14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology (TMDisplay) has started mass production of a transflective low-temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) TFT LCD panel with an 8.9-inch widescreen format for tablet or notebook PCs, reports Digitimes.
TMDisplay has developed the 8.9-inch transflective LCD panel by arranging and optimizing the optical design of the transmissive and reflective regions in the subpixel area, combining this pixel structure with a highly permeable color filter (CF). As a result, the panel "encompasses the advantages of both transmissive and reflective LCDs, realizing both high transmissivity and reflectivity", according to the company.
A thin, lightweight, high-efficiency LED backlight, when combined with this transflective panel, achieves a brightness of 200 cd/m2, which is the same as that usually achieved by combining a transmissive LCD with a conventional cold-cathode fluorescent light (CCFL) backlighting system, according to TMDisplay.
TMD said the new transflective display features excellent visibility in both bright and dark ambient lighting conditions. In a dark room, the user can turn on the LED backlight, using the display in its transmissive mode, while in bright lighting the user can turn off the backlight to use the display in its reflective mode, which reduces power consumption. A transmissive LCD with a built-in backlight unit (BLU) has an advantage in that the screen is highly legible in a dark ambient lighting. However, it has disadvantages: the power consumption is relatively high and the screen is difficult to be seen in a bright ambient lighting. On the other hand, a reflective LCD used under an external light source has different advantages: the power consumption is low and the screen is highly legible in high ambient lighting conditions. However, it, too, has a disadvantage: the screen is not legible in dark ambient lighting conditions.
The product is being exhibited at FPD International 2006 at Pacifico Yokohama, Japan, from October 18 to 20, 2006, said the company quoted by Digitimes.