first color tft lcd monitor factory
From the MOSFET, the TFT was born. The TFT varies from standard MOSFETs, or bulk MOSFETs, because, as the name implies, it uses thin films. The TFT began a new era of electronics. In 1968, just six years after the first TFT development, Bernard J. Lechner of RCA shared his idea of the TFT Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), something that would boom in popularity in our modern times. The TFT LCD was then first created in 1973 at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories. These LCDs were composed of pixels controlled by transistors. In FETs, substrates were just the semiconductor material, but in manufacturing TFT LCDs, glass substrates were used so that the pixels could be displayed.
But that was not the end of TFT developments. Soon after, in 1974, T. Peter Brody, one of the developers of the TFT LCD, and Fang-Chen Luo created the first active-matrix LCD (AM LCD). An active matrix controls each pixel individually, meaning that each pixel’s respective TFT had its signal actively preserved. This opened doors to better performance and speed as displays became more complex.
Though TFTs can use a variety of materials for their semiconductor layers, silicon has become the most popular, creating the silicon-based TFT, abbreviated as Si TFT. As a semiconductor device, the TFT, as well as all FETs, use solid-state electronics, meaning that electricity flows through the structure of the semiconductor layer rather than vacuum tubes.
Due to the variety in silicon’s possible structures, the Si TFT’s characteristics can vary as well. The most common form is amorphous silicon (A-Si), which is deposited during the first step of the semiconductor fabrication process onto the substrate in low temperatures. It is most usable when hydrogenated into the form A-Si:H. This then significantly alters the properties of A-Si; without the hydrogen, the material struggles with doping (the introduction of impurities to increase mobility of charges); in the form A-Si:H, however, the semiconductor layer becomes much more photoconductive and dopable. The A-Si:H TFT was first developed in 1979 which is stable at room temperature and became the best option for AM LCDs which consequently began rising in popularity after this breakthrough.
The biggest difference between these forms, notably A-Si and poly-Si, is that charge carriers are much more mobile and the material is much more stable when it comes to using poly-Si over A-Si. When creating complicated and high-speed TFT-based displays, poly-Si’s characteristics allow for this. Yet, A-Si is still very important due to its low-leakage nature, meaning that leakage current is not lost as heavily when a dielectric insulator is not totally non-conductive.
In 1986, the first low temperature poly-Si (LTPS) was demonstrated by Hitachi. LTPS plays a large role in the manufacturing of devices because the glass substrate is not as resistant to high temperatures, so in order to anneal the poly-Si, lower temperatures are used.
As TFTs began to increase their presence in display technology, transparent semiconductors and electrodes became more appealing to the manufacturers. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is an example of a popular transparent oxide used for its appearance, good conductivity, and ease of deposition.
Research of the TFT with different materials has led to the application of threshold voltage, or how much voltage is needed to turn on the device. This value is greatly dependent on thickness and choice of the oxide. When it comes to the oxide, this relates back to the idea of leakage current. With thinner layers and certain types of oxide, the leakage current may be greater, but this in turn could lower threshold voltage, as leakage into the device will also increase. In order to tap into the TFT’s potential for low power consumption, the lower the threshold voltage, the better the device’s appeal.
Another branch of development that stemmed from the TFT is that of organic TFTs (OTFT). First created in 1986, OTFTs usually use solution-casting of polymers, or macromolecules. This device made people hesitant, as it tended to have a slow carrier mobility, meaning slow response times. However, researchers have carried out experimentation with the OTFT because it has potential to be applied to displays different from those that traditional TFTs are used for, such as flexible, plastic displays. This research still continues today. With its simpler processing than traditional silicon technology, the OTFT holds much potential for modern day and future technologies.
The liquid crystal research of the 1960s was characterized by the discovery of and experiments on the properties of the liquid crystals. George H. Heilmeier of the RCA based his research on that of Williams, diving into the electro-optical nature of the crystals. After many attempts to use the liquid crystals to display different colors, he created the first working LCD using something called a dynamic scattering mode (DSM) that, when voltage is applied, turns the clear liquid crystal layer into a more translucent state. Heilmeier was thus deemed the inventor of the LCD.
In the late 1960s, the United Kingdom Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) discovered the cyanobiphenyl liquid crystal, a type that was fitting for LCD usage in terms of stability and temperature. In 1968, Bernard Lechner of RCA created the idea of a TFT-based LCD, and in that same year, he and several others brought that idea into reality using Heilmeier’s DSM LCD.
After the LCD’s entrance into the field of display technology, the 1970s were full of expansive research into improving the LCD and making it appropriate for a greater variety of applications. In 1970, the twisted nematic field effect was patented in Switzerland with credited inventors being Wolfgang Helfrich and Martin Schadt. This twisted nematic (TN) effect soon conjoined with products that entered the international markets like Japan’s electronic industry. In the US, the same patent was filed by James Fergason in 1971. His company, ILIXCO, known today as LXD Incorporated, manufactured TN-effect LCDs which grew to overshadow the DSM models. TN LCDs offered better features like lower operating voltages and power consumption.
From this, the first digital clock, or more specifically an electronic quartz wristwatch, using a TN-LCD and consisting of four digits was patented in the US and released to consumers in 1972. Japan’s Sharp Corporation, in 1975, began mass production of digital watch and pocket calculator TN LCDs, and eventually, other Japanese corporations began to rise in the market for wristwatch displays. Seiko, as an example, developed the first six-digit TN-based LCD quartz watch, an upgrade from the original four-digit watch.
Nevertheless, the DSM LCD was not rendered completely useless. A 1972 development by the North American Rockwell Microelectronics Corp integrated the DSM LCD into calculators marketed by Lloyds Electronics. These required a form of internal light to show the display, and so backlightswere also incorporated into these calculators. Shortly after, in 1973, Sharp Corporation brought DSM LCD pocket-sized calculators into the picture. A polymer called polyimide was used as the orientation layer of liquid crystal molecules.
