lcd modules low temperature brands

At low temperatures, the liquid crystal fluid maintains its viscosity, allowing the IC to refresh the data logic without any latency in the response time. At the high extreme of the operating temperature spectrum, the polarizer and adhesive materials are able to withstand the heat without warping the film and damaging the optical performance of the LCD module.

In addition to meeting the stringent quality requirements to withstand high temperature and humidity exposure, our displays also support “smart management” features, in form of a visual interface designed to help control the overall PV or EV application.

Whether round, whether square or extreme small with 29x9mm only, the new OLED displays from DISPLAY VISIONS play their advantage for compact handheld applications: power saving, compact and with an extreme wide operating temperature of -40..+80°C range.

Character LCD Displays (aka Alphanumeric) are one of the most common display technologies available and for that reason we hold inventory for samples and prototypes in our Chandler, Arizona location.

Our team of LCD specialists can assist you in selecting the best options so that your design is able to meet your needs and at a cost that is within your budget. Call today with any questions.

One reason for the popularity of Character LCD displays is that they are equipped with a controller/driver chip containing a built in character (or font) table.

The table holds preloaded letters, numbers, and punctuation for each language. The font table allows the designer to request any character by addressing (selecting) the number of that character. In other words, the letter capital ‘T’ may be assigned the number 31 and the “&” symbol could be assigned number 141. This eliminates the work required to create each charter from scratch and reduces the amount of time necessary to program the LCD module.

The LCD you choose for your new design sets the perceived value of your product. Think about it: The first thing your customer looks at when they are deciding whether to purchase your product, is the LCD display. If it looks good, then your product looks good.

The opposite of a negative mode is positive mode where the background is a lighter color such as yellow/green or grey and the characters/icons/segments are a darker color like black or dark blue.

Negative mode displays must have a backlight on all the time to be readable. The challenge is that the LED backlight will draw/drain 10 times more power than the LCD without a backlight. So, if this is a battery application, it is best to stick with a positive mode.

Positive mode displays are readable without a backlight if there is enough ambient light. The LCD without a backlight will draw around 1uA. LED backlights can draw as little as 15mA up to 75mA or more depending on the number and brightness of the LEDs.

The first question to answer is ‘what size of LCD?’ The larger the display the more information that can be displayed and the larger the characters can be. We recommend you choose one of the standard sizes on this page to reduce cost and lead time. Focus Display Solutions (aka FocusLCDs) carries many of the industry standard sizes in inventory and may be able to ship the same day.

Character LCD Displays are built in standard configurations such as 8×1, 20×2 and 40×4. The two numbers identify the number of characters in each row and then the number of rows. An example of this is a 20×2 which means there are 20 characters in each row and there are two rows. This will provide you a total of 40 characters. The more characters there are on the display, the more drivers are required to drive the LCD. The controller and drivers are included with the LCD.

Note: It is possible to program the software to scroll your letters and numbers across the screen, allowing you to choose a smaller sized LCD and still display all your information.

It is possible to custom build a unique combination such as a 12×2 or a 16×8. This would be considered a custom LCD and would require a one-time tooling cost and possibly a higher MOQ. Go to our

Character LCD modules are available in two temperature ranges, Normal (for indoor use) and Extended (for outdoor use). The outdoor version will continue to operate down to -30C. The cost difference between normal and wide (extended) temperature range is 5% to 7% higher for the extended versions. In most cases, if cost is not critical, we recommend that you incorporate the wider temperature version.

There are three types of backlights available for a character LCD module: No backlight; LED; or EL backlight. Before introducing the various backlight options, it is helpful to cover two terms that are common for backlights: NITs and half-life.

Engineers designing a battery powered product may request a character module with no backlight since the backlight draws more than ten times (10x) the power required for the LCD alone. The goal with a battery powered product is to conserve power and extend the life-time of the battery.

If the product needs to be readable in the dark or low light conditions, then it will be necessary to attach a backlight of one type or another. The best way to conserve power is to keep the amount of time the backlight is on to a minimum. Turn off the backlight as soon as the user no longer needs it. This is a common practice in cell phones. The backlight turns off a few seconds after the number is dialed or the phone is answered. The person using the phone will continue to talk, but the display will be dark.

