Seoul, Korea – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world’s largest provider of
thin-film transistor, liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels announced
today that it has created the first LCD panel that can produce
independent images on each side of a mobile LCD display. Samsung’s new
double-sided LCD can show two entirely different pictures or sets of
visual data simultaneously on the front and back of the same screen.
Other conventional double-sided LCDs can only show a reverse image of
the same video data.

Executive Vice President Yun Jin-hyuk, in charge of the Mobile Display
Division of the Samsung Electronics LCD Business, says, “Our new
double-sided mobile display underscores Samsung’s commitment to equip
our customers with advanced display technology that accelerates the
trend toward slimmer mobile products. We anticipate high demand when we
commence mass production in the first half of 2007.”

The
breakthrough LCD product makes use of Samsung’s new double-gate,
thin-film transistor (TFT) architecture. TFT gates are electronic
components that convert the necessary voltage at the pixel level, which
controls the liquid crystal alignment needed to reproduce on-screen
images. Samsung’s new double-sided LCD has two gates that operate each
pixel instead of one, so the screen on the front can display different
images than the one on the back. The double-sided display makes use of
Samsung’s proprietary Amorphous Silicon Gate (ASG) technology, which
accommodates the increased number of TFT gates without increasing the
size of the driver integrated circuits. Driver-ICs typically increase
in size when more TFT gates are used.

The new Samsung
mobile display requires only one backlight, while competitive
double-screen LCDs require two. One side of the panel operates in a
transmissive mode, while the other operates in a reflective mode. By
using a unique reflective design that utilizes the light trapped in the
opposing screen’s transmissive mode, the reflective mode does not
solely rely on external light sources such as the sun.

The
double-sided, dual image LCD’s efficient use of light to display images
in both transmissive and reflective modes promotes slimmer, more
cost-effective products.

The new double-sided LCD is
2.6mm thick and 2.22″ wide, with QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) resolution, and
has brightness values of 250 nits for the front and 100 nits for the
rear display. It will be exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show,
which opens in Las Vegas on January 8.

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor,
telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies
with 2005 parent company sales of US$56.7 billion and net income of
US$7.5 billion. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 120
offices in 57 countries, the company consists of five main business
units: Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD
Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network
Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands,
Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips,
mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information,

visit www.samsung.com

[ Main Specifications ]

		Main Screen		Second-screen
Display size		2.22″		2.22″
Resolution		qVGA (240 x 320)		qVGA (240 x 320)
Mode		a-Si		a-Si
Display type		transmissive		reflective
Brightness		250 nit		100 nit
Colors		265K		265K
Color saturation		60%		10%
Module thickness		2.6mm

[ Reference Data ]

– 1 pixel, 2 transistors

A pixel design that allows separate control of the liquid crystal on
the transmissive and reflective sides, enabling both sides to display
separately.

– Double gates

The
gate is a transistor element to which voltage is applied to turn on or
off the circuit that provides the signal needed to drive the LCD.
Normally, one circuit is needed for every pixel to make a single screen
function, but Samsung’s new double-screen LCD has two gates to control
each pixel, a necessary condition for allowing the same pixel to be
used for two different screens.

– Resolution formats for small and mid-sized LCDs

qqVGA: 128 pixels horizontal by 160 rows vertical

qCIF: 176 pixels horizontal by 220 rows vertical

qVGA: 240 pixels horizontal by 320 rows vertical

qSVGA: 300 pixels horizontal by 400 rows vertical
VGA: 480 pixels horizontal by 640 rows vertical

– Amorphous silicon (a-Si)
Non-crystalline form of silicon

– Transmissive mode
Transmissive mode uses a backlight through the liquid crystal cells to display the images to the viewer.

– Reflective mode
Reflective mode uses external light such as the sun to display the images to the viewer.

– Nit
An abbreviation for the measure of brightness, also referred to as “candela per square meter” or cd/m2.

 

:: Design World ::

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Filed Under: Semiconductor

 

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