In the 1980s, there was rapid progress made in creating usable products with this new LCD research. Color LCD television screens were first developed in Japan during this decade. Because of the limit in response times due to large display size (correlated with a large number of pixels), the first TVs were handheld/pocket TVs. Seiko Epson, or Epson, created the first LCD TV, releasing it to the public in 1982, which was soon followed by their first fully colored display pocket LCD TV in 1984. Also in 1984 was the first commercial TFT LCD display: Citizen Watch’s 2.7 inch color LCD TV. Shortly after, in 1988, Sharp Corporation created a 14 inch full-color TFT LCD that used an active matrix and had full-motion properties. Large-size LCDs now made LCD integration into large flat-panel displays like LCD screens and LCD monitors possible. LCD projection technology, first created by Epson, became readily available to consumers in compact and fully colored modes in 1989.
The LCD growth in the 1990s focused more on the optical properties of these new displays in attempts to advance their quality and abilities. Hitachi engineers were integral to the analysis of the LCD industry, previously centered in Japan, began expanding and moving towards South Korea, Taiwan, and later China as well.
As we entered the new century, the prominence of LCDs boomed. They surpassed the previously popular cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays in both image quality and sales across the world in 2007. Other developments continued to be made, such as the manufacturing of even larger displays, adoption of transparent and flexible materials for LCD hardware, and creation of more methods to
As of today, as LCD displays have developed quite a bit, but have remained consistent in structure. Illuminated by a backlight, the display consists of, from outermost to innermost two polarizers, two substrates (typically glass), electrodes, and the liquid crystal layer. Closer to the surface is sometimes a color filter as well, using an RGB scheme. As light passes through the polarizer closest to the backlight, it enters the liquid crystal layer. Now, depending on whether an electric field directed by the electrodes is present, the liquid crystal will behave differently. Whether using a TN, IPS, or MVS LCD, the electrode electric field will alter the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules to then affect the polarization of the passing light. If the light is polarized properly, it will pass completely through the color filter and surface polarizer, displaying a certain color. If partially polarized correctly, it will display a medium level of light, or a less bright color. If not polarized properly, the light will not pass the surface, and no color will be displayed.
1927: Vsevolod Frederiks in Russian devised the electrically switched light valve, called the Fréedericksz transition, the essential effect of all LCD technology.
1967: Bernard Lechner, Frank Marlowe, Edward Nester and Juri Tults built the first LCD to operate at television rates using discrete MOS transistors wired to the device.
1968: A research group at RCA laboratories in the US, headed by George Heilmeier, developed the first LCDs based on DSM (dynamic scattering mode) and the first bistable LCD using a mixture of cholesteric and nematic liquid crystals. The result sparked a worldwide effort to further develop LCDs. George H. Heilmeier was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame and credited with the invention of LCDs. Heilmeier’s work is an IEEE Milestone.
1979, Peter Le Comber and Walter Spear at University of Dundee discovered that hydrogenated amorphous silicon (Alpha-Si:H) thin film transistors were suitable to drive LCDs. This is the major breakthrough that led to LCD television and computer displays.
1972: Tadashi Sasaki and Tomio Wada at Sharp Corporation built a prototype desktop calculator with a dynamic scattering LCD and started a program to build the first truly portable handheld calculator.
A thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) is a variant of a liquid-crystal display that uses thin-film-transistor technologyactive matrix LCD, in contrast to passive matrix LCDs or simple, direct-driven (i.e. with segments directly connected to electronics outside the LCD) LCDs with a few segments.
In February 1957, John Wallmark of RCA filed a patent for a thin film MOSFET. Paul K. Weimer, also of RCA implemented Wallmark"s ideas and developed the thin-film transistor (TFT) in 1962, a type of MOSFET distinct from the standard bulk MOSFET. It was made with thin films of cadmium selenide and cadmium sulfide. The idea of a TFT-based liquid-crystal display (LCD) was conceived by Bernard Lechner of RCA Laboratories in 1968. In 1971, Lechner, F. J. Marlowe, E. O. Nester and J. Tults demonstrated a 2-by-18 matrix display driven by a hybrid circuit using the dynamic scattering mode of LCDs.T. Peter Brody, J. A. Asars and G. D. Dixon at Westinghouse Research Laboratories developed a CdSe (cadmium selenide) TFT, which they used to demonstrate the first CdSe thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD).active-matrix liquid-crystal display (AM LCD) using CdSe TFTs in 1974, and then Brody coined the term "active matrix" in 1975.high-resolution and high-quality electronic visual display devices use TFT-based active matrix displays.
The liquid crystal displays used in calculators and other devices with similarly simple displays have direct-driven image elements, and therefore a voltage can be easily applied across just one segment of these types of displays without interfering with the other segments. This would be impractical for a large display, because it would have a large number of (color) picture elements (pixels), and thus it would require millions of connections, both top and bottom for each one of the three colors (red, green and blue) of every pixel. To avoid this issue, the pixels are addressed in rows and columns, reducing the connection count from millions down to thousands. The column and row wires attach to transistor switches, one for each pixel. The one-way current passing characteristic of the transistor prevents the charge that is being applied to each pixel from being drained between refreshes to a display"s image. Each pixel is a small capacitor with a layer of insulating liquid crystal sandwiched between transparent conductive ITO layers.
The circuit layout process of a TFT-LCD is very similar to that of semiconductor products. However, rather than fabricating the transistors from silicon, that is formed into a crystalline silicon wafer, they are made from a thin film of amorphous silicon that is deposited on a glass panel. The silicon layer for TFT-LCDs is typically deposited using the PECVD process.
Polycrystalline silicon is sometimes used in displays requiring higher TFT performance. Examples include small high-resolution displays such as those found in projectors or viewfinders. Amorphous silicon-based TFTs are by far the most common, due to their lower production cost, whereas polycrystalline silicon TFTs are more costly and much more difficult to produce.
The twisted nematic display is one of the oldest and frequently cheapest kind of LCD display technologies available. TN displays benefit from fast pixel response times and less smearing than other LCD display technology, but suffer from poor color reproduction and limited viewing angles, especially in the vertical direction. Colors will shift, potentially to the point of completely inverting, when viewed at an angle that is not perpendicular to the display. Modern, high end consumer products have developed methods to overcome the technology"s shortcomings, such as RTC (Response Time Compensation / Overdrive) technologies. Modern TN displays can look significantly better than older TN displays from decades earlier, but overall TN has inferior viewing angles and poor color in comparison to other technology.
