Liquid Crystal Display

By

Nitesh Pandey
EE04B034
History of LCDs
1) Liquid crystals were first discovered in 1888, by Austrian botanist
Friedrich Reinitzer. Reinitzer observed that when he melted a cholesterol-
like substance (cholesteryl benzoate), it first became a cloudy liquid and
then cleared up as its temperature rose. Upon cooling, the liquid turned
blue before finally crystallizing.

2) But it wasn’t until almost eight decades after this discovery that it was first
used for displays by George H. Heilmeier in 1964.

3) In 1972 first active-matrix liquid crystal display panel was produced.

4) Since then this technology has been widely used in LCD TV, computer
monitor,LCD’s projector etc as mentioned earlier.
Types of Liquid crystal:
Liquid Crystal are broadly categorized as
1) Thermotropic is again classified as
a) Isotropic
b) Nematic
2) Lyotropic

It’s the Nematic phase liquid crystals which is used in LCDs. The
orientation of the molecules is based on the director. In nematic phase
LCs can be further classified according by the way molecules orient
themselves in respect to one another. Smectic, the most common
arrangement, creates layers of molecules. Ferroelectric liquid crystals
(FLCs) use liquid crystal substances that have chiral molecules in a
smectic C type of arrangement. Surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid
crystals (SSFLCs) apply controlled pressure through the use of a
glass plate, suppressing the spiral of the molecules to make the
switching even more rapid
Working
1) Light can be polarized.
2) Liquid crystals can transmit and change polarized light.
3) The structure of liquid crystals can be changed by electric current.
Description of the diagram
1) In the diagram there are two pieces of polarized glass. A special
polymer that creates microscopic grooves in the surface is rubbed
on the side of the glass that does not have the polarizing film on it
and are in the same direction as the polarizing film. One of the filter
has a coating of nematic liquid crystals.
2) The second piece of glass with the polarizing film is at a right angle
to the first piece, as a result, each successive layer of molecules
gradually twists until the uppermost layer is at a 90-degree angle to
the bottom, matching the polarized glass filters. As a result the
molecules arrange themselves in a helical structure, or twist.
3) As light strikes the first filter, it is polarized. The molecules in each
layer then guide the light they receive to the next layer. If the final
layer is matched up with the second polarized glass filter, then the
light will pass through.
4) When a voltage is applied across the electrodes, a torque acts to
align the liquid crystal molecules parallel to the electric field,
distorting the helical structure .This reduces the rotation of the
polarization of the incident light, and the device appears gray.
5) If the applied voltage is large enough, the liquid crystal molecules
in the center of the layer are almost completely untwisted and the
polarization of the incident light is not rotated as it passes through
the liquid crystal layer. This light will then be mainly polarized
perpendicular to the second filter, and thus be blocked and the
pixel will appear black.
6) By controlling the voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer in
each pixel, light can be allowed to pass through in varying amounts
thus constituting different levels of gray.
7) The display is multiplexed. The electronics, or the software driving
the electronics then turns on sinks in sequence, and drives sources
for the pixels of each sink.
Backlit vs. Reflective
Reflective:
Small and inexpensive LCDs are often reflective, which means to display
anything they reflect light from external light sources.

Backlit LCDs:
In a backlit LCD, the reflective layer is replaced with a light source. They
are used in small displays to increase readability in low light conditions, and
in computer displays and LCD televisions to produce light in a manner
similar to a CRT display. Most computer displays are lit with built-in
fluorescent tubes above, beside and sometimes behind the LCD A white
diffusion panel behind the LCD redirects and scatters the light evenly to
ensure a uniform display. LED backlighting is most commonly used in small,
inexpensive LCD panels.
Passive and Active Matrix
Passive matrix:
LCDs use a simple grid to supply the charge to a particular pixel on the
display. As seen earlier we have rows and columns made from a
transparent conductive material. The rows or columns are connected to
integrated circuits that control when a charge is sent down a particular
column or row. The liquid crystal material is sandwiched between the two
glass substrates having rows and columns, and a polarizing film is added to
the outer side of each substrate. To turn on a pixel, the integrated circuit
sends a charge down the correct column of one substrate and a ground
activated on the correct row of the other. The row and column intersect at
the designated pixel, and that delivers the voltage to untwist the liquid
crystals at that pixel.

