TFT, LCD, and OLED Displays: What's the Difference, and ...

What's the difference between TFT, LCD, and OLED displays? And when does it matter in product design?

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Let&#;s be (ahem) clear: TFTs, or thin film transistors, are a type of LCD. But they have unique properties that make them stand out when sourcing display modules.

LCDs, or liquid crystal displays, utilize liquid crystal molecules sandwiched between two polarizing filters. When an electric current is applied, the liquid crystals align to control the passage of light, creating images on the screen.

TFT displays on the other hand are LCDs that use thin-film transistors to control individual pixels. Each pixel consists of a liquid crystal element and a corresponding thin-film transistor, allowing for precise control of brightness and color. TFTs are usually in RGB color and are passive, so they need a backlight, often provided by LED.

OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays by contrast use organic compounds that emit light when an electric current passes through them. Unlike LCDs, OLEDs do not require a backlight, as each pixel emits its own light independently.

Comparative Advantages and Design Considerations

LCD modules - display-on-glass, chip-on-glass

Designing with LCD

LCDs are a mature technology with widespread adoption, making them cost-effective for mass production. They come in a wide variety of sizes and resolutions and are suitable for outdoor applications due to their capacity for high brightness.

Contrast ratios in LCDs may be limited compared to OLED displays, however, and viewing angles may be narrower compared to either OLED or TFT displays, especially in older LCD panels. Because backlighting is necessary, energy consumption increases, design profiles run a bit thicker, and there is potential for uneven lighting. Overall, though, they consume little energy.

LCDs can also reflect incidental light and are therefore legible even at maximum brightness, as with sunlight or surgical lighting. Compared to TFT and OLED, they have an unbeatable advantage in terms of readability and power consumption.

Sometimes LCDs consume even less than an e-paper display. In static an e-paper display operation requires absolutely no energy to maintain its content. To change content, however, a large amount of power is needed.

As a rule of thumb for HMI design, sunlight = LCD.

Designing with TFT

TFTs are known for their vivid colors, high resolution, and wide viewing angles. They have extremely fast response times and are suitable for video, with no motion blur or ghosting. TFT displays can be manufactured in larger sizes and support integration with touch functionality.

The main design considerations for TFTs involve their backlighting requirement (see above).

High-grade TFT displays for industry and medicine

Designing with OLED

OLED displays offer exceptional contrast ratios and deep blacks, as individual pixels can be turned off completely. As with TFTs, they boast wide viewing angles with consistent color accuracy.

They are also thinner and lighter than LCD and TFT displays, as no backlight is needed. Best of all, they boast exceedingly fast response times. Trise and Tfall are about 10μs, which would correspond to a theoretical refresh rate of 50,000 Hz&#;an advantage in special applications.

OLEDs technically consume less power than both, though this is dependent on the content displayed, and since the efficiency of converting electric current into light energy is still poor, the power consumption of an OLED is generally higher than a TFT of comparable size.

Note that OLEDs are not as bright as LCD or TFT displays in outdoor environments with direct sunlight. And while the technology is improving, the organic materials degrade and are susceptible to burn-in, particularly with static images displayed for extended periods. For this reason, the OLED displays used for industrial and medical applications are typically monochrome (usually yellow).

OLED displays with pins

Choosing the Right Display Module for Industrial and Medical Applications

Obviously, the popularity of a particular kind of display module in the consumer market should have little to no bearing on an engineer&#;s choice of display module for other applications and markets. What ultimately matters are one&#;s own design requirements and constraints.

Be aware of how your supplier manages quality assurance and product development, as this will be an indication of a manufacturer that you can rely on.

Between LCD, TFT, and OLED, there is no &#;best&#; solution for all applications; there are pros and cons to each. In addition to the differences outlined above, there are many more details in the design and construction that need to be individually (ahem) illuminated for each device.

or call the knowledgeable reps at ArKco Sales at (651) 777-: they are happy to compare different display options with you, based on your needs, from vetted global manufacturers.

A new form of display technology called Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) is sweeping the display world today. Let&#;s take a look at what TFT display VS OLED display and how it stacks up to TFTs.

OLED display uses a light-emitting diode (LED) that features an organic compound as its emissive electroluminescent layer. Electric current is applied to the diode, activating the organic compound film and giving off light as a result. The organic compound film is typically situated between two electrodes, one of which is transparent.

OLEDs are mostly used in smartphones and limited releases of high-end smart televisions. It can also be used in computer monitors and handheld game consoles.

Now, here&#;s a comparison of TFT display vs OLED display:

Light Emission

OLED displays naturally emit light, so using them on a display panel doesn&#;t require a backlight. Meanwhile, LCDs need backlights because the liquid crystals cannot create light on their own. OLED&#;s natural light emission also paves the way for creating lighter screen devices than those using TFT LCD display.

Brightness

LCD displays are brighter than OLED. This is due to the LCD&#;s use of backlights that can brightly light up the entire screen. While OLEDs emit good brightness levels from their light, they can never match the brightness that LCD backlights have.

Black Levels

OLED wins in the black levels feature. It&#;s because OLEDs can perfectly turn off a pixel, causing it to become completely black. LCDs can&#;t create perfect black screens even with their full-array local dimming feature. LCDs are also prone to blooming, where a bright part spoils the darkness of an adjacent black area.