Most TN panels can represent colors using only six bits per RGB channel, or 18 bit in total, and are unable to display the 16.7 million color shades (24-bit truecolor) that are available using 24-bit color. Instead, these panels display interpolated 24-bit color using a dithering method that combines adjacent pixels to simulate the desired shade. They can also use a form of temporal dithering called Frame Rate Control (FRC), which cycles between different shades with each new frame to simulate an intermediate shade. Such 18 bit panels with dithering are sometimes advertised as having "16.2 million colors". These color simulation methods are noticeable to many people and highly bothersome to some.gamut (often referred to as a percentage of the NTSC 1953 color gamut) are also due to backlighting technology. It is not uncommon for older displays to range from 10% to 26% of the NTSC color gamut, whereas other kind of displays, utilizing more complicated CCFL or LED phosphor formulations or RGB LED backlights, may extend past 100% of the NTSC color gamut, a difference quite perceivable by the human eye.
The transmittance of a pixel of an LCD panel typically does not change linearly with the applied voltage,sRGB standard for computer monitors requires a specific nonlinear dependence of the amount of emitted light as a function of the RGB value.
In-plane switching was developed by Hitachi Ltd. in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angle and the poor color reproduction of TN panels at that time.
Initial iterations of IPS technology were characterised by slow response time and a low contrast ratio but later revisions have made marked improvements to these shortcomings. Because of its wide viewing angle and accurate color reproduction (with almost no off-angle color shift), IPS is widely employed in high-end monitors aimed at professional graphic artists, although with the recent fall in price it has been seen in the mainstream market as well. IPS technology was sold to Panasonic by Hitachi.
Most panels also support true 8-bit per channel color. These improvements came at the cost of a higher response time, initially about 50 ms. IPS panels were also extremely expensive.
It achieved pixel response which was fast for its time, wide viewing angles, and high contrast at the cost of brightness and color reproduction.Response Time Compensation) technologies.
Less expensive PVA panels often use dithering and FRC, whereas super-PVA (S-PVA) panels all use at least 8 bits per color component and do not use color simulation methods.BRAVIA LCD TVs offer 10-bit and xvYCC color support, for example, the Bravia X4500 series. S-PVA also offers fast response times using modern RTC technologies.
A technology developed by Samsung is Super PLS, which bears similarities to IPS panels, has wider viewing angles, better image quality, increased brightness, and lower production costs. PLS technology debuted in the PC display market with the release of the Samsung S27A850 and S24A850 monitors in September 2011.
TFT dual-transistor pixel or cell technology is a reflective-display technology for use in very-low-power-consumption applications such as electronic shelf labels (ESL), digital watches, or metering. DTP involves adding a secondary transistor gate in the single TFT cell to maintain the display of a pixel during a period of 1s without loss of image or without degrading the TFT transistors over time. By slowing the refresh rate of the standard frequency from 60 Hz to 1 Hz, DTP claims to increase the power efficiency by multiple orders of magnitude.
Due to the very high cost of building TFT factories, there are few major OEM panel vendors for large display panels. The glass panel suppliers are as follows:
External consumer display devices like a TFT LCD feature one or more analog VGA, DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort interface, with many featuring a selection of these interfaces. Inside external display devices there is a controller board that will convert the video signal using color mapping and image scaling usually employing the discrete cosine transform (DCT) in order to convert any video source like CVBS, VGA, DVI, HDMI, etc. into digital RGB at the native resolution of the display panel. In a laptop the graphics chip will directly produce a signal suitable for connection to the built-in TFT display. A control mechanism for the backlight is usually included on the same controller board.
The low level interface of STN, DSTN, or TFT display panels use either single ended TTL 5 V signal for older displays or TTL 3.3 V for slightly newer displays that transmits the pixel clock, horizontal sync, vertical sync, digital red, digital green, digital blue in parallel. Some models (for example the AT070TN92) also feature input/display enable, horizontal scan direction and vertical scan direction signals.
New and large (>15") TFT displays often use LVDS signaling that transmits the same contents as the parallel interface (Hsync, Vsync, RGB) but will put control and RGB bits into a number of serial transmission lines synchronized to a clock whose rate is equal to the pixel rate. LVDS transmits seven bits per clock per data line, with six bits being data and one bit used to signal if the other six bits need to be inverted in order to maintain DC balance. Low-cost TFT displays often have three data lines and therefore only directly support 18 bits per pixel. Upscale displays have four or five data lines to support 24 bits per pixel (truecolor) or 30 bits per pixel respectively. Panel manufacturers are slowly replacing LVDS with Internal DisplayPort and Embedded DisplayPort, which allow sixfold reduction of the number of differential pairs.
The bare display panel will only accept a digital video signal at the resolution determined by the panel pixel matrix designed at manufacture. Some screen panels will ignore the LSB bits of the color information to present a consistent interface (8 bit -> 6 bit/color x3).
Kawamoto, H. (2012). "The Inventors of TFT Active-Matrix LCD Receive the 2011 IEEE Nishizawa Medal". Journal of Display Technology. 8 (1): 3–4. Bibcode:2012JDisT...8....3K. doi:10.1109/JDT.2011.2177740. ISSN 1551-319X.
K. H. Lee; H. Y. Kim; K. H. Park; S. J. Jang; I. C. Park & J. Y. Lee (June 2006). "A Novel Outdoor Readability of Portable TFT-LCD with AFFS Technology". SID Symposium Digest of Technical Papers. AIP. 37 (1): 1079–82. doi:10.1889/1.2433159. S2CID 129569963.
Here at Phoenix Display, we talk about LCD displays every day. With LCDs being such a big part of our daily lives, we thought it would be useful to explore the history of this important technology and where we see it going in the future.
In 1973, Sharp Corporation made use of LCD displays in calculators. Shortly after, the company followed BBC’s lead and mass produced TN LCD displays for watches in 1975.
1980s. After wristwatches came televisions (TVs), with the first color LCD TVs being developed as handheld TVs in Japan. In 1982, Seiko Epson released the first LCD TV, the Epson TV Watch, a wristwatch equipped with a small active-matrix LCD TV.
1990s. The 90s gave way to technology acceleration in the LCD space. Through multiple breakthroughs, researchers and inventors were able to improve contrast and viewing angles, as well as bring costs down.
