Reborn Tokyo Golden Age

It is basically impossible for 9 inches to be used on TVs and big-ass computers.

Because Neon's smallest TVs are all above 14 inches, 9 inches is too small compared to it.

Moreover, the current STN screen cannot achieve full color, and this palette-like blocky pseudo-color is far from reaching the visual viewing effect.

But despite this, 9 inches is almost 22 cm long and 15 cm wide.

It is still possible to use it on notebook computers, handheld microcomputers, Japanese and English typewriters, graphics processors, electronic translators and other office and communication equipment that are about to come out.

These electronic devices commonly used in daily life add up to a very broad market.

There are also some industrial equipment that also require a large number of electronic displays.

At this time, the value of STN screens appeared. It is cheap, high-sensitivity, and colorful. It will definitely be welcomed by these equipment manufacturers.

"Professor Bai Chuan, please formulate the production process of the STN screen as soon as possible. We must bring it to the market after the year."

The LCD factory of Shirakawa Electric has been in operation for a long time, and most of the processes of STN are the same as those of TN, so the production line is not a problem.

Hearing Bai Chuanfeng's request, Bai Chuan Hideki also nodded seriously, "Understood!"

He also knows that the sooner a new technology is introduced to the market, the more opportunities it can take.

Moreover, not only SIC is developing a new generation of LCD technology, but Sharp and the others are also not slow in their actions. This matter should be done sooner rather than later.

"By the way, is it possible for STN to be transformed into full-color technology in the future?" Bai Chuanfeng still misses his full-color screen.

"Technically speaking, as long as the three primary colors scattered by the color film are reconciled, theoretically, full color can be presented.

However, this requires the support of a more powerful driver IC, because in addition to circuit driving, it is also responsible for the calculation of color pixels. "

Bai Chuanfeng understood what he meant, and a driver chip with more powerful computing power needs to be developed separately.

And no doubt with the STN that comes with this chip, it will also cost more.

"However, compared to the full-color STN, we envisage a new screen technology."

Obviously, Hideki Shirakawa also knows that his boss prefers color displays, so research in this area has not stopped.

"Brand new screen technology?" Hearing the words "new technology", Bai Chuanfeng felt a little happy for no reason.

This high probability means that SIC will bring itself some unexpected surprises.

"Strictly speaking, it still belongs to the category of LCD display, but the working principle is very different from TN and STN.

Thanks to Bai Chuan-san, we discovered it when we tried to actively interfere with the twist angle of liquid crystals.

If you rearrange the liquid crystal molecules and try to control a certain pixel individually, you can greatly improve its response time. "

As he said that, Hideki Shirakawa took a drawing board, wrote and drew on it with a pen, and showed this new way of thinking in a more intuitive way.

"Please look at Shirakawa-san." Shirakawa Hideki showed him the drawing board, "Just install a special light source on the back of the LCD, and then use the technology of large-area ultraviolet etching.

Directly draw transistors on the screen corresponding to each sub-pixel in a large area, and then precisely control the voltage of each sub-pixel through the driver chip, and finally change their light transmission. "

"In this way" Hideki Shirakawa drew an arrow on it with a pen to represent the light, "Because the pixels are individually controlled, the response speed of the screen can reach 40~80ms.

Moreover, the active matrix makes the liquid crystal molecules have memory, and will not restore immediately with the disappearance of the electric field.

Although the final effect will return to the original angle, there is a delay in this process.

This allows a variety of colors to be blended and presented at the same time, and the final effect is what we usually call true color and full color. "

Through Professor Bai Chuan's detailed explanation, Bai Chuanfeng has figured out the principle of this new display technology.

But compared to those professional vocabulary, he only remembered two points.

40~80ms delay, and full color!

What does the 40ms delay mean, 1/0.04=25, which means it can present 25 frames per second.

What is the concept of 25 frames, 25 frames is the picture format of the current TV and movies.

This means that this new technology has reached the specifications required in daily life.

Plus, it's in full color!

"What is this LCD screen called?" Bai Chuanfeng's eyes became bright.

"We call it TFT-LCD, which stands for Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display."

"Is there any experimental product now?" Bai Chuanfeng couldn't wait to experience this new technology.

"Yes, but it's not perfect yet." Hideki Shirakawa didn't talk nonsense, and immediately took out a carefully protected pocket display.

If there is any difference between it and the STN screen just now, it is that behind the back panel of the display screen there are densely packed lamp beads neatly arranged together according to certain rules.

In addition, unlike the base color of the light-colored substrate of the STN and TN screens, the panel of the TFT screen looks black.

Bai Chuanfeng's eyes lit up, which reminded him of how many screens in his previous life looked black when they were not powered.

Could it be

The fact is exactly as he thought, after the electricity was connected, the colors on the screen blinded his titanium alloy eyes.

This is completely out-and-out color, the same as the color on the TV.

