Backlight

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This article is about backlights in liquid crystal displays. For the rear window of an automobile,
see Car glass. For the lighting design practice, see Backlighting (lighting design). For other uses,
see Backlight (disambiguation).

Views of a liquid crystal display, both with electroluminescent backlight switched on (top) and switched off
(bottom)

A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce
light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT) displays—they need illumination
(ambient light or a special light source) to produce a visible image. Backlights illuminate the LCD
from the side or back of the display panel, unlike frontlights, which are placed in front of the LCD.
Backlights are used in small displays to increase readability in low light conditions such as
in wristwatches,[1] and are used in smart phones, computer displays and LCD televisions to produce
light in a manner similar to a CRT display. A review of some early backlighting schemes for LCDs is
given in a report Engineering and Technology History by Peter J. Wild.[2]
Simple types of LCDs such as in pocket calculators are built without an internal light source,
requiring external light sources to convey the display image to the user. Most LCD screens,
however, are built with an internal light source. Such screens consist of several layers. The backlight
is usually the first layer from the back. Light valves then vary the amount of light reaching the eye, by
blocking its passage in some way. Most use a fixed polarizing filter and a switching one, to block the
undesired light.

Contents

 1Light source types

 2Usage
o 2.1CCFL backlights
o 2.2LED backlights
 2.2.1Backlight dimming
 3Diffusers
 4Reflective polarizers
 5Power consumption
 6References
 7External links

Light source types[edit]

The light source can be made up of:

 Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)

 An electroluminescent panel (ELP)
 Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs)
 Hot cathode fluorescent lamps (HCFLs)
 External electrode fluorescent lamps (EEFLs)
 Formerly, incandescent lightbulbs
An ELP gives off uniform light over its entire surface, but other backlights frequently employ
a diffuser to provide even lighting from an uneven source.
Backlights come in many colors. Monochrome LCDs typically have yellow, green, blue,
or white backlights, while color displays use white backlights that cover most of the color spectrum.

Usage[edit]
Colored LED backlighting is most commonly used in small, inexpensive LCD panels. White LED
backlighting is becoming dominant. ELP backlighting is often used for larger displays or when even
backlighting is important; it can also be either colored or white. An ELP must be driven by relatively
high[specify] voltage AC power, which is provided by an inverter circuit. CCFL backlights are used on
larger displays such as computer monitors, and are typically white in color; these also require the
use of an inverter and diffuser. Incandescent backlighting was used by early LCD panels to achieve
high brightness, but the limited life and excess heat produced by incandescent bulbs were severe
limitations. The heat generated by incandescent bulbs typically requires the bulbs to be mounted
away from the display to prevent damage.
CCFL backlights[edit]

18 parallel CCFLs as backlight for an LCD TV

LCD with CCFL backlight

For several years (until about 2010), the preferred backlight for matrix-addressed large LCD panels
such as in monitors and TVs was based on a cold-cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) by using two
CCFLs at opposite edges of the LCD or by an array of CCFLs behind the LCD (see picture of an
array with 18 CCFLs for a 40-inch LCD TV). Due to the disadvantages in comparison with LED
illumination (higher voltage and power needed, thicker panel design, no high-speed switching, faster
aging), LED backlighting is becoming more popular.
LED backlights[edit]
See also: LED-backlit LCD