2000s. After 30+ years of competition, LCD technology surpassed longstanding CRTs. Namely, in 2007, LCD TVs could claim better image quality than CRT-based TVs. Subsequently, in the fourth quarter of 2007,
Next, let’s take a brief look at how the technology works. Essentially, the LCD glass is just a light valve whose sole purpose is to either block light or allow light to go through it. We go into greater details in our post,
Finally, let’s look at the LCD display landscape in the near future. There’s three big areas that are being explored with LCD displays: Flexible displays, 3D displays, and reel-to-reel manufacturing.
Surely, those who are part of the so-called Z generation have never used a screen other than liquid crystal or LCD (liquid crystal display). Even so, many people do not know how this relatively recent technology arises, and that it has become an irreplaceable element in our day to day. For this reason, and to make you even more familiar with it, today we bring you a few brief points on the history of the LCD and its predecessors. They will surprise you, we assure you!
Before entering fully into the history of the LCD, it does not hurt to know how and when the first screens were created. To do this, we traveled to the 1880s. At that time, three researchers – the French Constantin Senlecq, the Portuguese Adriano de Paiva and the American George R. Carey – made in parallel an important discovery: that an image could be transmitted if projected on a photosensitive surface of selenium, due to the photoelectric properties of this material. This principle would be the base of any system of emission of images in movement.
A few years later, in 1897, an advance would come that has survived practically to this day, and that can still be seen in some houses: the cathode ray tube (CRT). Its architect was another German inventor, Karl Ferdinand Braun, which is why it is also called Braun tube. The first cathode ray screen was powered by a cold cathode diode, which was an improvement on the so-called Crookes tube, to which a layer of phosphor was added. The cathode is the source that produces electrons, that is, a negatively charged metal electrode with one or more anodes. The first hot cathode diode was developed by J. B. Johnson and H. W. Weinhart, from the company Western Electric, and was marketed from 1922 by this company.
Before continuing with the history of LCD and liquid crystal precursors, this concept should be clarified: what is a cathode ray tube? Roughly, it is a technology that allows images to be visualised by means of a cathode ray beam – that is, electron currents in empty tubes – directed against a glass screen that has a lead and phosphor coating. One of its main components, the electron gun, is formed by a cathode, that is, a negatively charged metal electrode, with one or more anodes (positively charged electrodes). The cathode emits electrons attracted to the anode, thus acting as an accelerator and as a concentrator for the electrons. In this way, a flow of electrons directed towards the screen is created. A magnetic field is responsible for diverting the electrons from left to right and from bottom to top.
However, keep in mind that the first commercial televisions would not appear until the late 1940s. Mind you: the first television dates back to January 26, 1926 and was designed by Scottish inventor John Logie Baird. Although numerous improvements have been made to cathode ray tubes since then, the truth is that their basic principles did not change.
In any case, it is not only necessary to talk about television, but also personal computers, since the first computer monitors also use cathode rays. And so they remained in most cases until the 2000s. It must also be remembered that the first fully functional digital computers – the first, the Z3, was introduced in May 1941 by the German engineer Konrad Zuse – had no displays. We would have to wait until 1976, when Steve Jobs launched his Apple I, the first computer that could be equipped with a keyboard and monitor.
Returning to the history of the LCD, we reached a key date: 1959, when Mohamed M. Atalla and Dawon Kahng, from Bell Labs, brought to light the MOSFET, a transmitter that would be presented the following year and that would be improved in 1962 by American Paul K. Weimer, who would create the thin-film transistor called TFT. Soon after, in 1968, the idea of an LCD, or liquid crystal display, based on the aforementioned TFT would be presented by Bernard J. Lechner of RCA Laboratories. Lechner, F. J. Marlowe, E. O. Nester, and J. Tults would implement Lechner’s proposal that same year.
The first LCD screens were introduced to the market in 1971,but it was not until 1985 when the firm Matsushita Electric would manufacture a flat screen with a size and resolution sufficient to incorporate it into personal computers.
But there is no need to anticipate events. Back in the 1970s, in 1973, Peter Brody, JA Asars, and GD Dixon, employees of Westinghouse Research Laboratories, tested the first thin-film transistor LCD (TFT LCD) screen, and the following year Brodyy Fang-Chen Luo developed successfully the first active matrix LCD (or AM, a type of addressing used in flat panel displays), using a TFT transistor for this.
In 1982, Japan began marketing the first pocket LCD televisions, based on active matrix technology. In 1984, the Thomson Central Laboratory developed the first colour LCD monitor, and in 1988, a team from Sharp Company led by Japanese engineer T. Nagayasu introduced a 14-inch (35.6 cm) full-colour LCD screen, which would put an expiration date on monitors that worked with tubes in cathode rays. Its sale in Europe began in late 1995, at a price equivalent to about € 750. Today, all high-quality, high-resolution LCD displays employ TFT-based active matrix displays.
When compared to the ordinary LCD, TFT LCD gives very sharp and crisp picture/text with shorter response time. TFT LCD displays are used in more and more applications, giving products better visual presentation.
TFT is an abbreviation for "Thin Film Transistor". The colorTFT LCD display has transistors made up of thin films of Amorphous silicon deposited on a glass. It serves as a control valve to provide an appropriate voltage onto liquid crystals for individual sub-pixels. That is why TFT LCD display is also called Active Matrix display.
A TFT LCD has a liquid crystal layer between a glass substrate formed with TFTs and transparent pixel electrodes and another glass substrate with a color filter (RGB) and transparent counter electrodes. Each pixel in an active matrix is paired with a transistor that includes capacitor which gives each sub-pixel the ability to retain its charge, instead of requiring an electrical charge sent each time it needed to be changed. This means that TFT LCD displays are more responsive.
To understand how TFT LCD works, we first need to grasp the concept of field-effect transistor (FET). FET is a type of transistor which uses electric field to control the flow of electrical current. It is a component with three terminals: source, gate, and drain. FETs control the flow of current by the application of a voltage to the gate, which in turn alters the conductivity between the drain and source.
Using FET, we can build a circuit as below. Data Bus sends signal to FET Source, when SEL SIGNAL applies voltage to the Gate, driving voltage is then created on TFT LCD panel. A sub-pixel will be lit up. A TFT LCD display contains thousand or million of such driving circuits.
Topway started TFT LCD manufacturing more than15 years ago. We produce color TFT LCD display from 1.8 to 15+ inches with different resolutions and interfaces. Here is some more readings about how to choose the right TFT LCD.