DC Current – LEDs are driven by DC (Direct Current), which is the same type of power required for the character LCD logic voltage. Also, batteries supply DC which makes it easy to integrate the LED backlight with a battery. EL backlights require an AC (Alternating Current) to operate. The AC signal needs to be generated by an inverter. The added inverter increases the cost of the display and produces electrical noise that can interfere with neighboring circuits.

Dimmable – LED backlights are easily dimmable; the user can adjust the brightness by reducing the driving current supplied to the LED. The ability to dim the backlight allows the user of your product to select different brightness levels. An example would of this might be a higher brightness while plugged into an outlet, and a dimmer brightness if battery driven. This is a common practice for cell phones. The backlight will be at full brightness for the first few seconds and then dimmed for the next few seconds. Note: Cell phones use OLED or

Character LCDs that include an EL (ElectroLuminescent) backlight are not as common and their popularity is decreasing. EL backlights are AC driven which requires an inverter to be supplied by the customer or attached to the LCD. Their half-life is rated at 3K hours which makes this a poor choice for products where the backlight will be on all the time. Their MOQ (Minimum Order Quantities) have increased in the last few years. At this time there is a 500 piece MOQ.

There are some key advantages to EL backlights. They are very thin, around one to two millimeters in thickness. And they provide a very even flow of light. We carry inventory on a few EL character displays, but the majority of the character displays we sell are LED.

There are several possible combinations of background colors. The most common color options are yellow/green; green/grey; blue/white; black/white; and RGB (Red/Green/Blue).

A character LCD is constructed by placing the nematic fluid between two layers of ITO (Indium tin oxide) glass. The function of the fluid is to either block or allow light to pass through.

A TN (Twisted Nematic) monochrome LCDs is the lowest cost option. TN does not provide a very sharp contrast and has a smaller viewing angle then STN or FSTN. A smaller viewing angle means the display is readable if you look directly at it, but if you rotate it more than 40 degrees in either direction, the characters will be difficult to read.

An advantage of TN is faster response time than STN and FSTN and its ability to operate at lower temperatures. We recommend this fluid for applications that will operate at extremely low temperatures.

STN (Super Twisted Nematic) fluid is the most popular option. It provides a sharper contrast and a wider viewing angle than TN. Below is a photo of a STN 16 x2 character display.

FSTN monochrome character LCD displays are assembled by taking the STN fluid and adding a film or retardation coating to the glass. This produces a sharper contrast than STN. FSTN is more popular on higher end products such as medical applications. Below is a photo of a FSTN 16×2 monochrome LCD

There are three types of polarizers: Reflective; Transflective; and Transmissive. The correct polarizer is determined by the various lighting conditions your character LCD display will operate in.

The job of the polarizer is to allow some light to pass through and some of the light to be reflected. Depending on where your display will be operating, will decide which polarizer to choose. There is no cost difference between the three polarizers. Below is a quick summary:

A reflective polarizer cannot be used with a LED backlight or EL backlight since it will not allow any of the light to pass through, but it is possible to use with a LED edge-lit or side-lit display. An advantage of an edge-lit display is that it is thinner than a LED backlight, but not as thin as a display equipped with an EL backlight.

V Logic is the voltage used to drive an LCD and draws very little current, somewhere around 1mA or less. Character displays can be driven with a VL at 3.3V or 5V.

V LED is the voltage used to drive the LED backlight only. This can be 3.3V or 5V. LED backlights can draw up to ten times (10X) the amount of current of just the LCD alone (VLCD). If your product is a battery application, the backlight should be turned off when not in use. Or build in a sensor that only turns it on in the dark.

Is it possible to drive the LCD and the LED backlight from the same connection, but not recommended since interference from the LED backlight could affect the performance of the LCD.

3.3V is popular for battery applications since it can be driven by two ‘AA’ batteries. The downside is their performance suffers in colder temperatures and may require a heater to continue operation.

Choose a 5V if your product will operate in colder temperatures and you have unlimited power. In other words, if your product is plugged into a wall or car battery and there is no concern for battery drain.

A key advantage of character LCDs over multicolor technology such as TFT (Thin Film Transistor) and OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) it their low thirst for current.

When the ambient temperature of the display drops too low, the display’s performance suffers. The colder the fluid in the display, the slower the response. At some point, the display freezes up and the characters no longer change.

