLP EPD
Passive displays
CRTs Flat Panel Displays
Displays market
LCD
Industry Vocabulary
Some of the more important acronyms:
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
AM TFT LCD Active Matrix Thin Film Transistor Liquid
Crystal Display
TN / STN LCD Twisted Nematic / SupertwistedNematic
Liquid Crystal Display
OLED Organic Light Emitting Diode
PLED Polymer Light Emitting Diode
TFEL Thin Film Electroluminescent Display
FED Field Emission Display
VFD Vacuum Fluorescent Display
PDP Plasma Display panel
And many, many more
ECD, EPD, FLCD, PLLCD, FMLCD, AMOLED, AMEL, CRT, CPT, NCAP, PDLC, VAN LCD, DMD, LCOS..
Industry Vocabulary (cont.)
A pixel that is usually rectangular. Often forms part of a
numeric character used to show numbers 0-9
Segment/legend
Acronyms that standardise fixed numbers of pixels : QVGA =320
x 240, VGA =640 x 480, SVGA =800 x 600, XGA =1024 x
768, SXGA =1280 x 1024 (see next slide)
QVGA, VGA,
SVGA, XGA,
SXGA
A description of the number of pixels on a screen (Mpixels).
It can also refer to the density of the pixels
(number per inch, ppi, or dots per inch dpi)
resolution
A picture element, usually a square or elliptical point on the
screen.A colour pixel comprises 3 sub-pixels 1xR, 1xG, 1xB
pixel
Electronic Displays
Common acronyms used to describe pixel formats (for reference)

Acronym Pixel
format
Pixel
count (M)
Aspect
ratio
Acronym Pixel format Pixel
count (M)
Aspect
ratio
1/4VGA 320x240 0.077 4:3 SXGA 1280x1024 1.311 5:4
1/2VGA 640x240 0.154 8:3 WSXGA 1600x1024 1.638 25:16
VGA 640x480 0.307 4:3 SXGA+ 1400x1050 1.470 4:3
UWVGA 1024x480 0.492 32:15 HDTV-4 1920x1080 2.074 16:9
SVGA 800x600 0.480 4:3 UXGA 1600x1200 1.920 4:3
HDTV2 1280x720 0.922 16:9 WUXGA 1920x1200 2.304 16:10
XGA 1024x768 0.786 4:3 QXGA 2048x1536 3.146 4:3
WXGA 1152x768 0.885 3:2 QSXGA 2560x2048 5.243 4:3
WXGA+ 1280x768 0.983 5:3 QUXGA 3200x2400 7.680 4:3
QVGA 1280x960 1.229 4:3 WQUXGA 3840x2400 9.216 16:10

Remember - Full Colour means x 3 horizontal resolution
e.g. 1024 means 3072 horizontal sub-pixels
HDTV 2 standards at 720 & 1080 horizontal lines.
DVD = 480 horizontal lines
Visual Interface Technology
Characterising Displays
Visual Matching
Resolution
Contrast
Luminance
Colour
Flicker
Form Factor
Electrical Factors
Acuity
High Definition
Text Display
Luminance Contrast
Colour Contrast
Positive / negative contrast
Colour Models
Deficiency considerations
Size / weight
Data interface
PSU
EMC
And Finally Introduction to some HUMAN FACTORS
some examples will be shown in the lecture of why it is
imperative to consider the requirements and limitations of
the user before launching into fancy display design and
implementation
Module ITEC 20121
Display Technology Overview
Colour PDP Plasma Display Panels (Emissive)
42 +
16:9 aspect ratio
flat panel TVs
Very nice, but
Comparison of good and bad display systemdesign
Waterloo Station
Bright light directly behind reduces visibility
Reflections and glare cause
eye strain and fatigue
LED Displayviewed at less than minimum
viewing distance (Waterloo Station)
LED Displayviewed at correct distance