Display screen is everywhere nowadays. Do you still remember the TVs or computer monitors 20 years ago? They were quadrate, huge and heavy. Now let’s look at the flat, thin and light screen in front of you, have you ever wondered why is there such a big difference?
Actually, the monitors 20 year ago were CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays, which requires a large space to run the inner component. And now the screen here in your presence is the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen.
As mentioned above, LCD is the abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display. It’s a new display technology making use of the optical-electrical characteristic of liquid crystal.
STN LCD: STN is for Super-twisted Nematic. The liquid crystal in STN LCD rotate more angles than that in TN LCD, and have a different electrical feature, allowing STN LCD to display more information. There are many improved version of STN LCD like DSTN LCD (double layer) and CSTN LCD (color). This LCD is used in many early phones, computers and outdoor devices.
TFT LCD: TFT is for Thin Film Transistor. It’s the latest generation of LCD technology and has been applied in all the displaying scenario including electronic devices, motor cars, industrial machines, etc. When you see the word ‘transistor’, you may realize there’s integrated circuits in TFT LCD. That’s correct and the secret that TFT LCD has the advantage of high resolution and full color display.
In a simple way, we can divide TFT LCD into three parts, from bottom to top they are: light system, circuit system and light and color control system.In manufacturing process, we’ll start from inner light and color control system and then stretch out to whole module.
It’s accustomed to divide TFT LCD manufacturing process into three main part: array, cell and module. The former two steps are about the production of light and color control system, which contains TFT, CF (color filter) and LC (liquid crystal), named a cell. And the last step is the assembly of cell, circuit and light system.
First, let me introduce a crucial material, ITO, to you. ITO, abbreviation of Indium tin oxide, has the characteristic of electrical conductivity and optical transparency, as well as can be easily deposited as a thin film. Thus it’s widely used to create circuit on glass.
Now let’s turn to the production of TFT and CF. Here is a common method called PR (photoresist) method. The whole process of PR method will be demonstrated in TFT production.
Important technical improvements of LCD, such as LED backlighting and wide viewing Angle, are directly related to LCD. And account for an LCD display 80% of the cost of the LCD panel, enough to show that the LCD panel is the core part of the entire display, the quality of the LCD panel, can be said to directly determine the quality of an LCD display.
The production of civil LCD displays is just an assembly process. The LCD panel, the main control circuit, shell, and other parts of the main assembly, basically will not have too complex technical problems.
Does this mean that LCDS are low-tech products? In fact, it is not. The production and manufacturing process of the LCD panels is very complicated, requiring at least 300 process processes. The whole process needs to be carried out in a dust-free environment and with precise technology.
The general structure of the LCD panel is not very complex, now the structure of the LCD panel is divided into two parts: the LCD panel and the backlight system.
Due to the LCD does not shine, so you need to use another light source to illuminate, the function of the backlight system is to this, but currently used CCFL lamp or LED backlight, don’t have the characteristics of the surface light source, so you need to guide plate, spreadsheet components, such as linear or point sources of light evenly across the surface, in order to make the entire LCD panel on the differences of luminous intensity is the same, but it is very difficult, to achieve the ideal state can be to try to reduce brightness non-uniformity, the backlight system has a lot to the test of design and workmanship.
In addition, there is a driving IC and printed circuit board beside the LCD panel, which is mainly used to control the rotation of LCD molecules in the LCD panel and the transmission of display signals. The LCD plate is thin and translucent without electricity. It is roughly shaped like a sandwich, with an LCD sandwiched between a layer of TFT glass and a layer of colored filters.
LCD with light refraction properties of solid crystals, with fluid flow characteristics at the same time, under the drive of the electrode, can be arranged in a way that, in accordance with the master want to control the strength of the light through, and then on the color filter, through the red, green, blue three colors of each pixel toning, eventually get the full-screen image.
According to the functional division, the LCD panel can be divided into the LCD panel and the backlight system. However, to produce an LCD panel, it needs to go through three complicated processes, namely, the manufacturing process of the front segment Array,the manufacturing process of the middle segment Cell, and the assembly of the rear segment module. Today we will be here, for you in detail to introduce the production of the LCD panel manufacturing process.
The manufacturing process of the LCD panel Array is mainly composed of four parts: film, yellow light, etch and peel film. If we just look at it in this way, many netizens do not understand the specific meaning of these four steps and why they do so.
First of all, the motion and arrangement of LCD molecules need electrons to drive them. Therefore, on the TFT glass, the carrier of LCD, there must be conductive parts to control the motion of LCD. In this case, we use ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) to do this.ITO is transparent and also acts as a thin-film conductive crystal so that it doesn’t block the backlight.
The different arrangement of LCD molecules and the rapid motion change can ensure that each pixel displays the corresponding color accurately and the image changes accurately and quickly, which requires the precision of LCD molecule control.ITO film needs special treatment, just like printing the circuit on the PCB board, drawing the conductive circuit on the whole LCD board.
First, the ITO film layer needs to be deposited on the TFT glass, so that there is a smooth and uniform ITO film on the whole TFT glass. Then, using ionized water, the ITO glass is cleaned and ready for the next step.
Rinse the basic label of glass with an organic solution and remove the photolithographic tape after reaction to keep the glass clean. This completes the first thin-film conductive crystal process, which generally requires at least five identical processes to form a complex and sophisticated pattern of electrodes on the glass.
This completes the previous Array process. It is not difficult to see from the whole process that ITO film is deposited, photoresist coated, exposed, developed, and etched on TFT glass, and finally, ITO electrode pattern designed in the early stage is formed on TFT glass to control the movement of LCD molecules on the glass. The general steps of the whole production process are not complicated, but the technical details and precautions are very complicated, so we will not introduce them here. Interested friends can consult relevant materials by themselves.
The glass that the LCD board uses makes a craft also very exquisite. (The manufacturing process flow of the LCD display screen)At present, the world’s largest LCD panel glass, mainly by the United States Corning, Japan Asahi glass manufacturers, located in the upstream of the production of LCD panel, these manufacturers have mastered the glass production technology patents. A few months ago, the earthquake caused a corning glass furnace shutdown incident, which has caused a certain impact on the LCD panel industry, you can see its position in the industry.
