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LCD Backlight |
| Date Added: April 13, 2009 10:19:07 AM |
| LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY 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. Each pixel of an LCD typically consists of a layer of molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes, and two polarizing filters, the axes of transmission of which are (in most of the cases) perpendicular to each other. With no liquid crystal between the polarizing filters, light passing through the first filter would be blocked by the second (crossed) polarizer. The surface of the electrodes that are in contact with the liquid crystal material are treated so as to align the liquid crystal molecules in a particular direction. This treatment typically consists of a thin polymer layer that is unidirectionally rubbed using, for example, a cloth. The direction of the liquid crystal alignment is then defined by the direction of rubbing. Electrodes are made of a transparent conductor called Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). Before applying an electric field, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is determined by the alignment at the surfaces. In a twisted nematic device (still the most common liquid crystal device), the surface alignment directions at the two electrodes are perpendicular to each other, and so the molecules arrange themselves in a helical structure, or twist. Because the liquid crystal material is birefringent, light passing through one polarizing filter is rotated by the liquid crystal helix as it passes through the liquid crystal layer, allowing it to pass through the second polarized filter. Half of the incident light is absorbed by the first polarizing filter, but otherwise the entire assembly is reasonably transparent. LCD with top polarizer removed from device and placed on top, such that the top and bottom polarizers are crossed. When a voltage is applied across the electrodes, a torque acts to align the liquid crystal molecules parallel to the electric field, distorting the helical structure (this is resisted by elastic forces since the molecules are constrained at the surfaces). This reduces the rotation of the polarization of the incident light, and the device appears grey. If the applied voltage is large enough, the liquid crystal molecules in the center of the layer are almost completely untwisted and the polarization of the incident light is not rotated as it passes through the liquid crystal layer. This light will then be mainly polarized perpendicular to the second filter, and thus be blocked and the pixel will appear black. By controlling the voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer in each pixel, light can be allowed to pass through in varying amounts thus constituting different levels of gray. Deepakshi LCD Display More microcontroller devices are using 'smart LCD' displays to output visual information. The following discussion covers the connection of a deepakshi LCD display to a PIC microcontroller. LCD displays designed around HD44780 module, are inexpensive, easy to use, and it is even possible to produce a readout using the 8 x 80 pixels of the display. Deepakshi LCD displays have a standard ASCII set of characters plus Japanese, Greek and mathematical symbols. For a 8-bit data bus, the display requires a +5V supply plus 11 I/O lines. For a 4-bit data bus it only requires the supply lines plus seven extra lines. When the LCD display is not enabled, data lines are tri-state which means they are in a state of high impendence (as though they are disconnected) and this means they do not interfere with the operation of the microcontroller when the display is not being The LCD also requires 3 "control" lines from the microcontroller. Enable (E) This line allows access to the display through R/W and RS lines. When this line is low, the LCD is disabled and ignores signals from R/W and RS. When (E) line is high, the LCD checks the state of the two control lines and responds accordingly. Read/Write (R/W) This line determines the direction of data between the LCD and microcontroller. When it is low, data is written to the LCD. When it is high, data is read from the LCD. Register select (RS) With the help of this line, the LCD interprets the type of data on data lines. When it is low, an instruction is being written to the LCD. When it is high, a character is being written to the LCD. |
