Different types of graphics display devices:

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)

Refresh CRT
CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. CRT is a technology used in traditional computer
monitors and televisions. The image on CRT phosphor coated screen is created by
firing electrons by an electron gun at the back of the tube towards the screen.

Once the electron heats the phosphor, they light up, and they are projected on a
screen. The colour we view on the screen is produced by a blend of red, blue and
green light.

Main Components of CRT are:

1. Electron Gun: Electron gun consisting of a series of elements, primarily a heating

filament (heater) and a cathode. The electron gun creates a source of electrons which
are focused into a narrow beam directed at the face of the CRT.

2. Control Grid: The grid acts as a sort of control gate in tubes. An input signal is applied to
the grid and as the voltage of the grid is varied by that signal it will attract more or less of
the electrons emitted from the cathode .

3. Focusing system: It is used to create a clear picture by focusing the electrons into
a narrow beam.

4. Deflection Yoke: It is used to control the direction of the electron beam. It creates
an electric or magnetic field which will bend the electron beam as it passes through
the area. In a conventional CRT, the yoke is linked to a sweep or scan generator. The
deflection yoke which is connected to the sweep generator creates a fluctuating
electric or magnetic potential.

5. Phosphor-coated screen: The inside front surface of every CRT is coated with
phosphors. Phosphors glow when a high-energy electron beam hits them.
Phosphorescence is the term used to characterize the light given off by a phosphor
after it has been exposed to an electron beam.

Types of CRT

There are two types of CRT or Cathode Ray Tube based on their technique of drawing
pictures.
 1) Raster Scan CRT
2) Random Scan CRT / Vector Scan CRT

1) Raster Scan CRT

Consider a system with resolution 1024×1024 then we can say that there are 1024
rows and 1024 columns of pixels. Firstly, In a raster scan system electron beam moves
across the screen one row at a time from top to bottom scanning each pixel. The beam
intensity is turned on or off according to the picture definition stored in the frame buffer
or refresh buffer. Each row is one scan line. Secondly, we trace Scan lines from left
to right.

After scanning all the pixels of a scan line we have to reach the leftmost pixel of the
next scan line. Then, this is a Horizontal retrace.
Also, At the end of each frame, the electron beam returns to the top left corner of the
screen. Then, this is a Vertical retrace.
During the Horizontal and Vertical retrace the electron beam remains turned off.
We need to repeat this whole cycle, again and again, to avoid flickering. (As
phosphorous fades away after some time). This is refreshing. Moreover, To improve
refresh rate we use a technique called Interlacing.
In this technique We refresh entire frame in two passes. We trace Scan lines
alternately. In the first pass, we scan only half of the rows like the first row then the
third then the fifth skipping the second row, fourth row, and so on. We cover remaining
scan lines in the second pass. Hence we can say This is an effective technique as far
as adjacent scan lines contain similar display information.

2) Random Scan system

In a random scan system, firstly the electron beam strikes only the portions of the
screen where we have to display the picture. (saving unnecessary movement).
Secondly, These systems draw a picture line by line. Thirdly, We store Image as a set
of instructions in a display file. This program is executed and as a result, an image is
created. For refreshing, we execute this program again and again from first to last
instruction. To modify the image we can change instructions inside the display file..
But ,Random scan systems are not suitable for realistic displays.
Colour CRT Monitors:
There are two popular approaches for producing colour displays with a CRT are:
1. Beam Penetration Method
2. Shadow-Mask Method

1. Beam Penetration Method:

The Beam-Penetration method has been used with random-scan monitors. In this
method, the CRT screen is coated with two layers of phosphor, red and green and the
displayed colour depends on how far the electron beam penetrates the phosphor
layers. This method produces four colours only red, green, orange and yellow. A beam
of slow electrons excites the outer red layer only; hence screen shows red colour only.
A beam of high-speed electrons penetrates through the red layer and excites the inner
green layer. Thus screen shows a green colour. An electron beam with intermediate
speed can produce an orange and yellow colour.
Advantages:
1. Inexpensive
Disadvantages:
1. Only four colours are possible
2. Quality of pictures is not as good as with another method.