As mentioned earlier, the LCD panel is structured like a sandwich, with an LCD sandwiched between the lower TFT glass and the upper color filter. The terminal Cell process in LCD panel manufacturing involves the TFT glass being glued to the top and bottom of a colored filter, but this is not a simple bonding process that requires a lot of technical detail.
As you can see from the figure above, the glass is divided into 6 pieces of the same size. In other words, the LCD made from this glass is finally cut into 6 pieces, and the size of each piece is the final size. When the glass is cast, the specifications and sizes of each glass have been designed in advance.
Directional friction:Flannelette material is used to rub the surface of the layer in a specific direction so that the LCD molecules can be arranged along the friction direction of the aligned layer in the future to ensure the consistency of the arrangement of LCD molecules. After the alignment friction, there will be some contaminants such as flannelette thread, which need to be washed away through a special cleaning process.
After the TFT glass substrate is cleaned, a sealant coating is applied to allow the TFT glass substrate to be bonded to the color filter and to prevent LCD outflow.
Finally, the conductive adhesive is applied to the frame in the bonding direction of the glass of the color filter to ensure that external electrons can flow into the LCD layer. Then, according to the bonding mark on the TFT glass substrate and the color filter, two pieces of glass are bonded together, and the bonding material is solidified at high temperatures to make the upper and lower glasses fit statically.
Color filters are very important components of LCD panels. Manufacturers of color filters, like glass substrate manufacturers, are upstream of LCD panel manufacturers. Their oversupply or undersupply can directly affect the production schedule of LCD panels and indirectly affect the end market.
As can be seen from the above figure, each LCD panel is left with two edges after cutting. What is it used for? You can find the answer in the later module process
Finally, a polarizer is placed on both sides of each LCD substrate, with the horizontal polarizer facing outwards and the vertical polarizer facing inwards.
When making LCD panel, must up and down each use one, and presents the alternating direction, when has the electric field and does not have the electric field, causes the light to produce the phase difference and to present the light and dark state, uses in the display subtitle or the pattern.
The rear Module manufacturing process is mainly the integration of the drive IC pressing of the LCD substrate and the printed circuit board. This part can transmit the display signal received from the main control circuit to the drive IC to drive the LCD molecules to rotate and display the image. In addition, the backlight part will be integrated with the LCD substrate at this stage, and the complete LCD panel is completed.
Firstly, the heteroconductive adhesive is pressed on the two edges, which allows external electrons to enter the LCD substrate layer and acts as a bridge for electronic transmission
Next is the drive IC press. The main function of the drive IC is to output the required voltage to each pixel and control the degree of torsion of the LCD molecules. The drive IC is divided into two types. The source drive IC located in the X-axis is responsible for the input of data. It is characterized by high frequency and has an image function. The gate drive IC located in the Y-axis is responsible for the degree and speed of torsion of LCD molecules, which directly affects the response time of the LCD display. However, there are already many LCD panels that only have driving IC in the X-axis direction, perhaps because the Y-axis drive IC function has been integrated and simplified.
The press of the flexible circuit board can transmit data signals and act as the bridge between the external printed circuit and LCD. It can be bent and thus becomes a flexible or flexible circuit board
The manufacturing process of the LCD substrate still has a lot of details and matters needing attention, for example, rinse with clean, dry, dry, dry, ultrasonic cleaning, exposure, development and so on and so on, all have very strict technical details and requirements, so as to produce qualified eyes panel, interested friends can consult relevant technical information by a search engine.
LCD (LC) is a kind of LCD, which has the properties of light transmission and refraction of solid Crystal, as well as the flow property of Liquid. It is because of this property that it will be applied to the display field.
However, LCD does not emit light autonomously, so the display equipment using LCD as the display medium needs to be equipped with another backlight system.
First, a backplate is needed as the carrier of the light source. The common light source for LCD display equipment is CCFL cold cathode backlight, but it has started to switch to an LED backlight, but either one needs a backplate as the carrier.
CCFL backlight has been with LCD for a long time. Compared with LED backlight, CCFL backlight has many defects. However, it has gradually evolved to save 50% of the lamp and enhance the transmittance of the LCD panel, so as to achieve the purpose of energy-saving.
With the rapid development of LED in the field of lighting, the cost has been greatly reduced.LCD panels have also started to use LED as the backlight on a large scale. Currently, in order to control costs, an LED backlight is placed on the side rather than on the backplate, which can reduce the number of LED grains.
At the top of the diffusion plate, there will be 3~4 diffuser pieces, constantly uniform light to the whole surface, improve the uniformity of light, which is directly related to the LCD panel display effect. Professional LCD in order to better control the brightness uniformity of the screen, panel procurement, the later backlight control circuit, will make great efforts to ensure the quality of the panel.
Since the LCD substrate and the backlight system are not fixed by bonding, a metal or rubber frame is needed to be added to the outer layer to fix the LCD substrate and the backlight system.
After the period of the Module, the process is completed in LCM (LCDModule) factory, the core of this part of the basic does not involve the use of LCD manufacturing technology, mainly is some assembly work, so some machine panel factories such as chi mei, Korea department such as Samsung panel factory, all set with LCM factories in mainland China, Duan Mo group after the LCD panel assembly, so that we can convenient mainland area each big monitor procurement contract with LCD TV manufacturers, can reduce the human in the whole manufacturing and transportation costs.
However, neither Taiwan nor Korea has any intention to set up factories in mainland China for the LCD panel front and middle manufacturing process involving core technologies. Therefore, there is still a long way to go for China to have its own LCD panel industry.
A thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD) is a variant of a liquid-crystal display (LCD) that uses thin-film transistor (TFT) technology to improve image qualities such as addressability and contrast. A TFT LCD is an active-matrix LCD, in contrast to passive-matrix LCDs or simple, direct-driven LCDs with a few segments.
TFT LCDs are used in appliances including television sets, computer monitors, mobile phones, handheld video game systems, personal digital assistants, navigation systems and projectors.
TFT LCDs are also used in car instrument clusters because they allow the driver to customize the cluster, as well as being able to provide a skeuomorphic, analog-like display with digital elements.