LCD with LED matrix backlight

LED backlighting in color screens comes in two varieties: white LED backlights and RGB LED
backlights.[3] White LEDs are used most often in notebooks and desktop screens, and make up
virtually all mobile LCD screens. A white LED is typically a blue LED with broad spectrum yellow
phosphor to result in the emission of white light. However, because the spectral curve peaks at
yellow, it is a poor match to the transmission peaks of the red and green color filters of the LCD. This
causes the red and green primaries to shift toward yellow, reducing the color gamut of the
display.[4] RGB LEDs consist of a red, a blue, and a green LED and can be controlled to produce
different color temperatures of white. RGB LEDs for backlighting are found in high end color proofing
displays such as the HP DreamColor LP2480zx monitor or selected HP EliteBook notebooks, as well
as more recent consumer-grade displays such as Dell's Studio series laptops which have an optional
RGB LED display.
RGB LEDs can deliver an enormous color gamut to screens.[5] When using three separate LEDs
(additive color) the backlight can produce a color spectrum that closely matches the color filters in
the LCD pixels themselves. In this way, the filter passband can be narrowed so that each color
component lets only a very narrow band of spectrum through the LCD. This improves the efficiency
of the display since less light is blocked when white is displayed. Also, the actual red, green, and
blue points can be moved farther out so that the display is capable of reproducing more vivid colors.
A new[specify] method to further improve the color gamut of LED-backlit LCD panels is based on blue
LEDs (such as GaN) illuminating a layer of nanocrystal phosphors, so-called Quantum
Dots (QD),[6] which convert the blue wavelengths to the desired longer wavelengths as narrow-
bandwidth green and red colors for optimal illumination of the LCD from behind. The
manufacturer, Nanosys, claims that the color output of the dots can be tuned precisely by controlling
the size of the nanocrystals. Other companies pursuing this method are Nanoco Group PLC
(UK), QD Vision, 3M a licensee of Nanosys and Avantama of Switzerland.[7][8] Sony has
adapted Quantum Dot technology from the US company QD Vision[9] to introduce LCD TVs with an
improved edge-lit LED backlight marketed under the term Triluminos in 2013. With a blue LED and
optimized nanocrystals for green and red colors in front of it, the resulting combined white light
allows for an equivalent or better color gamut than that emitted by a more expensive set of three
RGB LEDs. At the Consumer Electronics Show 2015, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, the
Chinese TCL Corporation and Sony showed QD-enhanced LED-backlighting of LCD TVs.[10][11]
CCFL backlighting has also improved in this respect. Many LCD models, from cheap TN-displays to
color proofing S-IPS or S-PVA panels, have wide gamut CCFLs representing more than 95% of
the NTSC color specification.
There are several challenges with LED backlights. Uniformity is hard to achieve, especially as the
LEDs age, with each LED aging at a different rate. Also, the use of three separate light sources for
red, green, and blue means that the white point of the display can move as the LEDs age at different
rates; white LEDs are also affected by this phenomenon, with changes of several
hundred kelvins being recorded. White LEDs also suffer from blue shifts at higher temperatures
varying from 3141K to 3222K for 10 °C to 80 °C respectively.[12] Power efficiency may also be a
challenge; first generation implementations could potentially use more power than their CCFL
counterparts, though it is possible for an LED display to be more power efficient.[citation needed] In 2010,
current generation LED displays can have significant power consumption advantages. For example,
the non-LED version of the 24" Benq G2420HDB consumer display has a 49W consumption
compared to the 24W of the LED version of the same display (G2420HDBL).
To overcome the aforementioned challenges with RGB and white LED backlights an 'advanced
remote phosphor' [13] LED technology has been developed by NDF Special Light Products,
specifically for high-end and long-life LCD applications such as cockpit displays,[14] Air Traffic
Control displays and medical displays. This technology uses blue pump LEDs in combination with a
sheet on which phosphorous luminescent materials are printed for colour conversion. The principle
is similar to Quantum Dots, but the phosphors applied are much more robust than the quantum dot
nano-particles for applications that require long lifetime in more demanding operational conditions.
Because the phosphor sheet is placed at a distance (remote) of the LED it experiences much less
temperature stress than phosphors in white LEDs. As a result, the whitepoint is less dependent on