As long as the temperature doesn’t drop too low, there will be no damage to the display, and it will return to normal operation when the temperature rises.

This is a transparent film that lays across the top layer of the ITO glass. It provides an even flow of heat and is the most effective heating solution. However, it is also the most expensive heating solution.

This is a much more affordable solution. A small PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is attached to the back of the LCD. The board is populated with several quarter watt resistors in series that generate heat. This option draws a great deal of power. In fact, it draws more than most LED backlights.

Believe it or not, LEDs do generate heat, but nothing close to resistors or heater film. In some cases, it is enough to give the display a little extra warmth to keep it operating when the temperature drops below its threshold.

Nothing saves heat and power like insulation. Putting your LCD into something that breaks the wind and holds in the heat, will save your batteries. Many times, a protected display will continue to operate even when the temperature drops far below the threshold. This should always be the first step taken when worrying about display functionality at low temperatures. Once your product is insulated, the heat producing options noted above can be implemented.

There are three fluid types used in character LCDs: TN, STN and FSTN. TN operates the best at colder temperatures and offers a faster response time. TN does not provide the wide viewing range found in STN and FSTN, but is sufficient for most industrial uses.

The five most common types of LCD technology are: Segment, Character, Graphic, TFT and OLED. Character and Segment are the least likely options to be discontinued. They have been around for many years and are still very popular.

Used to read or write the data being transferred between the LCD and the microprocessor. Tie this to ground if you only plan to write data for one-way communications.

DB 0. Most character LCDs have eight (8) data bits for faster transfer. But can operate on just four (4) data bits if you are running low on I/O (In/Outs) pins.

Positive connection of the LED backlight or side lit. The voltage could range from 5V or 3.3V. Not all character LCDs contain a LED backlight. In this case, the two pins are no connect.

Polarity is an issue with LED backlights, since they are DC (Direct Current). That means positive must connect to positive. Half of the character LCDs have pin 15 as positive and 16 as ground. The other half are reversed. If you need the polarity reversed, there is a jumper on the back of the PCB to switch polarity.

Our lead time on standard Character LCD displays – that are not in stock – range from five to seven weeks. This rapid lead time is due to the fact that we do not ship LCD’s via boat, but FedEx Air. By shipping via FedEx Air, we receive the LCD glass within four to five days after it is completed, compared to shipping by boat which can add several additional weeks to your lead time.

Available options include: background color, backlight type, operating temperature range, driving voltage and other possible choices. These are modifications that do not require a tooling fee.

The cost to design and tool up a custom replacement LCD is much less than the cost associated with retooling a case or having to redesign the customer’s PCB to accept a different LCD. The customer may also need the exact display to repair units that are in the field.

This custom character design allows the customer to avoid any redesign cost or delays in the manufacturing of their product and to offer replacement displays for products that had been in the field for over ten years.

Character LCD displays are built in standard sizes and configurations. This makes the process of locating an equivalent LCD a simple process, but it is critical to make sure that the replacement display is a drop -in equivalent to your current display. It may not be possible to build a 100% equivalent product without some modifications.

If your current LCD supplier has discontinued your display, Focus Display Solutions (aka Focus LCDs) has the ability to cross it over to an equivalent display and in many cases Fed Ex/UPS a sample to you the same day.

Note: when you begin ordering LCD displays from Focus, we will supply you with the data sheet. If you purchase the display, you should own the data sheet.

Providing us the full part number of the LCD allows us to determine not only the size of the display, but also the type of construction such as COB (Chip on Board) or COG (Chip on Glass), number of characters, backlight option, operating temperature range, background and backlight colors, viewing angle, backlight and LCD logic voltage, and in most cases the controller driver used.

With the part number, we will attempt to locate a full data sheet with enough details allowing us to quote a replacement for your discontinued display. If we cannot locate a data sheet, we will ask if your previous supplier had provided one to you.

If we are unable to locate the data sheet of your current LCD, we will request a data sheet. If possible, please forward over the data sheet or a link to the data sheet. If your LCD supplier is no longer in business or they will not provide you the data sheet, the next option is a photo of the display.

Note: when you begin ordering LCD displays from Focus, we will supply you with the data sheet. If you purchase the display, you should own the data sheet.