In 1970, LCD displays incorporating thin-film transistors were demonstrated by J. Kishimoto at CanonSuwa Seikosha (Seiko).active matrix TFT LCD display was demonstrated by T Peter Brody"s team at Westinghouse Electric Corporation.Sharp Corporation in 1976
In 1980, Hattori Seiko"s R&D group began development on color pocket LCD televisions, which eventually led to the release of commercial TFT LCD displays by three of its subsidiaries.Citizen Watch, introduced the Citizen Pocket TV, a color TFT LCD handheld television,Seiko"s color micro-TV and the Epson ELF.
Sharp Corporation invented the first large color TFT LCD displays in 1986.computer monitors and LCD televisions. In the late 1990s, the LCD industry began shifting away from Japan, towards South Korea and Taiwan.
Production of Sharp’s AQUOS LCD color TVs passed the five-million mark*1 on December 28, 2004. Sharp has also been providing larger screen LCD TVs and higher performance models with a variety of lineup as well as delivering new viewing styles for LCD TVs.
Sharp was the first to bring electronic calculators incorporating ICs or LSIs to the market but further miniaturization would only be possible if the display could be made smaller. The fluorescent elements, or LEDs (light emitting diodes), used in displays up to that time consumed a lot of electricity, so calculators had to be equipped with bulky batteries. Sharp set out to find a new display that would use less energy and take up less space. After examining the problem from every angle, it was finally decided to begin research into LCD (liquid crystal display) technology in 1970.
Though the superior characteristics of LCDs had already been recognized by researchers throughout the world, the technology was generally dismissed as impractical for commercial use due to the difficulty of selecting and combining the necessary materials. But through the unrelenting efforts of Sharp"s engineers, the company succeeded in 1973 in introducing a calculator with the world"s first practical LCD unit. This second electronic calculator was truly a breakthrough and became a big hit. Compared to the first calculator, it was only 1/12 the depth, 1/125 the weight, consumed only 1/9000 the power, and could be used 100 hours on one D3 battery.
One Sharp success in optoelectronics was the development in 1988 of the world"s first 14-inch color TFT LCD. A mere 2.7 cm thick, it boasted a sharp, bright picture. This development showed that the long-awaited, wall-mount LCD TV and truly portable data communications terminals were on the horizon.
In October 1992, the debut of the LCD ViewCam introduced a whole new concept in video cameras. Its ease of use gave Sharp an immediate share increase in the video camera market. The ViewCam was chosen as one of just 16 products from among approximately 13,000 nominated for Nikkei Product and Service Excellence Awards. It was also chosen for the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun"s (Japan"s leading industrial daily) 10 Best New Products Awards. The LCD ViewCam became the flagship product that showed the world that "LCD is Sharp" and contributed to boosting the company image.
Sharp created a buzz with the announcement of a 28-inch TFT LCD using next-generation LCD technology. The announcement boosted demand enthusiasm for LCDs for computers and large-screen wall-mount TVs in a new age of multimedia.
Using the new CG-Silicon (continuous grain silicon) technology jointly developed with Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture), Sharp made a splash with its prototype ultra high-definition 60-inch rear projector that uses three 2.6-inch CG-Silicon LCD panels.
The most advanced facility for the integrated production of LCD TVs from the manufacturing of LCD panels to assembly of final products is completed in Kameyama, Mie Perfecture, Japan, and started operation. The plant also provides the rationalization of the process of production, inspection and delivery, as well as technology development, resulting in high production efficiency and high value-added performance.
There’re more than 300 procedures to produce TFT LCD. The most advanced LCD, in which the array and cell process are highly automatic. Technically, every step in the process can lead to defects, and most of the defects have been eliminated through the development of TFT LCD technology.
Point defect is a kind of defect that some point on your screen don’t display correctly. There are mainly three situations: the point keeps displaying black or whitewhen the screen is working or the point can only display a single color.
For the first two situations, that’s because the circuit on the TFT and CF controlling that defective pixel point is shorted or broken. While the third situation is caused by damaged color pixel.
The production of the circuit and color pixel is under micro scale, and the technology is similar to semiconductor technology. Hundreds of thousands micro materials will be printed during the production process, you can understand some of the materials not being printed correctly, which result in the point defect.
In LCD, newton’s rings may occur on screen when two glass substrate haven’t been sealed well, so that one of the glass may form a convex lens and lead to light interference.
Tianma America, Inc.(TMA) A leading provider of small to medium size display solutions to the Americas, utilizing cutting edge technologies from Tianma Microelectronics and Tianma Japan, Ltd. (TMJ), coupled with state-of-the-art manufacturing resources of the Tianma Group, TMA offers a comprehensive range of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) products and associated technologies. Products include passive character and monochrome, a-Si and LTPS-TFT LCD, as well as AMOLED products with standard product sizes ranging from 1-inch to 21.3-inch and resolutions from QVGA to QSXGA for standard 4:3 aspect and from WQVGA to HD for wide aspect.
In 2014, Tianma’s shipments of small and medium size modules,a-Si display products for smart phones ranked first among the global panel factories. Our market share for high-end medical devices and HMI products also ranked first worldwide. Many customers have chosen to release their new products globally equipped with Tianma display products. Tianma is committed to continuous innovation, better customer service and supports different requirements for applications in the field.
Tianma has a clear technological and production advantage in the small and medium size display market where it has enjoyed a strong market presence over the years. Tianma has established a National R&D Laboratory on TFT - LCD Key Material and Technology, a National Enterprise Technology Center, and a post-doctoral workstation to enhance the knowledge and technical expertise of our employees. We also undertake multiple major national projects from the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Industry.
The possession of new technologies including LTPS-TFT, Oxide-TFT, AM-OLED displays, Flexible displays, Transparent displays, 3D displays and In-cell/On-cell integrated touch technology lays the foundation for innovation and the development of new and exciting products.
We have a comprehensive production line combination including G4.5/G5 a-Si TFT – LCD, G5.5 LTPS TFT - LCD and G5.5 AM-OLED, plus two G6 LTPS TFT-LCD lines, enabling Tianma to achieve the highest possible level of product quality and supply capability. Tianma was the first to start mass production from a G5.5 LTPS production line in China.
With the profound accumulation of technologies, production line development and talent reserve, Tianma will continue to focus on serving display markets worldwide based on technology innovation. With our core values of passion、effectiveness、win-win and the mission to create colorful life, Tianma is dedicated to be the world‘s well-respected leading display company.