individual LEDs, and degrading of individual LEDs over lifetime, leading to a more homogenous
backlight with improved colour consistency and lower lumen depreciation.
The use of LED backlights in notebook computers has been growing. Sony has used LED backlights
in some of its higher-end slim VAIO notebooks since 2005, and Fujitsu introduced notebooks with
LED backlights in 2006. In 2007, Asus, Dell, and Apple introduced LED backlights into some of their
notebook models. As of 2008, Lenovo has also announced LED-backlit notebooks. In October 2008,
Apple announced that it would be using LED backlights for all of its notebooks and new 24-
inch Apple Cinema Display, and one year later it introduced a new LED iMac, meaning all of Apple's
new computer screens are now LED. Almost every laptop with a 16:9 display introduced since
September 2009 uses LED-backlit panels. This is also the case for most LCD television sets, which
are marketed in some countries under the misleading name LED TV, although the image is still
generated by an LCD panel.
Most LED backlights for LCDs are edge-lit, i.e. several LEDs are placed at the edges of a lightguide,
which distributes the light behind the LC panel. Advantages of this technique are the very thin flat-
panel construction and low cost. A more expensive version is called full-array or direct LED and
consists of many LEDs placed behind the LC panel (an array of LEDs), such that large panels can
be evenly illuminated. This arrangement allows for local dimming to obtain darker black pixels
depending on the image displayed.
Backlight dimming[edit]
LED backlight are often dynamically controlled using the video information[15] (dynamic backlight
control or dynamic “local dimming” LED backlight, also marketed as HDR, high dynamic range
television, invented by Philips researchers Douglas Stanton, Martinus Stroomer and Adrianus de
Vaan[16][17][18]).
Using PWM (pulse-width modulation, a technology where the intensity of the LEDs are kept
constant, but the brightness adjustment is achieved by varying a time interval of flashing these
constant light intensity light sources[19]), the backlight is dimmed to the brightest color that appears on
the screen while simultaneously boosting the LCD contrast to the maximum achievable levels
If the frequency of the pulse-width modulation is too low or the user is very sensitive to flicker, this
may cause discomfort and eye-strain, similar to the flicker of CRT displays.[20][21] This can be tested
by a user simply by waving a hand or object in front of the screen. If the object appears to have
sharply defined edges as it moves, the backlight is strobing on and off at a fairly low frequency. If the
object appears blurry, the display either has a continuously illuminated backlight or is operating the
backlight at a frequency higher than the brain can perceive. The flicker can be reduced or eliminated
by setting the display to full brightness, though this may have a negative impact on image quality
and battery life due to increased power consumption.
Diffusers[edit]
For a non-ELP backlight to produce even lighting, which is critical for displays, the light is first
passed through a lightguide - a specially designed layer of plastic that diffuses the light through a
series of unevenly spaced bumps. The density of bumps increases further away from the light
source according to a diffusion equation. The diffused light then travels to either side of the diffuser;
the front faces the actual LCD panel, the back has a reflector to guide otherwise wasted light back
toward the LCD panel. The reflector is sometimes made of aluminum foil or a simple white-
pigmented surface.

Reflective polarizers[edit]
The LCD backlight systems are made highly efficient by applying optical films such as prismatic
structure to gain the light into the desired viewer directions and reflective polarizing films that recycle
the polarized light that was formerly absorbed by the first polarizer of the LCD (invented by Philips
researchers Adrianus de Vaan and Paulus Schaareman),[22] generally achieved using so called
DBEF films manufactured and supplied by 3M.[23] These polarizers consist of a large stack of uniaxial
oriented birefringent films that reflect the former absorbed polarization mode of the light.[24] Such
reflective polarizers using uniaxial oriented polymerized liquid crystals (birefringent polymers or
birefringent glue) are invented in 1989 by Philips researchers Dirk Broer, Adrianus de Vaan and
Joerg Brambring.[25] The combination of such reflective polarizers, and LED dynamic backlight
control[16] make today's LCD televisions far more efficient than the CRT-based sets, leading to a
worldwide energy saving of 600 TWh (2017), equal to 10% of the electricity consumption of all
households worldwide or equal to 2 times the energy production of all solar cells in the world.[26][27]