LCD

Liquid crystal display

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"LCD" redirects here. For other uses, see LCD (disambiguation).

Reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display.

1. Polarizing filter film with a vertical axis to polarize light as it enters.
2. Glass substrate with ITO electrodes. The shapes of these electrodes will determine the shapes that will appear when the LCD is turned ON. Vertical ridges etched on the surface are smooth.
3. Twisted nematic liquid crystal.
4. Glass substrate with common electrode film (ITO) with horizontal ridges to line up with the horizontal filter.
5. Polarizing filter film with a horizontal axis to block/pass light.
6. Reflective surface to send light back to viewer. (In a backlit LCD, this layer is replaced with a light source.)

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is an electro-optical amplitude modulator realized as a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector. It is often utilized in battery-powered electronic devices because it uses very small amounts of electric power.

A comprehensive classification of the various types and electro-optical modes of LCDs is provided in the article LCD classification.

Contents

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• 1 Overview
• 2 Specifications
• 3 Brief history
• 4 Color displays
• 5 Passive-matrix and active-matrix addressed LCDs
• 6 Active matrix technologies
  • 6.1 Twisted nematic (TN)
  • 6.2 In-plane switching (IPS)
  • 6.3 Vertical alignment (VA)
  • 6.4 Blue Phase mode
• 7 Quality control
• 8 Zero-power (bistable) displays
• 9 Drawbacks
• 10 See also
  • 10.1 Other display technologies
  • 10.2 Display applications
  • 10.3 Manufacturers
• 11 References
• 12 External links - Tutorials
  • 12.1 General information