Options Available For Backlights Used In LCD Screen Displays

Choosing a backlight system for LCD screen displays is a major consideration. It will determine a lot about your experience of the display and requirements during production. Different backlight options provide widely different effects in the contrast and brightness of the display. Also, depending on which backlight option you choose, it will affect some or all of the following: the cost of the overall product; how many products you will have to order due to manufact

uring constraints; and how environmentally friendly the component parts are that make up the product.

Let’s Start With Some Clarity About LCDs

The word LCD has been used to describe many display technologies. Often people believe that LCD screen displays are the same as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), an LED Display (Light Emitting Diode) or a Plasma display. This is not the case! Let’s discuss what an LCD is and what it is not.

What are LCD screen displays?

A liquid crystal display, an LCD, consists of two pieces of glass with a liquid between the layers of glass.

Think of the liquid crystal display (LCD) as a window blind. Positioned in one direction the blinds allow light to pass through, or turned another direction they block the light. Just like a window blind, the LCD does not create its own light, it only blocks or allows it to pass through.

As you know, you can adjust the blinds to alter the amount of light desired. When fully closed, the blinds block light completely; when open, all light passes through; and when angled, partial light comes in. An LCD works similarly to this, with one significant enhancement: an LCD has the ability to block light in some areas and allow light to pass in other locations of the glass. An example of this is the display used on a gas pump. The customer sees numbers where the light is blocked, and a clear area where the light is allowed to pass through.

What LCD Screen Displays are not:

LCD’s are not CRT’s, LED’s, nor are they Plasma displays. Each of these types of displays produces their own light and are called emissive displays. Emissive displays require more power than an LCD.

Emissive displays have a distinct advantage in that they can be seen clearly at night whereas LCD’s cannot. However, the solution to this problem of low-light visibility is to install a backlight behind the LCD. Backlights do require more power than the LCD itself, but they can be turned on only when necessary. Many products that are powered by batteries will have the backlight dim or shut off after a certain amount of time. This can be seen on cell phones and watches. Consequently, even though a little more power is used for the backlight than used in a stand-alone LCD, because it is not constantly on, the LCD’s with backlights wind up using less power than their emissive display competitors. LCD screen displays using backlights become the clear choice.

LCD Screen Displays with no Backlight

This option is the most popular for products that have a lower power budget. Products that run on battery need to conserve power and the lowest powered backlight available is to have no backlight at all.

The Amazon Kindle is a perfect example. The Kindle makes use of a display technology called ‘e-paper’, which looks more like a printed page than any other device on the market currently. This specific e-book reader does not contain a backlight. Because it omits the backlight it can operate up to one month without recharging. Imagine, you could take it on a cruise to Fiji and back and never have to worry about recharging it!

Thinking back to your product, not all products can omit a backlight; in fact it may require one. If it does need a backlight the most popular option is an LED.

LCD screen displays with LED backlight

A light emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor that produces light when current is passed through the device. Light is created from the energy conversion that takes place in the LED die. The advantages of an LED are:

LED lights are much more rugged and can handle shock much better than other types of lights.
LED’s can be dimmed.
LED’s operate between 3 to 32 volts and 20 to 150 mA (or milliamp).
LED’s continue to operate at a wide range of temperatures. As low as -40C and as high as +80C.
LED’s require DC (direct current) and eliminate the need for an inverter.

LED backlights are made up of an array of LED’s. They come in a variety of colors including red, green, yellow, amber, blue, white and R/G/B (Red/Green/Blue). From the R/G/B trio any color in the rainbow can be made.

The majority of the LED backlight colors will operate with a half-life of 50K to 70K hours. (Remember, half-life is when the light will be half as bright as when it was first turned on. This is not when the LED will burn out.) Blue and white LED’s do have a shorter half-life than other colors. Presently, they are rated at 30K hours. That means that if you turned them on today and left them on, in 3.4 years they would be half as bright as they are today! One thing to take into account is that as technology improves, the lifetime of the LED’s will become longer, which will also increase the half-life. Below is a photo of a blue LED backlight.

To make LED’s display correctly, they are placed behind the LCD screen display in an array pattern. The challenge is that LED’s, similar to a light bulb, project a beam of light which can show spots of light. These spots are called hot spots. This can be an issue with LED’s since they will make the display look like it has polka dots. Below is a photo of a LED behind the LCD glass. This problem will be solved with the use of a diffuser.

LCD Screen Displays with LED Backlight Require a Diffuser.

A diffuser is like a lamp shade and is placed between the glass and the LED’s. The goal is to disperse the light or make it more even. Below is a photo of a diffuser. At the bottom of the diffuser you will see the LED’s. This is where you can see hot spots. But as the light travels further into the diffuser, the light becomes more even. The diffuser solves the issue with hot spots and makes LED’s a very attractive option.

LCD Screen Displays with EL Backlight

One of the more common examples of an EL backlight can be seen with the Timex corporation’s version of EL technology called Indiglo.

EL (Electro Luminescent) backlights, also known as ELP’s (Electroluminescence Panel), have been used as a backlight for LCD’s for several years. They are available in a range of colors with white being the most popular. EL technology makes use of colored phosphors to generate light. They require AC (alternating current) rating of 100VAC @ 400Hz.

EL technology has two main advantages:

EL backlights are very thin, roughly the thickness of a credit card.
EL backlights have a very even flow. They provide an even light across the entire display. There are no hot spots and no need for a diffuser.

Both of the above advantages allow the display to be very thin and fit into small and confined areas like watches or the displays in your dashboard.

In the last three to four years, EL backlights have decreased in popularity. There are several reasons for this drop in popularity.

The EL backlight requires an inverter to convert DC to AC. The cost of the inverter increases the cost of the overall LCD Display.
The half-life of an EL is an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 hours. (Once again, half-life is when the backlight is half as bright as when it was first turned on.)
The display generates electrical noise. This noise can cause interference with other circuitry that is within a close range.

LCD screen display manufacturers now require an MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) of no less than 500 displays for orders that include EL backlights. This MOQ number is likely to increase in the future as this type of backlight becomes less popular. Additionally, as the demand drops the price will naturally increase.

LCD Screen Displays with CCFL Backlight

A Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) is similar to the long fluorescent light bulbs you see in the ceilings of offices. Below are photos of various types.

This technology has been in use for many years, but in the last few years the popularity of this type of backlight has decreased. There are a few reasons why this is so.

Similar to EL backlights, this technology operates on AC.
The CCFL backlight requires an inverter to convert DC to AC. The cost of the inverter increases the cost of the overall LCD Display.
They require a diffuser to be installed between the CCFL tube and the glass.
The display generates electrical noise. This noise can cause interference with other circuitry that is within a close range.
CCFL backlights contain mercury, which is not environment friendly.
They do not handle shock very well. They are known to shatter.

The majority of LCD screen display manufacturers no longer offer CCFL as an option. There are too many negatives and not enough positives to their use. The suppliers that do offer this now require a very high MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity).

When choosing the type of backlight for your LCD screen displays it is important to keep in mind MOQ’s and future availability. Make sure you are choosing a technology with a future so that your product has one too!