Viewing Angle

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OLED screens have better viewing angles than LCDs display. Some LCDs improve their viewing angles by using in-plane switching panels (IPS). However, the clarity of images and videos can&#;t match that of OLEDs when viewed from extreme side angles. This is because LCDs inherently block light due to their filtering layers, and that creates added depth which makes LCD viewing angles limited.

Energy Consumption

LCD displays are a bit more energy-efficient than OLEDs. Energy consumption in OLED displays depends on the screen brightness. Less brightness used means lower power consumption, but this may not be ideal because the contrast ratio will suffer when brightness is reduced. This is not ideal if, for instance, you&#;re using an OLED smartphone under bright sunlight.

Meanwhile, the backlights form the bulk of power consumption in TFT displays. Putting the backlight to a lower setting significantly improves the energy efficiency of TFT displays. For instance, reducing the backlight brightness of an LCD TV with a LED backlight won&#;t affect the picture quality but will draw less power consumption than an OLED TV.

Both OLED and LCD create high-quality images with a wide color gamut on a screen. OLED display wins over TFT display regarding blackness levels and viewing angle. However, the TFT display takes the cake for brightness and energy efficiency.

AMOLED is another emerging display technology lately. It stands for Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. AMOLED is a type of OLED display used in several smartphones, digital cameras, televisions, and media players.

Active Matrix technology is utilized in AMOLED displays. This refers to how the OLEDs in the display panel are controlled and arranged.

Thin film transistors (TFTs) and capacitors are attached to each pixel LED component of the panel. At least two TFTs are attached to one pixel &#; one to control the capacitor&#;s charging and another to give a voltage source.

The voltage source allows continuous, constant current to the pixel. Hence, there is a better level of control exerted over pixels, allowing you to quickly dim or turn off and on individual pixels.

Let&#;s move on to a quick comparison of TFT display vs AMOLED display:

Color Accuracy

AMOLED displays have better color accuracy than LCDs. What makes the color more accurate in AMOLED displays is largely due to the precise pixel control achieved by AMOLED panels.

Whites and blacks appear perfect in AMOLED displays. Whites produced by LCDs may carry a bluish tint due to the backlight. Blacks don&#;t completely appear dark in LCDs, too.

Color Gamut

AMOLED provides a greater color gamut than LCDs. AMOLEDs (and all OLED displays in general) have additional blue and green saturation. While these hues greatly widen AMOLED&#;s color options, some people find the resulting colors a bit unnatural to look at.

Meanwhile, LCDs have subdued greens and quite compelling red hues. Its color gamut may not be as wide as AMOLED&#;s, but many people still find it satisfying. That&#;s because LCD&#;s color range closely matches the Standard RBG color gamut profile, the one most utilized in videos and images.

Color Balance

LCD&#;s backlights help maintain the color balance of the entire screen. The backlights ensure that color balance remains consistent across the display. Meanwhile, AMOLED tends to suffer from very slight color balance drifts because of variances in the diodes&#; light-emitting capacity over time.

Contrast Ratio

LCDs often have a lower contrast ratio and are prone to light bleeds. That&#;s due to the backlights remaining open even if light has been blocked and the pixels are supposed to show black color. This is not a problem with AMOLED displays because the panel can simply switch off the pixel to create a pure black color. AMOLEDs have a better contrast ratio as exhibited by their pure black and white levels.

Component Lifespan

AMOLED&#;s different RGB components can degrade at different rates. Hence, AMOLED may experience problems and degradation at a faster rate than LCDs.

Suitability for Mobile Devices

Since AMOLED displays do not require filtering layers and backlights, they&#;re more suited for use in handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and gaming consoles. LCD may be used in mobile devices as well, but the filtering layers and backlights tend to add a slight bulk to the device. Hence, many manufacturers are now switching to thinner and lighter AMOLED displays.

To sum up this part, AMOLED displays fare better than LCDs in terms of color gamut, accuracy, contrast, and mobile device suitability. However, LCDs have the potential for longer lifespans and carry a better color balance across the display device.

Color LCD VS Display P3

Display P3 is an Apple-developed color space heavily used in American films and digital movie projection. It allows devices to display richer, vibrant, and more lifelike colors that are demanded in videos and movies. It&#;s also created for adapting to computer displays.

Display P3 has a color space based on the DCI-P3 primaries. It uses the D65 white point which is typically used in color spaces for computer displays. Display P3 also utilizes the sRGB transfer curve in place of the DCI-P3&#;s 1/2.6 pure gamma curve.

If you compare color LCD vs Display P3, you&#;ll find a significantly wider color range in Display P3 than the typical sRGB used in color LCDs. LCD monitors, especially those used in computers and laptops, are configured to accurately represent the sRGB gamut as precisely as possible. Meanwhile, Display P3 has been consistently used in Apple products since , starting with the iMac desktop.

Display P3 is not limited to Apple devices, though. Several devices have been configured to support Display P3 as well. These include smartphones from Samsung, OnePlus, Google, and HTC. Even Windows-based laptops from Acer and Asus support Display P3 color gamut.

Conclusion

That&#;s all the basic information you need to know about LCD display screens. And the difference between TFT Display VS OLED Display. Now, you know How LCD Works, its possible lifespan, components, and how it compares to other display technologies.

Armed with this information, you can better appreciate and take care of your LCD display devices. And in case you&#;re planning to add display devices to your business, the information you&#;ve learned will help you make educated choices regarding the display technologies you&#;ll utilize.

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