LCD Full Form - Liquid Crystal Display

When it comes to the display types and the quality, the term ‘LCD’ is used extensively. LCD is mainly used in the screen of electronic devices. Although most people are using LCD in different devices, they do not actually know the full form of LCD.


In this article, we have briefly covered the most important topics about LCD, such as the full form of LCD, what is LCD, its history, construction, working process, and more. 

What You Will Learn


What is the full form of LCD?

LCD is an abbreviation used for 'Liquid Crystal Display'. It is a flat panel display technology mainly used on laptops, computer monitors, and televisions. However, nowadays smartphones are also using this technology to produce better images and quality. The LCD looks completely different from the older heavy CRT monitor and is now the most widely used screen in modern days.

LCD Full Form

The full form of LCD can be explained as:

L Liquid
C Crystal
D Display

Let’s talk about what LCD is:

What is LCD?

By definition, an LCD is a thin, flat panel display or an optical video display that features a light modulating property of a liquid crystal. The properties of a liquid crystal change when an electric field is applied to them. The main function of the LCD is to display images on various electronic devices. LCDs are designed in such a way that they can produce both, arbitrary images and fixed images.

Arbitrary images are images displayed in general-purpose computers, laptops, etc. Besides, fixed images are used in digital clocks, calculators, and many other devices. Due to its excellent power efficiency, LCDs are suitable for battery-powered devices and equipment. 


A Brief History of LCD

In 1964, LCDs were introduced for the first time by 'George Heilmeier', an electrical engineer at RCA Laboratories. Before the manufacture of LCDs, liquid crystals were discovered in 1888 by an Austrian botanist, ‘Friedrich Reinitzer’. At that time, liquid crystal was a part of the research and experimental work. Later in 1936, it was first practically used as a liquid crystal light valve in wireless telegraphy.

As technology continues to evolve, a researcher named 'Richard Williams' worked with a liquid crystal material and applied different voltages to it. This eventually produced many patterns in a thin layer of liquid crystal. This was referred to as the 'electro-optical' effect. After many continuous experiments, the LCD was made in the year 1964.

Note: The first modern LCD using a passive grid technology was built in 1972 by the owner of the International Liquid Crystal Company (ILIXCO).

Construction of LCD

LCD is a combination of two phases, made up of liquid and solid matters. The solid element used here is referred to as 'crystal' and when it is combined with the liquid, it helps in producing better and clear pictures. Aside from this, there are two different layers in LCDs, which include two polarized filters and the electrodes. The backlight is placed behind the screen panel.

Also, there are mainly two kinds of pixel grids in LCD, namely 'active-matrix grid' and the 'passive matrix grid'. Active Matrix Grid is usually implemented in modern devices, such as smartphones, tablets, etc. On the other side, Passive Matrix Grid is an older technology and used in older devices. 


How does LCD work?

LCDs usually operate by blocking the light-beam instead of just releasing the lights. It works on the principle of liquid crystal color emission. According to that, the light is polarized and the liquid crystal is twisted by applying the electrical voltage to it. By doing this, the polarized light gets blocked when there is no electric current. Besides, when the electric current is applied to it, the light gets activated and reflects toward the audience. This helps generate millions of pixels required for producing the picture.

Devices Using LCD

LCD is used across a range of devices. Some of the most common devices using the LCD are listed below:

Televisions
Laptops
Computer Monitors
Smartphones
Tablets
Calculators
Digital Clocks
Smartwatches
Gaming Devices

Advantages of LCD

Some essential advantages of LCD are listed below:

LCD is thinner, light-weight, and flexible to move from one place to another. 

LCD consumes very little power, which makes it energy efficient. 

LCD produces better quality pictures with excellent brightness, contrast, and resolutions. Also, it provides perfect sharpness and zero geometric distortion at the native resolution. 

LCD produces very little radiation as compared to general CRT monitors, which makes it environment-friendly. 

LCD can be coupled with CMOS integrated circuits boards so that LCD is comparatively easy to make when compared with the old CRT screens.


Disadvantages of LCD

Some essential disadvantages of LCD are listed below:

LCD requires an additional light source for lighting the pixels, which means if the light source is gone then there will be no image on the screen.

LCD has a limited wide viewing angle support, which is comparatively less than general CRT displays. That means if we try to watch the screen at wider angles, then the color of the picture will not look properly.

LCD does not produce truer black levels because individual liquid crystals cannot obstruct all the backlight passing through it.

LCD has a low response time, which causes motion blur issues when moving objects are displaying on the screen.

LCD comes with a fixed aspect ratio and resolution.

Summary

LCD (stands for ‘Liquid Crystal Display’) is a widely used flat panel display. It has replaced the old CRT monitors and is now coming with most devices, such as laptops, computers, smartphones, smartwatches, digital clocks, and more.  




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