What is LCD?

LCD is the abbreviation of Liquid Crystal Display. It’s a new display technology making use of the optical-electrical characteristic of liquid crystal.

Liquid crystal is a state of substance that has both the characteristics of liquid and solid crystal. It don’t emit light itself, but it can let the light pass perfectly in specific direction. Meanwhile, liquid crystal molecule will rotate under the influence of a electric field, and then the light goes through it will rotate too. That is said, liquid crystal can be a switch of light, which is the key in display technology.

Types of LCD

LCD has been developed for decades. Basically there are TN LCD, STN LCD and TFT LCD.

TN LCD: TN is for Twisted Nematic. It’s a old and simple technology that can only display white and black, used in small stuffs like calculator.

STN LCD: STN is for Super-twisted Nematic. The liquid crystal in STN LCD rotate more angles than that in TN LCD, and have a different electrical feature, allowing STN LCD to display more information. There are many improved version of STN LCD like DSTN LCD (double layer) and CSTN LCD (color). This LCD is used in many early phones, computers and outdoor devices.

TFT LCD: TFT is for Thin Film Transistor. It’s the latest generation of LCD technology and has been applied in all the displaying scenario including electronic devices, motor cars, industrial machines, etc. When you see the word ‘transistor’, you may realize there’s integrated circuits in TFT LCD. That’s correct and the secret that TFT LCD has the advantage of high resolution and full color display.