Thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) is a variant of liquid crystal display (LCD) which uses thin-film

transistor (TFT) technology to improve image quality (e.g., addressability, contrast). TFT LCD is one type of active matrix LCD, though all LCD-screens are based on TFT active matrix addressing. TFT LCDs are used in television sets, computer monitors, mobile phones, handheld video game systems, personal digital assistants, navigation systems, projectors, etc.[1]
Contents
[hide]

1 Construction 2 Types

o o o o o o

2.1 Twisted nematic (TN) 2.2 In-plane switching (IPS) 2.3 Advanced fringe field switching (AFFS) 2.4 Multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA) 2.5 Patterned vertical alignment (PVA) 2.6 Advanced super view (ASV)

3 Display industry 4 Electrical interface 5 Safety

5.1 Toxicity

6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit]Construction

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ll li i

i i i l t tt l

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based s are by far t e st cost, ereas olycrystalline silicon [3] to roduce .

[edit]

due t t eir l er roduction s are ore costly and difficult

ypes
em ti (TN)

[edit]Twisted

e not so expensi e t isted nematic display is t e most common consumer display type. e pixel response time on modern N panels is sufficiently fast to avoid t e shadow-trail and hosting artifacts of earlier production. he fast response time has been emphasised in advertising N displays, although in most cases this number does not reflect performance across the entire range of possible color transitions.[cit tion n d d] More recent use of R Response ime ompensation / Overdrive) technologies has allowed manufacturers to significantly reduce grey-to-grey G2G) transitions, without significantly improving the ISO response time. Response times are now uoted in G2G figures, with 4ms and 2ms now being commonplace for N-based models. he good response time and low cost has led to the dominance of N in the consumer market.[cit tion N displays suffer from limited viewing angles, especially in the vertical direction. olors will shift when viewed off-perpendicular. In
 
n d d]

 

N display under a

icroscope,

it t e transistors isible at t e bottom

 

the vertical direction, colors will shift so much that they will invert past a certain angle. Also, most T panels represent colors using only six bits per B color, or 18 bit in total, and are unable to display the 16.7 million color shades ( -bittruecolor) that are available from graphics cards. Instead, these panels display interpolated -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 ate Control (F C), 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. million colors". These color simulation methods are noticeable to many people and highly bothersome to some. [ ] F C tends to be most noticeable in dar er tones, while dithering appears to ma e the individual pixels of the LCD visible. verall, color reproduction and linearity on T panels is poor. Shortcomings in display color gamut(often referred to as a percentage of the TSC 195 color gamut) are also due to bac lighting technology. It is not uncommon for displays with simple LED orCCFL-based lighting to range from 10% to 6% of the TSC color gamut, whereas other ind of displays, utilizing more complicated CCFL or LED phosphorformulations or B LED bac lights, may extend past 100% of the TSC 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, [5] and the s B standard for computer monitors requires a specific nonlinear dependence of the B value. amount of emitted light as a function of the
[edit]In-plane


switching IPS)

In-plane switching was developed by itachi Ltd. in 1996 to improve on the poor viewing angle and the poor color reproduction of T panels at that time. [6] Its name comes from the main difference from T panels, that the crystal m lecules m ve parallel t the pa el pla e i stea f perpe icular t it. This change reduces the amount of light scattering in the matrix, which gives IPS its characteristic wide viewing angles and good color reproduction. [7] Initial iterations of IPS technology were plagued with slow response time and a low contrast ratio but later evolutions have made mar ed

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 mar et as well.
Hitachi IPS evolving technology[8]

Name

Nickname Year Advantage

Transmittance/ contrast ratio

Remarks

Super TFT

IPS

Wide 1996 viewing angle

100/100 Base level

Most panels also support true 8-bit per channel color. These improvements came at the cost of a slower response time, initially about 50 ms. IPS panels were also extremely expensive.

Super-IPS

S-IPS

Color shift 1998 free

100/137

IPS has since been superseded by S-IPS (SuperIPS, Hitachi Ltd. in 1998), which has all the benefits of IPS technology with the addition of improved pixel refresh timing.

Advanced Super-IPS

AS-IPS

High 2002 130/250 transmittance

AS-IPS, also developed by Hitachi Ltd. in 2002, improves substantially on the contrast ratio of traditional S -IPS panels to the point where they are second only to some S PVAs.

