Display technology such as LCD and other emerging ones came as a result of consistent research and experiments spanning several years to come up with what we have today. To remain relevant and maintain the competitive status in the market, manufacturers and other stakeholders are always engaging various enhancement methods for a better product.

In this article, a look at some of the experiments and researches into the application of LCD will be examined.

Liquid crystals have been discovered over a century now.

New Twists And Bends In LCD Research

Liquid crystals have been discovered over a century now. The structure of liquid crystal is still a misery and scientists are working frantically to unravel the mystery behind this substance that has changed display technology over the years. The latest discovery is the twist-bends that makes up the structure of liquid crystals.

Liquid crystals are in a state between solid and liquid but the molecules are in crystal like form. When viewed under the microscope, many different configurations of the crystals can be seen which includes a twist-bend molecular structure. This discovery which came in 2013 has opened up more room for further research.

By using an X-ray technique built in the U.S.A Department of Energy (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), the research team discovered the first measurement to confirm a firmly twisted spiral molecule formation that can be what is required to reveal the mystery behind the liquid crystal and to further improve on LCD display technology performance like the speed of switching between on and off. 

In the experiment, five LCD monitors were used.

Suitability Of Modern LCDs For Vision Research

In the experiment, five LCD monitors were used. Their spatial and temporal luminance characteristics were measured to find out if they can be used in place of cathode ray tube monitors. In the spatial test, the authors measured how luminance is changed across spatial position, repeated measurements, spatial context and viewing angle.

In the temporal test, the authors looked at how reliable the monitors can bring about luminance changes across successive frames. The temporal and spatial measurements are the already existing limitations of conventional LCDs and CRT monitors. But from the experiment, it shows that a few high-end gaming monitors were able to meet the temporal requirements of vision research and currently available monitors can be used in place of CRTs in experiments in the laboratory.

Liquid crystal display has brought a display type that will for long remain important display style.The future is still bright for the technology as more and more revelations are discovered on the usefulness of the crystal.

As smartphone screen size demand continues to favor larger designs, the display technology is equally another competition in the smartphone screen market. The rivalry between LCD screens and the new OLED screens is always in the news.

LCD display has always been with us and has offered great efficiency in the screen display technology.

 

The OLED Display And LCD Technology

Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Organic Light-emitting Diode (OLED) display technologies are two strong competitors in the smartphone screen market. While LCD technology creates its images via a backlight that sends light via many layers of filters, OLED displays do not require the backlight mechanism. It is a much simpler and thinner display. Pixels are used to emit the green, red and blue color filters required for an image. OLED is a newer technology with much flexibility, durability and presents some unique features. The image retention feature of the OLED is the downside to this new technology and why it is not suitable for TVs.

LCD has however added innovation to its design by incorporating the great features flexibility and simplicity which OLED boasts of in some of its new production plans by manufacturers such as Samsung and Japan Display.

LG In The Market

LG Display, Apple’s smartphone screen supplier, in 2015 announced they will be spending about $8.4 billion on future display technology including flexible displays, OLED, and high-end LCD screens.

The CEO of LG Display sees the Chinese companies catching up with South Korean dominated LCD market not too long from now.

By 2020, the hope is having a 27% of the total LCD manufacture, rising from its 16% production capacity as stated by LG Display.

Sharp Hoping To Turn Things Around

Sharp, a major manufacturer of LCD screens has not been active in the market after losses recorded in the previous years before 2017. With a rebranding upcoming, Sharp has declared to pull away from LCD TV screen production of Japan in 2018.

Sharp hopes to go with the latest trend to prelaunch itself back into the display technology market.

The Japan display’s Loss Due To Competition In The Smartphone Screen

Japan Display, a top LCD smartphone screen maker made up of top electronic giants like Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi recently announced a cut in their workforce by 30%. The obvious reason is the 31.5 billion yen loss incurred in the last business quarter of April to June 2017. The impact of the competition from top companies like Samsung, LG, and Sharp is no doubt something to take seriously in the screen manufacturing market.

OLED screen is the new baby in the smart screen market. Japan Display failed to enter this market early enough allowing the likes of Samsung and LG to dominate with major big contract signing with Apple.

The New Technology In OLED Display And The Market Prospects

OLED screen is thinner and lighter compared to other display technologies. You can bend and fold it, giving it that flexibility feature and it is more durable.

LG Display is focused on manufacturing large screen OLED screens for TVs and LCDs for smaller screens like in smartphones. Samsung leads in the manufacture of OLED screens while the likes of LG are playing the catch-up. Samsung is at the forefront of dominance in the use of OLED screen for smartphones. It started in this line with its Galaxy smartphones. It has gone a step further in adopting curved OLED screens in Galaxy Edge groups of smartphones.

LG Display plans to get into mass production of flexible display from 2018 with about $1.8 billion investment into the flexible display in the coming year. A large screen size of the 5.7-inch dimension is the focus.

The company hopes to have 3 million handsets/month production capacity of flexible screens.