At this time, a street view of Tokyo was displayed on the screen, and the colorful billboards were no different from real photos.

Of course, limited by the low pixels, the definition cannot be compared with photos.

But it's only the beginning of the 1980s, and this has made great progress. Bai Chuanfeng is a little excited. To be able to do this is pretty impressive.

But the only disadvantage is that it is too small, smaller than the LCD screen of a handheld, and larger than the screen of an electronic watch.

Even with such shortcomings, he still found a sense of familiarity in his memory.

"Because there is no specially customized driver chip, and the internal structure of the screen is not optimized enough, it can only be so big for the time being."

The current ones can only be considered semi-finished products, not even laboratory prototypes.

There are still obvious defects in some details, for example, it can only display pictures and cannot display dynamic pictures.

Bai Chuanfeng also felt that the current product was not stable enough, and there was a flickering phenomenon in just a short while.

"If we proceed according to the design idea, to what extent can the complete body of the TFT screen be achieved?"

Flaws don't matter, what matters is the future potential.

"According to the design expectation, it can completely replace the CTR display in the future.

Because each pixel is individually controlled by the light source and driver IC, it does not have the delay effect of the STN screen from the surrounding to the middle.

As long as there are enough light sources and a driver chip with sufficient computing power, theoretically every pixel can move at the same time. "

The previous STN controlled the light source of the entire area, so the pixels in this area can only execute one command at the same time.

But TFT is equivalent to providing a separate light source for each pixel, and everyone can execute different commands at the same time.

In layman's terms, the control is more refined, and it is precisely because of this that the low-latency characteristics of the entire screen can be guaranteed.

"What is the problem we need to solve now?"

If there are defects, it means that there is still room for improvement. Bai Chuanfeng is more concerned about how to solve the problem.

"A driver chip with better performance, the current IC can only control such a large screen.

The packaging process and etching process of the liquid crystal substrate also need to be improved, because it needs to achieve fine control of pixels. "

Hearing his question, Hideki Shirakawa immediately stated the two main questions without ambiguity.

"The driver chip is handed over to the chip research and development department, and the packaging and etching process can only be entrusted to Professor Bai Chuan."

"Understood, we are already working on solving this problem."

"According to the professor's estimate, when will TFT be officially commercialized?"

This technology is even better than STN, which also means that it will bring greater benefits and influence.

Seeing that Baoshan was placed in front of him but now he couldn't eat it, Bai Chuanfeng was of course anxious.

Hideki Bai Chuan could understand Bai Chuanfeng's eagerness, but he could only tell the truth if he couldn't fake his skills.

"According to the most optimistic situation, it is already a great thing that the current size can be commercialized next year.

As the problem is solved, the commercially available size will gradually increase.

But what kind of rules it will follow, or when it can replace the current CTR display and be applied to TVs.

This may take several years, or even ten years to explore. "

Hearing Professor Bai Chuan's answer, Bai Chuanfeng was slightly disappointed.

But he quickly realized that he was too impatient.

Think about it, too. It seems that the LCD monitors of later generations began to be used on a large scale after the millennium.

Doing the math, the time span is exactly ten years.

But the large-scale commercial use at that time entered the homes of ordinary people as cheap commodities.

Now, although it is a bit smaller, it does not mean that it has no commercial value.

Can some monitoring monitors of digital cameras or video recorders be used? The professional field of multimedia will also have such requirements.

While the market may be limited, bringing it to the masses brings attention to the technology and creates a desire to demand it.

So this is also of positive significance to the development of TFT.

"Professor Bai Chuan, taking the current screen as an example, what is its estimated cost?"

Since it will be officially commercialized next year, there should be approximate statistics on the cost now.

"Because of the driver IC, as well as changes in the screen process and light source.

Even if the relatively low-priced CCFL (compact energy-saving lamp) is used as a backlight source, the cost of TFT is at least three times that of STN. "

three times? Bai Chuanfeng secretly calculated that just a LCD monitor the size of an electronic watch would cost nearly 2,000 yen.

If it is made into a complete product, the price is higher.

Think about the large-screen LCD monitors in the future, and the cost difference between the two is more than an order of magnitude.

Sure enough, it is a job that burns money, and ordinary people really can't afford such continuous investment.

But now that SIC has reached this point, there is no reason to stop.

All the registered patents are registered once, although this includes the original patent of the RCA company in the United States.

However, SIC still has its own legal benefits for the extended application of patents on this technology.

In the future, maybe relying on these alone, Bai Chuanfeng will be able to lie down for the elderly.

"Professor Shirakawa, the goal of the LCD R\u0026D Department in the next stage is to commercialize STN as soon as possible.

After that, we will invest continuous resources in TFT screens and continue to tackle difficulties. "

"Hay!"

The future development route of LCD can basically be seen clearly, and what needs to be done next is to continue to move forward step by step for many years.

After reading the things here, I happened to go upstairs to see the development progress of the chip.