IPSProvectus

IPS-Pro

2004

High contrast 137/313 ratio

The latest panel from IPS Alpha Technology with a wider color gamut and contrast ratio matching PVA and ASV displays without off-angle glowing.

IPS alpha

IPS-Pro

2008

High contrast ratio

Next generation of IPS-Pro

IPS alpha next gen

IPS-Pro

2010

High contrast ratio

Technology transfer from Hitachi to Panasonic

LG IPS evolving technology

Name

Nickname Year

Remarks

Super-IPS

S-IPS

2001

LG Display remains as one of the main manufacturers of panels based on Hitachi Super-IPS.

Advanced SuperAS-IPS IPS

2005 Increased contrast ratio with better color gamut.

Horizontal IPS

H-IPS

Improves contrast ratio by twisting electrode plane layout. Also introduces an optional 2007 Advanced True White polarizing film from NEC, to make white look more natural. This is used in professional/photography LCDs.

Enhanced IPS

E-IPS

2009

Wider aperture for light transmission, enabling the use of lower -power, cheaper backlights. Improves diagonal viewing angle and further reduce response time to 5ms.

Professional IPS P-IPS

2010

Offer 1.07 billion colours (30 -bit colour depth). More possible orientations per sub pixel (1024 as opposed to 256) and produces a better true colour depth.

[edit]Advanced

fringe field switching AFFS)

This is an LCD technology derived from the IPS by Boe- ydis of Korea. Known as fringe field switching (FFS) until 00 ,[9] advanced fringe field switching is a technology similar to IPS or S-IPS offering superior performance and colour gamut with high luminosity. Colour shift and deviation caused by light lea age is corrected by optimizing the white gamut, which also enhances white/grey reproduction. AFFS is developed by YDIS TEC L IES C .,LTD, Korea (formally yundai Electronics, LCD Tas Force).[10] L IES C .,LTD licensed its AFFS patent In 00 , YDIS TEC to Japan's itachi Displays. itachi is using AFFS to manufacture high end panels in their product line. In 006, YDIS also licensed its AFFS to Sanyo Epson Imaging Devices Corporation. YDIS introduced AFFS+ which improved outdoor readability in 007. In ay 011, this technology is reported to be used in the next generation Amazon Kindle eboo reader.[11]
[edit]Multi-domain

vertical alignment MVA)

" " !!

ulti-domain vertical alignment was originally developed in 1998 by Fujitsu as a compromise between T and IPS.[citati ee e ] It achieved pixel response which was fast for its time, wide viewing angles, and high contrast at the cost of brightness and color reproduction. odern VA panels can offer wide viewing angles (second only to S-IPS technology), good blac depth, good color reproduction and depth, and fast response times due to the use of TC ( esponse Time Compensation) technologies. When VA

panels are viewed off-perpendicular, colors will shift, but much less than for T panels. There are several "next-generation" technologies based on VA, including AU ptronics' P-MVA and A-MVA, as well as Chi ei ptoelectronics' S-MVA. Analysts[wh ?] predicted that VA would dominate the mainstream mar et, but the less expensive and slightly faster T overtoo it. The pixel response times of VAs rise dramatically with small changes in brightness. Less expensive VA panels can use dithering and F C (Frame ate Control).
[edit]Patterned

vertical alignment PVA)

Patterned vertical alignment and super patterned vertical alignment (S-PVA) are alternative versions of VA technology offered by Samsung's and Sony's joint venture S-LCD. Developed independently, they offer similar features to VA, but with higher contrast ratios of up to 000:1. [citati ee e ] Less expensive PVA panels often use dithering and F C, while S-PVA panels all use at least 8 bits per color component and do not use color simulation methods. SPVA also largely eliminated off angle glowing of solid blac s and reduced the off angle gamma shift. Some newer S-PVA panels offered byEizo offer 16-bit color internally . [citati ee e ] , which enables gamma and other corrections with reduced color banding. Some high end Sony B AVIA LCD-TVs offer 10bit and xvYCC color support, for example the Bravia X 500 series. PVA and S-PVA offer the best blac depth of any LCD type along with wide viewing angles. [citati ee e ] S-PVA also offers fast response times using modern TC technologies.
[edit]Advanced

super view ASV)

Advanced super view, also called axially symmetric vertical alig me t was developed by Sharp. It is a VA mode where liquid crystal molecules orient perpendicular to the substrates in the off state. The bottom sub-pixel has continuously covered electrodes, while the upper one has a smaller area electrode in the center of the subpixel. When the field is on, the liquid crystal molecules start to tilt towards the center of the sub-pixels because of the electric field; as a result, a continuous pinwheel alignment (CPA) is formed; the azimuthal angle

