 Deployment of Monochrome "Vistarich" |
| . |
. |
In addition to the color "Vistarich" deployed
for mobile equipment and car navigation
equipment, we are also actively developing
monochrome "Vistarich". This monochrome
"Vistarich" is being increasingly deployed
in automotive applications, and is used
in the cluster (the area that includes the
speedometer and tachometer) where it
displays large amounts of information about
the car's state (such as the current gear)
and simplified navigation information while minimizing the driver's need to change
where he/she looks.
Since automotive applications are expected
to be used in a wide range of environments
worldwide, from places with temperatures
below −20°C
to desert regions with
temperatures over 50°C, reliability and
specifications over a wide temperature
range is strongly desired. While STN (super
twisted nematic)*3 LCD displays have been
the mainstream in monochrome displays
until now, their contrast, crosstalk, narrow
viewing angles, and low-temperature
response characteristics have been
major problems. SMD has achieved wide
viewing angles by adopting the "Vistarich"
technology, has achieved strong blacks
with that technology's high contrast, and
has achieved significant improvement in
response speed at lower temperatures.
Thus "Vistarich" is achieving radical
improvements in display legibility.
SMD is moving forward with sales
promotion aimed at persuading customers
to use monochrome "Vistarich" in place of
monochrome STN with and then deploying
this technology in applications other than
automotive ones.
*3 STN is a liquid crystal structure that
increases contrast by twisting the liquid
crystal molecule orientation more than in
TN LCDs, i.e 180° to 270°. It is used in
comparatively simple displays.
|
|
| 3D Displays and Double-Screen Displays |
| . |
. |
Recently, 3D video has become increasingly
popular, both in movies and on TV. While 3D
video is experienced on TV and in movies
by wearing special 3D glasses, SMD is
working on the development of a naked eye
(direct viewing) 3D display for automotive
applications for small and medium size
displays. This 3D display is based on the
combination of LCD and parallax barrier
technologies shown in figure 7. Increasing
the number of viewpoints and the barrier
structure will be critical elements in the
future to achieve high picture quality 3D
video. While the legibility of 3D display
is improved by increasing the number
of viewpoints, this also reduces display
brightness. Thus it will be necessary to
select the number of viewpoints according
to the application in which the display will
be used.
There are two structures used for the
parallax barrier, which is the other important
element in a 3D display. Whereas in the
stripe structure the resolution is degraded
by 1/2 only the horizontal direction, in the
step structure, the degradation is distributed
evenly and is 1/√2 in both the horizontal
and vertical direction. The human eye is
said to be extremely sensitive to resolution
in the horizontal direction, but is also said
to be, inversely, relatively insensitive to
degradation in the vertical direction. Still, the
step structure can achieve 3D video in which
image degradation is relatively suppressed.
SMD is actively developing displays for
mass production with optimal numbers of
viewpoints and barriers to match various
applications, such as portable information
terminals and portable AV players.
It is also possible to implement double-screen
display using a similar structure to
that of 3D displays and mass production
has already begun for use in car navigation
systems.
In these double-screen displays, the step
structure, which holds to a minimum the
degradation in resolution due to the image
separation of the parallax barrier in the
same manner as in 3D displays, is used. In
combination with backlight improvements,
SMD is making it possible to display optimal
images to the left and right, for example
such a display can show a navigation screen
to the driver and a DVD or other video to
the passenger.
|
|
 Capacitive Touch Panels |
See
all articles with figures and tables.  |
 |
Vol.61 |
|