2. Shadow-Mask Method:
➢ Shadow Mask Method is commonly used in Raster-Scan System because they
produce a much wider range of colours than the beam-penetration method.
 ➢ It is used in the majority of colour TV sets and monitors.
Construction: A shadow mask CRT has 3 phosphor colour dots at each pixel
position.
➢ One phosphor dot emits - red light
➢ Another emits - green light
➢ Third emits: - blue light
This type of CRT has 3 electron guns, one for each colour dot and a shadow mask grid
just behind the phosphor coated screen. We use three electron guns.

With the above-mentioned components, two arrangements are possible. Such as

• Delta-Delta method
• Inline method
Delta-Delta method

In this method, three electron guns and corresponding red-blue-green colour dots on
the screen are arranged in a triangular fashion. Hence, the arrangement is a little bit
complicated to implement.

When the three beams pass through a hole in the shadow mask, they activate a dotted
triangle, which occurs as a small colour spot on the screen.

The phosphor dots in the triangles are organized so that each electron beam can
activate only its corresponding colour dot when it passes through the shadow mask.
Inline Method

In this method, we align three electron guns and corresponding red-blue-green

colour dots on the screen along one scan line. This inline arrangement is easier to
implement. Therefore, we commonly use it in High-resolution Colour CRT monitors.

Advantages: Millions of different colours to be generated by varying intensity levels of

three electron beams.

Difference Between Shadow Mask CRT and Beam Penetration CRT

Beam Penetration Shadow mask

No. of
phosphor 2 (red ,green) 3 phosphor are used(red, green ,blue)

Electron gun 1 electron gun is used 3 electron guns are used

Guns & phosphor are arranged in

2 layers of phosphor are triangular pattern(delta-delta) or inline
Arrangement coated on the screen pattern (inline)

Different by modulating beam

colors accelerating potential. The intensity of guns needs to be controlled.
 To avoid flickering, colours All the 3 beams are to be focused &
are displayed one by one, red deflected simultaneously to make it pass
Working then yellow & so on. through the same hole

Shades 4 (red, yellow orange, green) Millions

Type of
monitor Random Scan Raster Scan

cost inexpensive costly

Direct View Storage Tubes:

It is used to store the picture information as a charge distribution behind the
phosphor-coated screen.
DVST terminals also use the random scan approach to generate the image on the
CRT screen. The term “storage tube” refers to the ability of the screen to retain the
image which has been projected against it, thus avoiding the need to rewrite the
image constantly.

Two guns are used in DVST-

1. Primary guns: It is used to store the picture pattern.

2. Flood gun or Secondary gun: It is used to maintain picture display.

Working principle of DVST :

In DVST similar with CRT electron gun and phosphor coated method is used. But in
this no electron beam is used to directly writing pictures on screen, but instead of
this storage mesh wire grid is used which is just located behind phosphor coated
screen. There is also another grid located just behind storage mesh is called
Collector and its purpose is to smooth out flow of flood electrons. The flood gun
produce large number of electrons. This negatively charged grid reduces speed of
these electrons. Then electrons pass through collector at low velocity and attracted
by positive charged portions of storage mesh and strike at portions of phosphor
coated screen to display picture. Some electrons get repelled by other portions of
mesh that are negatively charged.
Since the collector has slowly down electrons, in this way they not able to produce
sharpened images. So to reduce this problem, screen itself is maintained at a high
positive potential by means of voltage applied to thin aluminium coating between
tube face and phosphor.

Advantages:
• For picture display it does not require refreshing.
• Display complex pictures at high resolution without any flicker.

Disadvantages:
• Not used for dynamic graphic such as animation.
• These systems do not display colours.
• To erase selected part of an image, entire screen needs to be erased
and modified pictures needs to be redrawn.
Flat Panel Display:

The Flat-Panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume,
weight and power requirement compare to CRT.