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rotates 3 degrees continuously resulting in an excellent viewing angle. he ASV mode is also called PA mode.[ 2]
[edit]

isplay industry
2 3 23

Thi secti is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please hel add i li e citati copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (December 2008)
2 2 0) (

Due to the very high cost of building factories, there are few major OEM panel vendors for large display panels. he glass panel suppliers are as follows:
L D glass panel suppliers

Panel type

Company

Remarks

major TV makers

-IPS & PIPS

LG Display

LG, Philips

S-IPS

They also produce other type of TFT panels such as TN for OEM markets such as Chuangwa Picture Tubes, mobile, monitor, Ltd. automotive, portable AV and industrial panels. Hannstar

A-MVA AU Optronics

S-MVA Chi Mei Optoelectronics

S-PVA

SLCD (Samsung/Sony joint venture)

Samsung, Sony

AFFS

Samsung

For small and medium si e special projects.

IPS-Pro Panasonic

Solely for LC TV Panasonic, markets and known as Hitachi, IPS Alpha Technology Toshi a [13] Ltd.

'

s t guard agai st

AS

Sharp Corporation

Solely for LCD TV markets

Raw LCD TFT panels are usually factory-sorted into three categories, with regard to the number of dead pixels, bac light evenness and general product quality. [citati ee e ] Additionally, there may be up to +/ms maximum response time differences between individual panels that came off the same assembly line on the same day. The poorestperforming screens are then sold to no-name vendors or used in "value" TFT monitors (for example, mar ed with letter V behind the type number), the medium performers are incorporated in gameroriented or home office bound TFT displays (sometimes mar ed with the capital letter S), and the best screens are usually reserved for use in "professional" grade TFT monitors (often mar ed with letter P or S after their type number).
[edit]Electrical

interface

External consumer display devices li e a TFT LCD feature one or more analog V A, DVI, D I, 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 li e CVBS, V A, DVI, D I 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 bac light is usually included on the same controller board. The low level interface of ST , DST , or TFT display panels use either single ended TTL 5V signal for older displays or TTL . V for slightly newer displays that transmits Pixel cloc , orizontal sync,Vertical sync, Digital red, Digital green, Digital blue in parallel. Some models also feature input/display enable, horizontal scan direction and vertical scan direction signals. ew and large (>15") TFT displays often use LVDS signaling that transmits the same contents as the parallel interface ( sync, Vsync, RGB) but will put control and RGB bits into a number of serial transmission lines synchronized to a cloc whose rate is equal to the

B B

A A@

Sharp

pixel rate. VDS 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 displays be inverted in order to maintain DC balance. ow uality often have three data lines and therefore only directly support bits per pixel, while better ones have a fourth data line so they can support 24 bits per pixel, which delivers truecolor. ltra high end models can support even more colors by adding more lanes, that s how 3 -bit color can be supported by five data lanes. Panel manufacturers are slowly replacing VDS with Internal DisplayPort and Embedded DisplayPort, which allow sixfold reduction of the number of differential pairs. Backlight intensity is usually controlled by varying a few volts DC, or generating a P M signal, or adjusting a potentiometer or simply fixed. his in turn controls a high-voltage .3 kV) DC-AC inverteror a matrix of EDs. he method to control the intensity of ED is to pulse them with P M which can be source of harmonic flicker. he 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 SB bits of the color information to present a consistent interface bit->6bit/color x3). laptop displays can't be reused directly with an ordinary computer graphics card or as a television, this is because they lack a hardware rescaler that can resi e the image to fit the native resolution of the display panel.[cit tion n d d] ith analogue signals like VGA, the display controller also needs to perform a high speed analog to digital conversion. ith digital input signals like DVI or HDMI some simple reordering of the bits is needed before feeding it to the rescaler if input resolution doesn't match the display panel resolution. or CVBS V) usage a tuner and color decode from a uadrature amplitude modulation QAM) to uminance Y), Blue-Y ), Red-Y V) representation which in turn is transformed into Red, Green Blue is needed.[cit tion n d d]
[edit]Safety
This section requires expansion.