Asia has long dominated the display module TFT LCD manufacturers’ scene. After all, most major display module manufacturers can be found in countries like China, South Korea, Japan, and India.

In this post, we’ll list down 7 best display module TFT LCD manufacturers in the USA. We’ll see why these companies deserve recognition as top players in the American display module industry.

STONE Technologies is a leading display module TFT LCD manufacturer in the world. The company is based in Beijing, China, and has been in operations since 2010. STONE quickly grew to become one of the most trusted display module manufacturers in 14 years.

Now, let’s move on to the list of the best display module manufacturers in the USA. These companies are your best picks if you need to find a display module TFT LCD manufacturer based in the United States:

Planar Systems is a digital display company headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon. It specializes in providing digital display solutions such as LCD video walls and large format LCD displays.

Microtips Technology is a global electronics manufacturer based in Orlando, Florida. The company was established in 1990 and has grown into a strong fixture in the LCD industry.

What makes Microtips a great display module TFT LCD manufacturer in the USA lies in its close ties with all its customers. It does so by establishing a good rapport with its clients starting from the initial product discussions. Microtips manages to keep this exceptional rapport throughout the entire client relationship by:

Displaytech is an American display module TFT LCD manufacturer headquartered in Carlsbad, California. It was founded in 1989 and is part of several companies under the Seacomp group. The company specializes in manufacturing small to medium-sized LCD modules for various devices across all possible industries.

The company also manufactures embedded TFT devices, interface boards, and LCD development boards. Also, Displaytech offers design services for embedded products, display-based PCB assemblies, and turnkey products.

Displaytech makes it easy for clients to create their own customized LCD modules. There is a feature called Design Your Custom LCD Panel found on their site. Clients simply need to input their specifications such as their desired dimensions, LCD configuration, attributes, connector type, operating and storage temperature, and other pertinent information. Clients can then submit this form to Displaytech to get feedback, suggestions, and quotes.

A vast product range, good customization options, and responsive customer service – all these factors make Displaytech among the leading LCD manufacturers in the USA.

Products that Phoenix Display offers include standard, semi-custom, and fully-customized LCD modules. Specifically, these products comprise Phoenix Display’s offerings:

Phoenix Display also integrates the display design to all existing peripheral components, thereby lowering manufacturing costs, improving overall system reliability, and removes unnecessary interconnects.

Clients flock to Phoenix Display because of their decades-long experience in the display manufacturing field. The company also combines its technical expertise with its competitive manufacturing capabilities to produce the best possible LCD products for its clients.

True Vision Displays is an American display module TFT LCD manufacturing company located at Cerritos, California. It specializes in LCD display solutions for special applications in modern industries. Most of their clients come from highly-demanding fields such as aerospace, defense, medical, and financial industries.

The company produces several types of TFT LCD products. Most of them are industrial-grade and comes in various resolution types such as VGA, QVGA, XGA, and SXGA. Clients may also select product enclosures for these modules.

All products feature high-bright LCD systems that come from the company’s proprietary low-power LED backlight technology. The modules and screens also come in ruggedized forms perfect for highly-demanding outdoor industrial use.

Slow but steady growth has always been True Vision Display’s business strategy. And the company continues to be known globally through its excellent quality display products, robust research and development team, top-of-the-line manufacturing facilities, and straightforward client communication.

LXD Incorporated is among the earliest LCD manufacturers in the world. The company was founded in 1968 by James Fergason under the name International Liquid Xtal Company (ILIXCO). Its first headquarters was in Kent, Ohio. At present, LXD is based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

All of their display modules can be customized to fit any kind of specifications their clients may require. Display modules also pass through a series of reliability tests before leaving the manufacturing line. As such, LXD’s products can withstand extreme outdoor environments and operates on a wide range of temperature conditions.

We’ve listed the top 7 display module TFT LCD manufacturers in the USA. All these companies may not be as well-known as other Asian manufacturers are, but they are equally competent and can deliver high-quality display products according to the client’s specifications. Contact any of them if you need a US-based manufacturer to service your display solutions needs.

We also briefly touched on STONE Technologies, another excellent LCD module manufacturer based in China. Consider partnering with STONE if you want top-of-the-line smart LCD products and you’re not necessarily looking for a US-based manufacturer. STONE will surely provide the right display solution for your needs anywhere you are on the globe.