It is used in small monochrome displays and in old notebooks. It has many

flaws and has slow response time and poor contrast.
Active Matrix:

High-resolution color displays such as modern LCD computer monitors and

televisions use an active matrix structure. These devices store the electrical
state of each pixel on the display while all the other pixels are being
updated. This method provides a much brighter, sharper display than a
passive matrix of the same size.
A matrix of thin-film transistors (TFTs) is added to the polarizing and color
filters. They are arranged in a matrix on a glass substrate. To address a
particular pixel, the proper row is switched on, and then a charge is sent
down the correct column. Since all of the other rows that the column
intersects are turned off, only the capacitor at the designated pixel receives
a charge. The capacitor is able to hold the charge until the next refresh
cycle.
Color LCD

An LCD that can show colors must have three subpixels with red, green
and blue color filters to create each color pixel. Through the careful control
and variation of the voltage applied, the intensity of each subpixel can range
over 256 shades. Combining the subpixels produces a possible palette of
16.8 million colors (256 shades of red x 256 shades of green x 256 shades
of blue). These color displays take an enormous number of transistors. For
example, a typical laptop computer supports resolutions up to 1,024x768. If
we multiply 1,024 columns by 768 rows by 3 subpixels, we get 2,359,296
transistors etched onto the glass.
CRT vs. LCDs
Advantages of LCDs
1) The flat monitor’s biggest advantage over a CRT monitor is the amount of
space saved on our desktop. All CRT monitors are extreme bulky and
heavy.
2) While the CRT screen may be 15 inches , the casing may be several
inches thicker, and that is not even considering the depth in the rear part
of the monitor that holds the cathode ray tube. This is why CRT monitors
require a deep desk to just to fit on. On the other hand, a flat panel
monitor uses its display size very efficiently.
3) LCD flat panel monitors use much less power than a CRT monitor.
Disadvantages of LCDs
1) LCDs cost more than CRT monitors.
2) CRT monitors are extremely effective at producing high quality, sharp
images and for the most part produce a better overall image. However,
today’s LCDs might lack color quality when it comes to specifications, but
to the average viewer, LCDs will be just as crisp, clear and vivid as a
CRT monitor.
3) Viewing angle is inferior to CRT monitors. A CRT monitor can be viewed
from a wide viewing angle, LCDs when they first were introduced could
not be viewed from a far angle and had to be viewed as close to the
center as possible. While LCD technology has improved and with it wider
viewing angles, CRT monitors continue to have better viewing angles.
4) LCDs have longer response time especially in the older displays.
5) Dead pixels are a common occurrence in LCDs.
Quality control
Some LCD panels have defective transistors, causing permanently lit or
unlit pixels which are commonly referred to as stuck pixels or dead pixels
respectively. LCD panels with a few defective pixels are usually still usable.
It is also economically prohibitive to discard a panel with just a few defective
pixels. Manufacturers have different standards for determining a maximum
acceptable number of defective pixels and it varies greatly.
Some manufacturers, notably in South Korea where some of the largest
LCD panel manufacturers, such as LG, are located, now have "zero
defective pixel guarantee" and would replace a product even with one
defective pixel. The location of defective pixels is important. A display with
only a few defective pixels may be unacceptable if the defective pixels are
near each other.
 Some of the biggest manufacturers of LCD TVs are Sony, Samsung and
LG Electronics. Although they are still costly compared to CRTs (Sony
KDL-46XBR2 a 46inches cost around $2500) but its coming down. The
largest size TV is 108 inches. In flat displays it is facing competition from
plasma display television. They have some advantages over LCDs
1) Plasma TVs are the current size champions, particularly when comparing
TVs that consumers can easily purchase. LCDs are catching up in size
with their developing technology, however, and may surpass Plasmas in
the near future. This may be due to difficulties in producing glass large
enough for larger plasmas.  
2) Refresh rate is faster for plasma TVs.
3) With the latest plasma technology, dead pixel is less of an issue than
ever before.
THANK YOU