Example: Small T.V. monitor, calculator, pocket video games, laptop computers, an
advertisement board in elevator.

1. Emissive Display: The emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy
into light. Examples are Plasma Panel, thin film electroluminescent display and LED
(Light Emitting Diodes).

2. Non-Emissive Display: The Non-Emissive displays use optical effects to convert

sunlight or light from some other source into graphics patterns. Examples are LCD
(Liquid Crystal Device).

1. Emissive Display:

Plasma Panel Display:

Working of Plasma Display

Two plates of glass are taken between which millions of tiny cells containing gases
like xenon and neon are filled. Electrodes are also placed inside the glass plates in
such a way that they are positioned in front and behind each cell. The rear glass plate
has with it the address electrodes in such a position that they sit behind the cells. The

front glass plate has with it the transparent display electrodes, which are surrounded
on all sides by a magnesium oxide layer and also a dielectric material. They are kept
in front of the cell.

When a voltage is applied, the electrodes get charged and cause the ionization of the
gas resulting in plasma. This also includes the collision between the ions and electrons
resulting in the emission of photon light.
The state of ionization varies in accordance to colour plasma and monochrome
plasma. For the latter a low voltage is applied between the electrodes. To obtain colour
plasma, the back of each cell has to be coated with phosphor. When the photon light
is emitted they are ultraviolet in nature. These UV rays react with phosphor to give a
coloured light.

Advantages:
1. High Resolution
2. Large screen size is also possible.
3. Less Volume
4. Less weight
5. Flicker Free Display

Disadvantages:
1. Wiring requirement anode and the cathode is complex.
2. Its addressing is also complex.
 3. Cost is much higher compared to other displays.

4. Energy consumption is more.

Light-emitting Diode (LED)

In LED, a matrix of diodes is arranged to form the pixel positions in the display and

picture definition is stored in a refresh buffer. Information is read from the refresh

buffer and converted to voltage levels that are applied to the diodes to produce the

light patterns in the display.

Liquid-crystal Displays (LCDs):

Liquid crystal displays are the devices that produce a picture by passing polarized
light from the surroundings or from an internal light source through a liquid crystal
material that transmit the light. Liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) are commonly used in
small systems, such ' as calculators and portable, laptop computers. that can be
aligned to either block or transmit the light. The term liquid crystal refers to the fact
that these compounds have a crystalline arrangement of molecules, yet they flow like
a liquid. Flat-panel displays commonly use nematic (threadlike) liquid-crystal
compounds that tend to keep the long axes of the rod-shaped molecules aligned. A
flat-panel display can then be constructed with a nematic liquid crystal, as
demonstrated in Fig. Two glass plates, each containing a light polarizer at right angles
to the other plate, sandwich the liquid-crystal material. Rows of horizontal transparent
conductors are built into one glass plate, and columns of vertical conductors are put
into the other plate. The intersection of two conductors defines a pixel position.
Normally, the molecules are aligned as shown in the "on state" of Fig. Polarized light
passing through the material is twisted so that it will pass through the opposite
polarizer. The light is then reflected back to the viewer. To turn off the pixel, we apply
a voltage to the two intersecting conductors to align the molecules so that the light is
not twisted. This type of flat-panel device is referred to as a passive-matrix LCD.
Picture definitions are stored in a refresh buffer, and the screen is refreshed at the rate
of 60 frames per second, as in the emissive devices. Back lighting is also commonly
applied using solid-state electronic devices, so that the system is not completely
dependent on outside light sources. Colours can be displayed by using different
materials or dyes and by placing a triad of colour pixels at each screen location.
Another method for constructing LCDs is to place a transistor at each pixel location,
using thin-film transistor technology. The transistors are used to control the voltage at
pixel locations and to prevent charge from gradually leaking out of the liquid-crystal
cells. These devices are called active-matrix displays.