There has been a significant shift in the global display industry lately. Apart from new display technologies, the display world is now dominated by players in Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan. And rightly so, the world’s best famous LCD module manufacturers come from all these countries.

STONE Technologies is a proud manufacturer of superior quality TFT LCD modules and LCD screens. The company also provides intelligent HMI solutions that perfectly fit in with its excellent hardware offerings.

STONE TFT LCD modules come with a microcontroller unit that has a Cortex A8 1GHz Standard 256MB. Such a module can easily be transformed into an HMI screen. Simple hexadecimal instructions can be used to control the module through the UART port. Furthermore, you can seamlessly develop STONE TFT LCD color user interface modules and add touch control, features to them.

In this post, we list down 10 of the best famous LCD manufacturers globally. We’ll also explore why they became among the reputable LCD module manufacturers in the world.

Samsung is the world’s largest semiconductor and consumer electronics manufacturer by revenue. The electronics giant is well-known for its smartphones and home appliances, but the company also manufactures LCD, LED, and OLED panels.

Probably the most in-demand and popular display panel product for Samsung is their OLED technology. Most of its current smartphones use their trademark Super AMOLED displays. The technology allowed Samsung’s smartphones to be ultra-thin, with better image brightness, and less energy consumption.

Samsung now produces panels for smart TVs. With their ever-evolving technological expertise and high-quality products, the company shows no signs of slowing down as one of the world’s best famous LCD module manufacturers.

Stone provides a professional product line that includes intelligent TFT-LCD modules for civil, advanced, and industrial use. Furthermore, Stone also creates embedded-type industrial PCs. The company’s products are all highly-reliable and stable even when used with humidity, vibration, and high temperatures.

Stone Technologies caters to a wide range of clients and industries, being among the world’s best famous LCD module manufacturers. The company’s products are used in the following industries:

Originally, LG Display was a joint venture of mother company LG Electronics and the Dutch company Phillips. They dedicated the company to creating active-matrix LCD panels. Another joint venture called LG. Phillips Displays was created to manufacture deflection yokes and cathode ray tubes.

LG Display has risen above the rest because of its world-class module products. Because of this, the company caters to a massive range of famous clients including Hewlett Packard, Apple, Sony, Dell, Acer, and Lenovo. LG Display also creates LCD modules and similar display panels for the company’s television product range.

Innolux Corporation is another famous LCD module manufacturer. This company was established in 2003 and is currently based in Zhunan, Miaoli County, Taiwan.

The company is a well-known manufacturer of display panels in Taiwan. Innolux supplies TFT-LCD and LED panels, open cells, and touch modules for the following products:

What makes Innolux stand out from other LCD module manufacturers is the company’s commitment to its humanistic qualities. Innolux believes that they are in the business to contribute to the well-being and prosperity of their customers. This is then achieved by creating world-class products that satisfy its clients.

Sharp is a Japanese company founded in 1912. It is now based in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. The company produces various kinds of electronic products including mobile phones, LCD panels, calculators, PV solar cells, and consumer electronics. Sharp has produced TFT-LCD products as early as the 1980s.

For the regular public consumers, Sharp produces a variety of smart TVs and LCD TVs marketed under the Aquos brand. The company’s television line-up boasts of impressively high-quality technology. The TVs are equipped with technologies that support 4K and 8K UHD display, allowing for a great high-resolution viewing experience.

Sustainability is among the ultimate goals of AU Optronics. The company takes steps to integrate green solutions into their products for more sustainable development. This commitment to sustainability, among other strong qualities, makes AU Optronics one of the best LCD manufacturers in the world.

Most of these products use TFT-LCD panels alongside other technologies to create ultra-high-definition images. Also, modern Toshiba display products incorporate IoT and artificial intelligence for a smarter product experience.

Kyocera is a Japanese LCD manufacturer. The company started in 1959 as a fine technical ceramics manufacturer but gradually added consumer electronics products to its offerings.

The Japanese company acquired Optrex Corporation in 2012. The acquisition paved the way for creating an R&D center and more production, sales, and marketing bases. Hence, Kyocera’s global LCD business boomed even more.

The company also operates factories, R&D centers, and marketing facilities in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Oceania continents. Kyocera has a vast worldwide reach that makes it one of the world’s best famous LCD module manufacturers.

