Liquid-crystal display (LCD) is one of the leading display technologies powering TVs, smartphones, tablets and other devices. LCDs work by using liquid crystals to create images. As a backlight illuminates the liquid crystals in the appropriate color, it creates a visual image on the device’s display. While all LCDs use this same basic design, there are several different types of LCD technology, one of which is thin-film transistor.
The Basics of Thin-Film Transistor LCDs and How They Work
A thin-film transistor LCD is a type of LCD display that’s characterized by the use of thin-film transistor technology. Basically, it’s an active-matrix LCD in which each pixel is given its own dedicated transistor. Passive-matrix LCDs, on the other hand, have fewer transistors.
The transistors used in the construction of thin-film transistor LCDs are usually made of crystalline silicon wafers, which is the same material from which solar panels are made. The crystalline silicon wafers are deposited onto a glass substrate to create the thin-film transistor film. It’s important to note that the transistors themselves are relatively small, consuming only a fraction of the space in which a pixel is placed. The space-saving properties of these transistors allows light to pass through.
Benefits of Thin-Film Transistor LCDs
Thin-film transistor LCDs are often preferred over other types of LCDs for several reasons. First, they are typically brighter than their counterparts.
Another benefit of thin-film transistor LCDs is their faster refresh rate. Because they are designed with a single transistor for each pixel, the pixels can be activated and deactivated more quickly than with other types of LCDs, resulting in a faster refresh rate. The high refresh alone is reason enough to consider thin-film transistor over other types of LCD technologies.
In addition to a high refresh rate, thin-film transistor LCDs also provide a high color palette. Depending on the specific type, it may support up to 64 million different colors.
Furthermore, thin-film transistor LCDs are highly efficient, meaning they don’t consume a lot of energy. For businesses looking to invest in an array of LCDs, the energy-efficient properties of this technology can save them money on operating expenses. Thin-film transistor LCDs will still consume energy, but they won’t consume as much as other types of LCDs.
Thin-film transistor LCDs are also highly reliable and last a long time. It’s not uncommon for thin-film transistor LCDs to last for up to 50,000 hours — sometimes even longer.
