Transflective LCDs
Blaze Display Technology Co., Ltd. | Updated: Nov 27, 2018
For many years now, TFT displays have been the dominating technology in visualization. With more and more screens being used outdoors and in portable applications, sunlight readability has become a critical factor in the display market. Many LCD manufacturers address this issue through increasing the display’s backlight luminance. Although this works well for many applications, it also increases power consumption and the bulkiness of the display. This is not an ideal solution for some portable or small-size applications, so transflective displays have improved readability in any lighting condition without increasing power consumption or bulkiness. “transmissive” and “reflective” modes work together for enhanced performance. In darker environments, the “transmissive” mode is dominant with emissions from the display’s backlight. In bright environments, the “reflective” mode of the display is more dominant through reflectance from the internal mirror structure instead of the module backlight; thereby, saving on battery life in mobile terminals and handsets. In order to achieve satisfactory picture performance in reflective mode, the front surface reflection must be suppressed. The front polarizer needs to be coated with an anti-reflective or an anti-glare layer.
BLAZE combines the sunlight readability with its wide viewing angle technology, Amplified Intrinsic Fringe-Field (AIFF), which is a variation of Multi-Vertical-Alignment (MVA). The result is stunning viewing angles of typically 80 degrees into all four directions and under all environmental light conditions. The contrast ratio in reflective mode is still 30:1 versus 300:1 in “transmissive” mode. Color gamut is specified with 60% coverage of the NTSC triangle and the liquid crystal’s response time is 30 ms from black to black.
Transflective TFT display modules can be manufactured in a wide range of sizes. However, the more complex structure of transflective displays increases the manufacturing costs. BLAZE focuses its efforts in transflective displays on portable applications, currently up to 4.3 inches with resolutions in the 230ppi range. The operating temperature range is designed at -30 to +80 degrees Celsius. Storage temperature is even larger from -40 to +90 Celsius so that the product easily complies with outdoor and industrial requirements. 2”, 3.5” and 4.3” are pre-tooled. Other sizes are available as custom designs.
Target applications for these devices – to name a few – include mobile payment terminals, credit card readers, portable measuring devices, navigation and diagnostic systems, outdoor recreational products, medical products, and high-end appliances.