To wrap all this up, we listed 10 of the world’s best famous LCD module manufacturers. These are all highly-respected companies that built their reputations and climbed up the ladder of LCD module manufacturing. Their quality products, dedication to their craft, and excellent customer service truly make them among the world’s best display solutions providers.

Typically, standard LCD display provide a temperature range of 0°C to +50°C. However, this temperature range cannot always meet the needs of such usage. Considering the increasing demand of wide temperature range, several display manufacturers offer wide selection of standard versions that range from -20°C to +70°C. Extended Temperature Solutions for Industrial Applications. As a professional LCD manufacturer, we must follow more closely demands in the market. EVERVISION has developed a series of wide temperature TFT LCD modules with operating temperatures ranging from -30°C to +80°C, and the maximum for some models can reach 85°C. For more information, please contact us.

Expanding the operating temperature range is one of EVERVISION"s strategy to improve the performance of industrial TFT product line. The other display improvement is LCD Transparent Heater that provides optimized visual view even in an extremely low temperature environment.

As a solution, EVERVISION integrate the TFT LCD module, transparent heater(Glass Heater) and heater temperature sensor to control and monitor temperature smartly. With our controller system, it could precisely and rapidly adjust the temperature of TFT-LCD module. Also, it can reduce display power consumption.

A couple of years ago I had accidentally purchased a batch of ‘low temperature’ 16 x 2 LCD displays. These do not work with the standard 5V supply as the contrast pin requires a negative voltage for the display to appear (around minus 1.6V seems to work well).

These displays are manufactured by Powertip and have the code PC1602-H. A data sheet is available here. The part number is very similar to their ‘standard’ range (only the -H part changes). It was also not very obvious from the suppliers website that these were the low temperature range version.

As you might have discovered when using these displays outside, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) suffer from slow response in cold weather. This is due to the physical properties of the liquid crystal. To combat this, some manufacturers produce displays specifically designed for use in lower temperatures.

When searching for an answer about these LCD displays, other people had got them working, but no-one seemed to fully explain their circuit or how they did it. Some had mentioned diodes to give a small voltage drop. I never got that method to work for me, but email me a circuit diagram if you have got a more simple solution.

There are many versions of this circuit with slightly different component values. I built the circuit above on a bit of strip board and it worked well, giving me around -3V from a 5V supply. The circuit uses the 555 timer as a constant output frequency (of around 600Hz in this case). This ‘pumps’ current into the output capacitor, with the diodes controlling the flow of current to ensure the output voltage is negative.

I added a preset variable resistor and replaced the variable resistor (VR1 – used for the contrast) on the Serial LCD display PCB with the three connections to the negative voltage circuit.

The LCD has been widely used in different applications, such as automotive, home appliance, medical, industrial, communication, entertainment, consumer devices, etc. It has been the most popular display technology for more than a decade after surpassing CRT. But the LCD has its genetic drawbacks, such as narrow viewing angle, slow response, and low contrast, limiting its use in some applications. These drawbacks also make LCDs venerable for other new display technologies, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) and Micro LED. Engineers have been working on different ways to improve the LCD drawbacks. Today, we will discuss the LCD contrast affected by temperature and improve LCD contrast with the temperature changes.

From Figure 2, when the voltage increases, the LCD’s transmission is getting lower. When the transmission level reaches 90% of the no voltage applied, we can see the LCD shows images but very light. We call it the threshold voltage (V90 or Vth).

From Figure 3, we can see the LCD voltage decreases with the temperature. From -15oC to +60oC, the curve relatively flat, but when the temperature is lower than -20oC and higher than +70oC, the voltage changes dramatically with temperature, that is why most LCD has an operating temperature of -20oC to +70oC.  Some LCD manufacturers stated that the LCD has an operating temperature range of -30 oC to +80oC, but be ready that the poor contrast has to be accepted with both ends of the temperature.

From Figure 4, we can see the LCD contrast is optimized at a temperature of around +20oC, which is room temperature.  The contrast (CR) decreases with higher and lower temperatures, which can be a big issue for some applications.

Scientists and Engineers of different areas have been trying to improve the LCD contrast under low and high temperatures. But the facts are all of them having trade-off. The users have to balance all the factors to choose the best solutions for their applications. We will explain the most popular ways for LCD to deal with temperature.

