![Backlit LCD display](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Backlit_LCD_display.jpg)
A backlight is a form of illumination used in
liquid crystal display
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat panel display, flat-panel display or other Electro-optic modulator, electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liqui ...
s (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example,
cathode ray tube
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms ( oscilloscope), pictu ...
(CRT), plasma (PDP) or
OLED
An organic light-emitting diode (OLED or organic LED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light i ...
displays—they need illumination (
ambient light or a special light source) to produce a visible image. Backlights illuminate the LCD from the side or back of the display panel, unlike
frontlight {{unreferenced, date=March 2008
A frontlight is a means of illuminating a display device, usually a liquid crystal display (LCD), which would otherwise be viewed in ambient light. This improves its performance in poor lighting conditions.
An LCD ...
s, which are placed in front of the LCD. Backlights are used in small displays to increase readability in low light conditions such as in
wristwatches
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
, and are used in
smart phone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...
s,
computer display
A computer monitor is an output device that displays information in pictorial or textual form. A discrete monitor comprises a visual display, support electronics, power supply, housing, electrical connectors, and external user controls.
The d ...
s and
LCD television
Liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TVs) are television sets that use liquid-crystal displays to produce images. They are, by far, the most widely produced and sold television display type. LCD TVs are thin and light, but have some disadvantag ...
s to produce light in a manner similar to a CRT display. A review of some early backlighting schemes for LCDs is given in a report ''Engineering and Technology History'' by
Peter J. Wild.
Simple types of LCDs such as in
pocket calculator
An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-sized d ...
s are built without an internal light source, requiring external light sources to convey the display image to the user. Most LCD screens, however, are built with an internal light source. Such screens consist of several layers. The backlight is usually the first layer from the back.
Light valve A light valve (LV) is a device for varying the quantity of light, from a source, which reaches a target. Examples of targets are computer screen surfaces, or a wall screen in the case of a light projector.
There are two basic principles of achievin ...
s then vary the amount of light reaching the eye, by blocking its passage in some way. Most use a fixed
polarizing filter
A polarizer or polariser is an optical filter that lets light waves of a specific polarization pass through while blocking light waves of other polarizations. It can filter a beam of light of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam of well ...
and a switching one, to block the undesired light.
Light source types
The light source can be made up of:
*
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s (LEDs)
* An
electroluminescent
Electroluminescence (EL) is an optical and electrical phenomenon, in which a material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field. This is distinct from black body light emission resulting from h ...
panel (ELP)
*
Cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs)
*
Hot cathode
In vacuum tubes and gas-filled tubes, a hot cathode or thermionic cathode is a cathode electrode which is heated to make it emit electrons due to thermionic emission. This is in contrast to a cold cathode, which does not have a heating element. ...
fluorescent lamp
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...
s (HCFLs)
*
External electrode fluorescent lamp
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...
s (EEFLs)
* Formerly,
incandescent lightbulb
An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxidat ...
s
An ELP gives off uniform light over its entire surface, but other backlights frequently employ a
diffuser
Diffuser may refer to:
Aerodynamics
* Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties
* Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds
* The channel bet ...
to provide even lighting from an uneven source.
Backlights come in many colors.
Monochrome
A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...
LCDs typically have
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...
,
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
,
blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
, or
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
backlights, while color displays use white backlights that cover most of the
color spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visual perception, visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called ''visible light'' or simply light. A typical human eye wil ...
.
Usage
Colored LED backlighting is most commonly used in small, inexpensive LCD panels. White LED backlighting is becoming dominant. ELP backlighting is often used for larger displays or when even backlighting is important; it can also be either colored or white. An ELP must be driven by relatively high voltage
AC power, which is provided by an
inverter
A power inverter, inverter or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opp ...
circuit.
CCFL
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet ligh ...
backlights are used on larger displays such as computer monitors, and are typically white in color; these also require the use of an inverter and diffuser. Incandescent backlighting was used by early LCD panels to achieve high brightness, but the limited life and excess heat produced by incandescent bulbs were severe limitations. The heat generated by incandescent bulbs typically requires the bulbs to be mounted away from the display to prevent damage.
CCFL backlights
![lcd-ccfl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Lcd-ccfl.svg)
For several years (until about 2010), the preferred backlight for matrix-addressed large LCD panels such as in monitors and TVs was based on a
cold-cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) by using two CCFLs at opposite edges of the LCD or by an array of CCFLs behind the LCD (see picture of an array with 18 CCFLs for a 40-inch LCD TV). Due to the disadvantages in comparison with LED illumination (higher voltage and power needed, thicker panel design, no high-speed switching, faster aging), LED backlighting is becoming more popular.