[edit]Toxi

ity

D DD

D DD

The liquid crystals inside the display are highly toxic to humans and to the environment. It must not be ingested or come in contact with your s in, eyes or clothes. If spills occur due to a crac ed display, wash off immediately with soap and water. [1 ] Liquid crystals currently mar eted inside displays are generally non-toxic[15].
[edit]
E

TFT stands for Thin-Film Transistor. TFT technology is a new standard these days for manufacturing displays, monitors, laptop screens, and other devices. TFT LCD displays can show crisp text, vivid colors, fast animations, and complex graphics. TFT LCD monitors, also called flat panel displays, are replacing the old style cathode ray tubes (CRTs) as the displays of choice. Almost all LCD monitors today take advantage of the TFT technology.

What are the benefits of a TFT display?

Each pixel on a TFT display is backed by a tiny transistor. Transistors are so small these days, they need only a very minimal charge to control what they do. TFT displays are much more energy efficient than regular CRT screens that need a powerful light source. TFT displays also allow for very fast re-drawing of the display, so the image has very little chance to flicker. This was not always the case with flat -panel monitors. Original passive matrix LCD displays were not able to refresh at very high rates and therefore could not keep up with fast moving images. A TFT monitor refresh rate is very high resulting in a display that can be used for video, gaming, and all forms of multimedia. A TFT monitor delivers crisp text, vibrant colors, and an improved response time for multimedia applications. Today's standard for response rate in TFT monitors is 16 ms or less.

How does TFT display work?

Let us start with explanation how a LCD display, a predecessor to TFT LCD, works. In general, a LCD display comprises of a layer of LCD material and one or more polarizing layers made of plastic, glass, or some other material. A LCD display has a sandwich -like structure with liquid crystals filled between two glass (or plastic or polycarbonate) plates. A LCD display shows a picture through millions of tiny picture elements called pixels. You can understand a pixel as a tiny dot on your screen. Pixels are formed by liquid-crystal cells that change the direction of light passing through them in response to an electrical voltage. These liquid crystals when stimulated by an external electrical charge can change the properties of light passing through them. When you align two polarizing materials with each other, light passes through. When you align one polarizing agent at a 90 angle to the other, light is blocked. Change the voltage, and the amount of light passing through the display is changed.

Liquid crystals in LCD monitor act as a dynamic polarizing agent. They change their orientation when you place a voltage across an LCD cell. The orientation of the polarizing agent under the LCD layer either blocks or pass es light. So, where does a TFT come into the game? A TFT display is an advanced LCD display. A TFT monitor uses so -called thin-film transistortechnology to project a picture on the screen. Transistors in a TFT display are used to change the orientation of the polarizing agent. A typical 17-inch TFT monitor has about 1.3 million pixels and 1.3 million transistors. The following text explains TFT in a greater detail...

Active or passive LCD?

When you look at a passive-LCD technology, the cells act as capacitors. When you charge a cell, the liquid crystal flips to one position. When you stop supplying charge to the cell, it voluntarily bleeds off its voltage and the liquid crystal slowly twists back to its original position. Passive LCD panels cannot quickly change the orientation of the crystal. Well, it is quick, but not quick enough to display fast -moving graphics. To overcome this slowness, engineers came up with active-LCD technology. Active-LCD displays use transistors to actively change the orientation of crystals. That is where TFT comes from. T in TFT for transistor. This method allows for faster control of the LCD cell but is also more complex.

While passive-LCD displays start to blur with images moving faster than 8 to 15 frames/sec, TFT displays can display full-motion video and graphics because they use fast switching transistors.

How is color displayed in a TFT monitor?

Now that we know how a LCD works and what it behind TFT, we can start talking about color. Each pixel in a color TFT LCD i s subdivided into three subpixels. One of the subpixels is capable of producing red, the other one green, and the last one bluecolor. Red, green, and blue are the basic colors. Any other color can be produced by mixing up these three. One set of RGB subpixels is equal to one pixel. Because the subpixels are super tiny for the human eye to see them individually, the three RGB elements appear to the human eye as a mixture of the three colors. Any color can be produced by mixing these three primary colors.

Where does the light in a TFT LCD panel come from?

Old TFT displays and the small ones in simple applications such as calculators are reflective TFT. A reflective TFT display has no backlight. The polarizing agent at the rear of the TFT display is simply a mirror layer behind the TFT panel. The agent merely reflects incoming light from the front of the display. You need to be in a well -lit room to be able to read this type of display.