The TFT-LCD panel generally speaking is a liquid crystal layer that is sandwiched between two glass substrates, the upper glass substrate is combined with a color filter, and the lower glass is embedded with transistors. The upper glass is bonded with the color filter so that each pixel (Pixel) contains three colors red, blue, and green, and these red, blue and green pixels constitute the image on the panel.
Front Array, Middle Cell, Cell is the glass of the front Array as the substrate, combined with the glass substrate of the color filter, and between the two glass substrates Filled with a liquid crystal (LC). The rear module assembly process is the final assembly process of the glass after the Cell process and other accessories such as backlight panels, circuits, and outer frames.
Please check the following picture which shows the whole process of making a TFT LCD. This picture will introduce the whole manufacturing process to you with simple text and a picture description.
3) After coating the metal film, it is needs to coat a layer of non-conductive layer and semi-conductive layer. In the vacuum chamber, the glass plate is first heated, and then a special gas is sprayed by a high-voltage electric sprayer to let the electrons and the gas Plasma is generated, and after a chemical reaction, a non-conductive layer and a semiconductor layer are formed on the glass
4) After the film is formed, we have to make the pattern of the transistor on the glass. First, enter the yellow light room and spray the photoresist with strong light sensitivity, then put on the photomask to irradiate blue-violet light for exposure, and finally send it to the developing area to spray the developer, which can remove the photoresist after lighting, and let the light The resistance layer is shaped.
6) To form a usable thin film transistor, it is necessary to repeat the processes of cleaning, coating, photoresist, exposure, development, etching, photoresist removal, etc. Generally speaking, to manufacture TFT-LCD, it is necessary to repeat 5 to 7 times.
1) After completing the thin film transistor glass substrate, we will combine the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel is composed of a transistor glass substrate and a color filter. First, we must wash the glass first, and then proceed to the next step. a step. The entire manufacturing process of TFT-LCD must be in a clean room, so that there will be no impurities inside the display.
2) The color filter is chemically coated to form red, green and blue colors on the glass, neatly arranged and then covered with a layer of conductive film to complete.
3) In the whole process of combination, firstly, we need to coat a layer of chemical film on the glass and color filter covered with transistors, and then perform the alignment action.
5) After sealing the frame, put the LCD panel into the vacuum chamber, pump the air out of the LCD panel through the gap just reserved, and then pour the liquid crystal into the liquid crystal with the help of atmospheric pressure, and then close the gap. A compound substance between solid and liquid, with the characteristics of regular molecular arrangement.
1) After the polarizer is attached, we start to install DRIVE IC on both sides of the LCD panel. DRIVE IC is a very important driving part, which is used to control the color and brightness of the LCD.
3) The light of the LCD panel is emitted from the backlight. Before assembling the backlight, we will first check whether the assembled LCD panel is complete, and then assemble the backlight. The backlight is the light source behind the LCD panel.
We provide wholesale and customization of common 1.3″-24″ TFT LCD panels, if you have any projects that need these products, welcome to contact us, besides, we have different size of FLCOS and OLED mini micro-displays in stock, some mall ads bar type LCD display we also could provide, and welcome a bulk production wholesale inquiry.
In 1962, Sharp expanded outside of Japan and established Sharp Electronics Corporation in the United States—the company"s first overseas sales base—and in 1979 it set up the Sharp Manufacturing Company of America to create a manufacturing base in the U.S.
As a manufacturer, Sharp contributes to society by being the first to make unique products that meet the new needs of each decade. Successive generations of Sharp leaders have, in their own way, pursued this concept by making products that contribute to society, in the process creating a corporation known and trusted around the globe.
From the first solar-powered calculator to the largest commercially available LCD monitor, from copiers to solar cells, from air purifiers to steam ovens, and from microelectronics to microwave ovens, Sharp covers all of the needs of the contemporary lifestyle.
An originally designed intermittent belt conveyor system is completed in 1936. A first in Japan, this system achieves an unprecedented level of quality and efficiency. The system"s mass production capability makes it possible to build a single radio in just 56 seconds.
Research into downsizing calculators by replacing transistors with ICs (integrated circuits) results in creation of the world"s first electronic calculator incorporating ICs.
Sharp establishes Sharp Manufacturing Company of America (SMCA) in Memphis, Tennessee. This is the company"s first overseas manufacturing facility in the industrialized world. Production of color TVs and microwave ovens gets under way the same year.
Sharp becomes the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce thin film EL panels. These devices are ideal for displays in office equipment and measuring instruments. Because of their thinness, reliability and low power consumption, they are chosen for use in the US Space Shuttle.
An industry first, Sharp establishes a Creative Lifestyle Focus Center to discover consumers’ true preferences in order to guide development of demand-generating “new-lifestyle” products.
The name Sharp becomes inextricably linked with LCD. The Company creates a TFT LCD module containing 92,160 pixels, the most in the industry, and incorporates it into an LCD color TV.
Sharp made an early start with optoelectronics research. Spinoffs have included LCDs, solar cells, laser diodes, EL devices, CCDs (charge-coupled devices) and LEDs. Today the company is number one in the world market for optoelectronics, which is the key to growth in fast expanding areas such as audio-visual and data communications.
One Sharp success in the optoelectronics field at this time is the development of the world"s first 14-inch color TFT LCD. A mere 2.7 cm thick, it boasts a sharp, bright picture.
Sharp takes a lead in the field of LCD-based products by developing a 100-inch large-screen LCD video projector consisting of three 3-inch color TFT LCD panels and unveiling a high-definition television (HDTV) LCD projector.
The Company continues to reinforce its leadership position in the LCD field by completing a new LCD plant in Japan and a facility for mass-producing LCD panels in the US.
Sharp makes waves by introducing a reflective-type TFT color LCD that can be viewed clearly in natural or normal room light. Compared to conventional transmissive-type LCD, which required a backlight, this new display uses just one-thirtieth the power and boasts a wide viewing angle. The reflective TFT LCD becomes popular as a display for mobile devices.
Sharp announces development of a 21-inch TFT color LCD, the world"s largest. This is 1.5 times larger than the 17-inch model Sharp introduced in 1992, showing the world Sharp"s high standard of LCD technology. Sharp finally breaks the 20-inch barrier with this wall-mounted TV.
Sharp introduces the Mebius notebook PC, a culmination