The Many Uses Computer monitors Television Instrument panels Aircraft cockpit displays sign Video players Gaming devices Clocks Watches Calculators Telephones
The History of LCDs Liquid crystal discovered by the Austrian Fredreich Rheinizer in 1888. 1960: scientists found that liquid crystals could change their properties of light and produce many colours when electricity is passed through early prototypes (late 1960s) were too unstable for mass production British researcher proposed a stable, liquid crystal material: biphenyl
How it all Works LCDs are displays made from liquid crystals Liquid crystals are both solid and liquid, but mostly liquid They can keep their shape like solids, and move around like liquids Their form is changed with heat Liquid Crystals
How it all Works Liquid crystals have phases; Nematic is one of them In this phase: Molecules are rod shaped They are naturally twisted Electricity (heat) causes them to untwist, and light passes through Nematic Phase
How it all Works It has a mirror in back, which makes it reflective. a piece of glass with a polarizing film on the bottom side, and a common electrode plane made of indium-tin oxide on top. A common electrode plane covers the entire area of the LCD. Above that is the layer of liquid crystal substance LCD Parts Layer of Liquid Crystals an electrode in the shape of the rectangle on the bottom. another polarizing film at a right angle to the first one.
Typical Specs Color LCDs have at least 3subpixels, with red, green, and blue filters the intensity of each sub pixel can range over 256 shades . Combining the sub pixels produces a possible palette of 16.8 million colors
Future Trends 1920 x 1080 is resolution for HD 1280 x 720 is also HD Old standard TVs used a resolution of up to 400p HDTVs use higher resolutions of pixels to create better images Resolution: number of pixels horizontally by number of pixels vertically
Advantages of LCDs Over CRTs LCDs can be constructed much smaller and lighter Are more economical to run, they use less power Generate less heat Create higher quality images Causes less eye fatigue Emit less radiation