It is easier to do. The contrast dramatically changes at a higher temperature because liquid crystal material is close to its clearing point.  The material in the LCD is no longer liquid crystal material anymore; it becomes liquid (like water). Then, the solution will be to increase the clearing point of the material used. Most commercial LCDs use liquid crystal material with a clearing point of around 80oC, making it useable at +70oC. Still, for those conditions, the liquid crystal material used as a clearing point closer to 130oC makes it useable over +100oC theoretically.

Of course, we can imagine that material is costly. Another issue that the high-temperature performance LCDs have a bad performance at low temperature. The response time at low temperatures can be very long.

The heater can be used to heat LCD when the temperature drops below -20oC. Of course, the temperature sensor can be used to switch on/off the heating. Usually, there are 3 kinds of heaters to be used. 1) wire heater, 2) ITO heater on flex, 3) ITO heater on the glass. Depending on the heating speed needed, the heating power can be designed.

Of course, you can see the issue of using a heater in an LCD. The first is the cost; the second is the power of heating. Please prepare to use around 1 to 2w/inch2 power budget in your design.

The biggest liquid crystal material manufacturer in the world, E. Merck claimed that they developed “Flat Fluids,” which makes the curve in  Figure 3 LCD Operating Voltage (Vop) vs Temperature relatively flat from -30oC to +80oC. It is good news for most applications. But the limitation is that Flat Fluids can only be used in TN-type displays also costly.

The good news that many modern LCD controllers include temperature compensation circuitry in the IC design, dramatically makes the design work easier by simply setting the function. But all the LCD temperature compensation circuitry is linear, which can’t match the liquid crystal material voltage curve with temperature. But it is good enough for most applications. See Figure 6.

FlexEnable’s glass-free organic LCD (OLCD) delivers high-brightness, long lifetime flexible displays that are low cost and scalable to large areas, while also being thin, lightweight and shatterproof.

OLCD is a plastic display technology with full colour and video-rate capability. It enables product companies to create striking designs and realise novel use cases by merging the display into the product design rather than accommodating it by the design.

Unlike flexible OLED displays, which are predominantly adopted in flagship smartphones and smartwatches, OLCD opens up the use of flexible displays to a wider range of mass-market applications. It has several attributes that make it better suited than flexible OLED to applications across large-area consumer electronics, smart home appliances, automotive, notebooks and tablets, and digital signage.

OLCD can be conformed and wrapped around surfaces and cut into non-rectangular shapes during the production process. Holes can be also added to fit around the functional design of the system – for example around knobs and switches.

As with glass-based LCD, the lifetime of OLCD is independent of the display brightness, because it is achieved through transmission of a separate light source (the backlight), rather than emission of its own light. For example OLCD can be made ultra-bright for viewing in daylight conditions without affecting the display lifetime – an important requirement for vehicle surface-integrated displays.

OLCD is the lowest cost flexible display technology – it is three to four times lower cost that flexible OLED today. This is because it makes use of existing display factories and supply chain and deploys a low temperature process that results in low manufacturing costs and high yield.

Unlike other flexible display approaches, OLCD is naturally scalable to large sizes. It can be made as small or as large as the manufacturing equipment used for flat panel displays allows.

The flexibility of OLCD allows an ultra-narrow bezel to be implemented by folding down the borders behind the display. This brings huge value in applications like notebooks and tablets where borderless means bigger displays for the same sized device. The bezel size allowed by OLCD is independent of the display size or resolution. In addition, OLCD can make a notebook up to 100g lighter and 0.5mm thinner.

OLCD is the key to the fabrication of ultra-high contrast dual cell displays with true pixel level dimming, offering OLED-like performance at a fraction of the cost. The extremely thin OLCD substrate brings advantages in cost, viewing angle and module thickness compared to glass displays. At the same time OLCD retains the flexibility required for applications such as surface-integrated automotive displays.

Due to its unique properties, OLCD has the potential to transform how and where displays are used in products. The videos below give a glimpse into this innovative technology.

OLCD brings the benefits of being thin, light, shatterproof and conformable, while offering the same quality and performance as traditional glass LCDs. The mechanical advantages of plastic OLCD over glass LCD are further enhanced by the technology’s excellent optical performance, much of which originates from the extreme thinness of plastic TAC substrates compared to glass.

