Liquid Crystal Display Invented 40 Years Ago
Click here to get more.
In May , electrical engineer George Heilmeier and his team of scientists revealed the liquid crystal display to the public. The technology that is seen on computers, alarm clocks and the digital screens of microwaves is ubiquitous. Host Andrea Seabrook speaks with Heilmeier about his eureka moment and what's so great about an LCD screen.
ANDREA SEABROOK, host:
Back in the 60s families would gather in their living rooms around those massive TV sets. There were three networks and TV was called the tube because the screen was lit by a huge cathode ray tube. Then in a sleek new invention was revealed - we now see it every day on our cell phones, our iPods, even those impossibly skinny TVs bolted to living room walls.
It's the LCD screen. Forty years ago it was truly Science out of the Box.
(Soundbite of music)
SEABROOK: The guy behind the LCD screen, meet George Heilmeier. Mr. Heilmeier, happy anniversary.
Mr. GEORGE HEILMEIER (Creator, LCD Screen): Well, thank you very much, Andrea.
SEABROOK: Tell me about the eureka moment. Do you remember the first time you saw it work?
Mr. HEILMEIER: Oh sure. You don't forget things like that.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. HEILMEIER: The first time really got us excited. It was an alphanumeric display and we could display numbers from one to ten and then we essentially demonstrated that we obviously could do letters as well as numbers. And we looked at the contrast and the quality of the imagery and the like and we felt that we had something there.
SEABROOK: And what was so great about having an LCD screen?
Mr. HEILMEIER: Well, it was flat, it was simply two pieces of glass with some liquid crystal material between them. And we demonstrated that with relatively low voltages - and by relatively low I mean something in the ten-volt range -we could essentially change the imagery on the display or control the imagery on the display.
And that was quite an event because cathode ray tubes required thousands of volts.
SEABROOK: How does the LCD work as opposed to a cathode ray tube?
Mr. HEILMEIER: Well, liquid crystals, that name confuses people. In many respects they're like a liquid, that is they fill the shape of the container that they're in but on the other hand unlike other liquids, the molecules tend to align. And if you apply a voltage to them they align almost perfectly. And in that alignment process you can see visible effects of the changes and those changes that were driven by low voltages were essentially the basis upon which a display was made possible.
SEABROOK: And it doesn't need a cabinet the size of a dresser drawers.
Mr. HEILMEIER: No, it really doesn't. And it doesn't need high voltage and a lot of power. So, it really is a very, very flexible technology and you can see that by the diversity of applications that have emerged over the years.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website ORIC Electronics.
SEABROOK: Um-hum. Did you ever imagine back then, George Heilmeier, that your invention, the LCD screen, would just be everywhere a few decades later?
Mr. HEILMEIER: Well, I guess we had those dreams but&#;
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. HEILMEIER: &#;they were, from our standpoint, a decade or more away, unfortunately. The addressing circuitry, the integrated circuits that we needed to essentially display video information, took another decade before they had reached the level of sophistication that was needed.
But back in the 60s we understood pretty well that the real end game would be television.
SEABROOK: George Heilmeier led the team of scientists that introduced the liquid crystal display in May of . And when you check your watch, your iPod or watch TV tonight, think of him. Thanks for joining us, sir.
Mr. HEILMEIER: Thank you very much, Andrea.
Copyright © NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR&#;s programming is the audio record.
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.
LCD Display History
First, let&#;s explore the history of LCD displays across different time periods.
s. Surprisingly, LCD technology dates back to the late 19th century. In , liquid crystal material was discovered in Austria by chemist Friedrich Reinitzer, which was about a decade before the cathode-ray tube (CRT) was invented.
s. Fast forward nearly 100 years and we have the first industry applications of liquid crystals. In , Hoffman-LaRoche filed for a patent in Switzerland for the twisted nematic (TN) field effect in liquid crystals. The company then licensed the technology to the Swiss manufacturer Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC), which produced TN displays for wristwatches and other applications.
In , 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 .
s. After wristwatches came televisions (TVs), with the first color LCD TVs being developed as handheld TVs in Japan. In , Seiko Epson released the first LCD TV, the Epson TV Watch, a wristwatch equipped with a small active-matrix LCD TV.
Just a few years later, in , Sharp announced a 14-inch, active-matrix, full-color, full-motion TFT LCD, which led to Japan launching the LCD industry. This industry developed large-size LCDs, including TFT computer monitors and larger LCD TVs.
s. 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.
s. After 30+ years of competition, LCD technology surpassed longstanding CRTs. Namely, in , LCD TVs could claim better image quality than CRT-based TVs. Subsequently, in the fourth quarter of , worldwide sales of LCD TVs were higher than that of CRT TVs for the first time ever.
How Do LCD Displays Work?
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, &#;The Anatomy of LCD Displays,&#; but here&#;s the gist:
It accomplishes this simple task through the liquid crystal fluid, which is a fluid that&#;s rotated in a steady natural state between two pieces of glass. This rotation, when combined with front and rear polarizers, allows the light to be either transmitted through the glass or blocked. This light blocking state is changed when a voltage is applied to LC fluid which stops the light&#;s rotation.
What&#;s Happening with LCD Displays Over the Next 10 Years?
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.
Flexible Displays. Even now, you&#;re probably hearing buzz about flexible displays, which are bendable displays that are virtually shatterproof and unbreakable.
Development has been moving forward with these displays in both military and industry. Funding by the military makes sense given that flexible displays won&#;t break like traditional displays, providing for numerous field applications that require a more durable display.
In addition, there are plenty of industrial applications that would benefit from flexible displays, such as products that could use displays that wrap around objects.
3D Displays. With 3D being such a popular technology, it&#;s no surprise there&#;s activity in this space. These displays are capable of conveying depth perception to viewers, which provides for a more realistic user experience.
Specifically, 3D displays with passive glasses (or no glasses) remove the requirement for syncing up with more expensive, active, shutter-based glasses. Naturally, this will lead to cost savings.
Reel-to-Reel Manufacturing. Current manufacturing processes only allow for building one glass panel at a time. Even with great efficiencies, this process is limiting.
In contrast, reel-to-reel manufacturing enables the continuous building of glass panels. This will represent a dramatic reduction in costs, which can be passed along to the customer and allow for more competitive pricing.
Need a new supplier that understands your unique display needs and can produce custom displays that address them? Let us help. Contact us.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit custom lcd display manufacturer.