The next step in a TFT LCD design was to add a light source to it. More advanced TFT displays have added sidelights or front lights to these displays. Sidelights and front lights are virtually the same as backlights. The difference is just the position of the light. Front lights sit on the side or slightly in front of the TFT layers. They are designed so that the light they produce shines through the TFT panel and bounces off the reflective polarizing agent back through the display. A transmissive TFT uses a backlight. Most TFT LCD panels today are designed with a backlight. The source of the light is mounted at the rear side of the LCD panel and shines light towards your eyes through the TFT panel's polarizing medium (liquid crystal). Small displays, such as cell phones or calculators, use light source that is placed along the sides of the display.

The common TFT-display backlight is the CCFL (cold -cathode fluorescent lamp). CCFLs are similar to fluorescent light tubes that you commonly find in offices and homes. Their advantage is that they are small, inexpensive, replac eable, and cheap. If the TFT display has its own light, why can't I see anything on the display on a sunny day? The polarizing medium in a TFT that transmits or blocks the backlight is clear, so any light shining on the display from the front competes with the backlight. If the light source

shining on the front of the TFT display is strong enough, such as sun on a sunny day, it simply overpowers your laptop TFT display's backlight and the display image is washed out. A reflective TFT display is usually a better choice for applications with high ambient light.

What is LED backlighting in a TFT LCD display?

If you shop for a laptop these days, the better ones come with LED backlight. In this case, the source of light comes from LEDs instead of from CCFL. LED technology has only recently achieved the white light necessary to illuminate these panels. LEDs are the choice these days because they are stable over temperature ranges, durable, and very energy efficient. That is why if you buy a laptop with a TFT LED b acklighted display, it is possible that it will go for as much as 8 hours with your battery.

What else?
Perhaps you might be interested in some reading about LightScribe, ExpressCard, or USB 3.0 (Need for speed).

T hin F ilm T ransistor is a variant of liquid crystal display (LCD) which uses thin-film transistor (TFT) technology to improve image quality (e.g., addressability, contrast). TFT LCD is one type of active matrix LCD, though all LCD-screens are based on TFT active matrix addressing. Advantages of TFT displays over traditional CRT monitors: There is much less glare from a TFT monitor. During testing in the Arts IT office we were able to have the blinds open and still read the screen, something impossible with CRT displays. The monitor is less bul y. This has a couple of advantages, firstly it gives you more des space, but secondly because of this you can position the monitor further away from you which we have found more comfortable for the eyes. TFT monitors produce less heat and radiation that CRT monitors. TFT monitors have a very crisp image only comparable to very expensive CRT monitors. The monitor (so long as it is VESA compliant) can be mounted on an arm or on the wall to save even more des space. Disadvantages of TFT displays: If you are wor ing with graphics, although the graphics are very clear, due to the limited angle at which you can view the display colours may appear slightly different on non-TFT screens. Web authors beware. Cost. A 15" TFT monitors costs approx 5 0+vat for an unbranded/cheap model. A 17" CRT monitor costs approx 1 0 +vat. TFT monitors have a limited angle of view. This is the angle at which you can clearly view the screen. If you are loo ing directly at the screen while wor ing on your PC this is fine, but if others are trying to read it then they may have difficulty (try loo ing at a laptop screen from a 5 degree angle). You may experience some blurring on lower end models when there is movement on the screen. This is most prominent in full screen games where you get a motion blur effect but is also noticeable when scrolling through documents or websites.
I F F G H F F F F F