Low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) is polycrystalline silicon that has been synthesized at relatively low temperatures (~650 °C and lower) compared to in traditional methods (above 900 °C). LTPS is important for display industries, since the use of large glass panels prohibits exposure to deformative high temperatures. More specifically, the use of polycrystalline silicon in thin-film transistors (LTPS-TFT) has high potential for large-scale production of electronic devices like flat panel LCD displays or image sensors.

Polycrystalline silicon (p-Si) is a pure and conductive form of the element composed of many crystallites, or grains of highly ordered crystal lattice. In 1984, studies showed that amorphous silicon (a-Si) is an excellent precursor for forming p-Si films with stable structures and low surface roughness.

Amorphous silicon TFTs have been widely used in liquid-crystal display (LCD) flat panels because they can be assembled into complex high-current driver circuits. Amorphous Si-TFT electrodes drive the alignment of crystals in LCDs. The evolution to LTPS-TFTs can have many benefits such as higher device resolution, lower synthesis temperature, and reduced price of essential substrates.

Low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) is a type of OLED display backplane technology developed by Apple that combines both LTPS TFTs and Oxide TFTs (indium gallium zinc oxide, or IGZO). In LTPO, the switching circuits are using LTPS while the driving TFTs use IGZO materials.dynamically adjusting the refresh rate of the screen based on the content being displayed. This means that the screen can operate at a low refresh rate when displaying static images or text, but can ramp up to a higher refresh rate when displaying dynamic content like videos or games. LTPO displays are known for their improved battery life and can be found in some smartphones, smartwatches, and other mobile devices.

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Amorphyx has several fundamentally new technology platforms that provide for TFT performance improvements in three areas: (1) Switching speeds, with options to move to the Tera-Hz range ultimately, (2) Power, where the IGZO AMeTFT can achieve even lower power performance than today’s LTPO OLED Pro Motion displays and better refresh range, and (3) Small transistor size.

Our technology platforms are lower cost than the alternatives, and move from amorphous and crystalline semiconductor approaches, to devices based on different effects that do not have a semiconductor at all, yet can still drive a display, drive current, deliver grey scale and switch very fast. Or they can operate a flex IC at higher clock speeds than known today.

Modern LCD screens have a great many uses. Not only are they now the system of choice for our home TVs and computers but their use in digital signage has made them a common sight in many shopping malls, airports and other locations with high quantities of people.

Even outdoor locations are no barrier to the use of modern LCD screens with outdoor digital signage a rising medium now seen in many town centers, car parks, front of stores and train station platforms.

All this out of home use means many screens operate in locations test the temperature limits of LCD displays. While waterproof screens and LCD enclosures designed for rugged applications provide the ability of the screen to operate-even in outdoor locations, one consideration often overlooked, is that of temperature.

LCD screens have a limited temperature range. Not only will the electronics inside an TV screen overheat and cause failure if the screen gets too hot, but the liquid crystal itself will begin to deteriorate under hot conditions.

The same is true of environments where temperatures fall below zero, causing a screen to stop functioning. A typical LCD TV has an operating range between 0°C (32°F) and 32°C (90°F).

Of course, many indoor and outdoor locations don’t suffer temperatures outside of this range, but many locations do and placing screens in these areas can prove challenging.

One of the problems with using a screen in hot locations is that the screen itself produces quite a bit of heat. When housed in an outdoor enclosure, the heat has to be continuously removed. While cooling fans combined with an air-vent normally carry out this task on an LCD, the need to prevent moisture from getting to the screen makes the task more complicated.

To get around this problem, specially shaped vents provide an exit for hot air while preventing rainfall and other moisture from getting in. In some locations where ambient temperatures are extremely high, screens need air conditioning to ensure they don’t exceed the maximum operating temperature.

In cold climates the opposite problem occurs. The need to keep heat in often requires insulation of the screen enclosure. Often this can trap enough of the heat generated by the screen itself to keep the internal temperature above minimum, but in some locations, even this isn’t enough. Heaters, controlled by thermostats provide extra heat in these circumstances, which enables the use of LCD displays in extremely cold locations such as ski-resorts and in Arctic regions.