Article ID : S500006977 / Last Modified : 11/04/2018Print

Specification of different type of LCD screen

    What are the different type of LCD screen ?

    LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
    Because it takes less power to move molecules than to energize a light-emitting device, LCDs replaced LEDs in digital watches years ago. The LCD was developed in 1963 at RCA's Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, NJ.

    1. Passive Display (TN and STN)
    Called "passive matrix" when used for computer screens and "passive display" when used for small readouts, all the active electronics (transistors) are outside of the display screen. Passive displays have improved immensely, but do not provide a wide viewing angle, and submarining is noticeable. The passive display types are:
    TN - Twisted Nematic - 90º twist
    Low-cost displays for consumer products and instruments. Black on gray/silver background.
    STN - Supertwisted Nematic- 180-270º twist
    Used extensively on laptops for mono and color displays. DSTN and FSTN provide improvements over straight STN. 180 º - green/blue on yellow background
    270 º - blue on white/blue background
    2. Dual Scan STN
    Improves STN display by dividing the screen into two halves and scanning each half simultaneously, doubling the number of lines refreshed. Not as sharp as active matrix.
    HPA (High Performance Addressing) (735-737) (Maximum resolution 800x600)
    A type of active addressing technology that improves the quality of a passive matrix (LCD) screen (DSTN).
    Active Display (TFT) (SONY 505)(Maximum resolution for the N505 : 800x600)
    Typically used for laptop color screens and, increasingly, for flat desktop screens. Known as "active matrix" displays, transistors are built into each pixel within the screen. For example, 640x480 color VGA screen requires 921,600 transistors; one for each red, green and blue dot. Provides a sharp, clear image with good contrast and eliminates submarining, but fabrication costs are high. Uses a 90º (TN) twist. Also called TFT LCD (thin film transistor LCD).