TFT vs CRT monitor comparison

February 2, 2008 - 11:30 webmaster

Quite a lot of our customers these days go for TFT monitors when they buy their computers. Most buy their TFTs because they look better than CRT monitors and because the price differentials are much lower than what they used to be. We try our best to convey to our customers the differences between CRTs and TFTs and the specific scenarios when one is better than the other. Some times we get through and some times we don't. Here we would like to bring out the differences between the two types of monitors and their pros and cons. Traditionally all computer monitors used to be CRT monitors which are quite similar to the CRT televisions we have in our homes. LCD monitors were only used with laptops as the price differences were quite high. However as technology advanced and the price differences between CRTs and TFTs came down it became viable to sell computers with TFT (or LCD) monitors. The display device in a CRT monitor is a cathode ray tube which is inherently bulky and power -thirsty whereas the display device in a TFT monitor is a flat array of Thin Film Transistors which makes the TFT monitors much smaller in size and also less power consuming. The major differences between the two are 1) CRT monitors are bulky and consume a lot of table space where as TFT m onitors are thin and occupy less space. 2) TFT monitors are more easy on the eyes of the viewer than CRT monitors. 3) CRT monitors have much much faster response times than TFT monitors. Response time is the time interval taken by a pixel on the screen to transit from the on state to the off state or reverse. 4) TFT monitors consume less power than CRT monitors. A typical 15" CRT monitor consumes about 100W of power whereas a corresponding TFT monitor would only consume 30W of power. 5) TFT monitors looks more elegant than CRT monitors. 6) CRT monitors tend to have much better color responses than TFT monitors. In other words CRT monitors display colors much better than TFT monitors. Based on the above differences we can easily make certain deductions about the scenario's where each of these types of monitors are ideal. 1) You save 70W when you use a 15" TFT monitor instead of a 15" CRT monitor. This would translate to around 1 unit of electricity every 14 hours of usage. So depending on your usage patter you can see how long it would take to break even on the cost differential through energy savings. Say 1 Unit of energy costs 8 Rupees (approx 20 cen ts) and the cost differential is Rs 4000 (approx 100$) and you use your monitor for 10 hours every day, you will break even in around 700 working days. The equation used is simple; No of days for breaking even = ((Cost Differential/Cost per unit)*14)/(Hours used per day). Based on your usage pattern and your budget you can use the above data to make an educated decision.

2) If you are a graphics artist and you require close to realistic representation of colors you will have to go for a CRT monitor irrespective of any other factors. 3) If you are a gamer then depending on the type of games you play you will have to choose between CRT and TFT monitors. If you play very fast moving games then response times of the monitors comes into play and you might end up having to buy a CRT monitor to get a smooth gaming experience. If however you play more strategy games than action or racing games then depending your other usage patterns you can decide between either a TFT or a CRT. 4) If you have to move your residence frequently as part of your job and you have to have a desktop, then a TFT monitor would make more sense. It should be noted that a laptop would make even more sense in such cases. 5) If you are running a software development center it might be wiser to select TFTs for your software developers and CRTs for your graphics guys. If you are running any other kind of office where your computers remain on most of the day then TFTs would pay for themselves in a few years and would be the ideal choice. 6) If you are running a retail outlet a TFT would give your POS counter a more professional look and also help you save on your electricity bills. 7) Small or restricted work areas also place a default preference of TFT monitors over CRT monitors. If you need help in deciding between a TFT monitor or a CRT monitor, do get in touch with us using the comments form below and we will try to help you in making your decision.

Q: What is a TFT? A: Short for Thin Film Transistor, a type of LCD flat-panel display screen, in which each pixel is controlled by from one to four transistors. TFT screens are sometimes called active-matrix LCDs.

Q: What are the benefits of a TFT display? A: A TFT LCD display delivers crisp text, vibrant color and an improved response time for visual applications at the best resolution of all the flat-panel techniques, but it is also the most expensive.

Q: What sets the TFT apart for other LCDs? A: TFT displays use a separate tiny transistor for each pixel on the display. Because each transistor is so small, the amount of charge needed to control it is also small. This allows for very fast re-drawing of the display, as the image is re-painted or refreshed several times per second.

Q: What are the differences between TFT and Color STN? A: TFT displays utilize active matrix technology and feature transistors on every pixel. Color STN (CSTN) is a passive matrix graphic LCD with a color filter. It only has one transistor per each pixel row and column and features a lower refresh rate than TFTs.

Q: What size TFTs does Microtips currently offer? A: We currently offer a 2.4, 2.8, 3.5, 4.3, 5.7 and 7.0 TFT.

Q: How do I interface with a TFT? A: 1st Pick a microprocessor with a built-in TFT controller (this will tell you which interface type to use) 2nd Determine which TFT size and interface type required 3rd Determine how the pins on the TFT should best connect to the corresponding pins on the your microprocessor 4th Connect the FFC from the TFT to a mating connector mounted on your board which is assigned to the TFT interface of the microprocessor 5th Write initialization code and software through your microprocessor to the TFT

Q: How does Microtips handle a fluctuating TFT supply chain? A: Microtips utilizes strategic partnerships with our supply chain and focuses on standard TFT sizes (3.5, 5.7, and 7.0).

Q: Who drives the TFT market? A: The small TFT displays below 3.5 are typically driven by the large volume cell phone manufacturers in Asia. That being said the supply chain for TFT displays below 3.5 can be more volatile than the 3.5 and above sizes. The digital photo frame industry has also begun to affect the availability of the 7.0 and 5.7 sizes.