LED backlights
![lcd-led](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Lcd-led.svg)
LED backlighting in color screens comes in two varieties: white
LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
backlights and RGB LED backlights. White LEDs are used most often in notebooks and desktop screens, and make up virtually all mobile LCD screens. A white LED is typically a
blue LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (co ...
with broad spectrum yellow phosphor to result in the emission of white light. However, because the spectral curve peaks at yellow, it is a poor match to the transmission peaks of the red and green color filters of the LCD. This causes the red and green primaries to shift toward yellow, reducing the color gamut of the display. RGB LEDs consist of
a red, a blue, and a green LED and can be controlled to produce different color temperatures of white. RGB LEDs for backlighting are found in high end color proofing displays such as the HP DreamColor LP2480zx monitor or selected
HP EliteBook
HP EliteBook is a line of business-oriented high-end notebooks and mobile workstations made by Hewlett-Packard ( HP Inc.). The EliteBook series, which fits above the lower-end ProBook series, was introduced in August 2008 as a replacement of th ...
notebooks, as well as more recent consumer-grade displays such as Dell's Studio series laptops which have an optional RGB LED display.
RGB LEDs can deliver an enormous color
gamut
In color reproduction, including computer graphics and photography, the gamut, or color gamut , is a certain ''complete subset'' of colors. The most common usage refers to the subset of colors which can be accurately represented in a given circ ...
to screens. When using three separate LEDs (
additive color
Additive color or additive mixing is a property of a color model that predicts the appearance of colors made by coincident component lights, i.e. the perceived color can be predicted by summing the numeric representations of the component colo ...
) the backlight can produce a color spectrum that closely matches the color filters in the LCD
pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
s themselves. In this way, the filter
passband
A passband is the range of frequencies or wavelengths that can pass through a filter. For example, a radio receiver contains a bandpass filter to select the frequency of the desired radio signal out of all the radio waves picked up by its antenn ...
can be narrowed so that each color component lets only a very narrow band of spectrum through the LCD. This improves the efficiency of the display since less light is blocked when white is displayed. Also, the actual
red, green, and blue points can be moved farther out so that the display is capable of reproducing more vivid colors.
A new method to further improve the color gamut of LED-backlit LCD panels is based on blue LEDs (such as GaN) illuminating a layer of nanocrystal phosphors, so-called ''
Quantum Dot
Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size, having light, optical and electronics, electronic properties that differ from those of larger particles as a result of quantum mechanics. They are a central topic in nanote ...
s (QD)'', which convert the blue wavelengths to the desired longer wavelengths as narrow-bandwidth green and red colors for optimal illumination of the LCD from behind. The manufacturer,
Nanosys
Nanosys is a nanotechnology company located in Milpitas, California and founded in 2001. The company develops and manufactures quantum dot materials for display products.
Products
Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF)
Nanosys Quantum Dot Enhance ...
, claims that the color output of the dots can be tuned precisely by controlling the size of the nanocrystals. Other companies pursuing this method are
Nanoco
Nanoco Technologies Ltd. (Nanoco) is a UK-based nanotechnology company that spun out from the University of Manchester in 2001. The company's development has been driven by Dr Nigel Pickett, Nanoco's Chief Technology Officer, whose pioneering wo ...
Group PLC (UK),
QD Vision,
3M a licensee of Nanosys and Avantama of
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
has adapted ''Quantum Dot'' technology from the US company QD Vision to introduce LCD TVs with an improved ''edge-lit'' LED backlight marketed under the term ''Triluminos'' in 2013. With a blue LED and optimized nanocrystals for green and red colors in front of it, the resulting combined white light allows for an equivalent or better color gamut than that emitted by a more expensive set of three RGB LEDs. At the
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
2015,
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
,
LG Electronics
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
, the Chinese
TCL Corporation
TCL Technology (originally an abbreviation for Telephone Communication Limited) is a Chinese electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells consumer products including televisi ...
and Sony showed QD-enhanced LED-backlighting of LCD TVs.
CCFL backlighting has also improved in this respect. Many LCD models, from cheap TN-displays to color proofing S-IPS or S-PVA panels, have wide gamut CCFLs representing more than 95% of the
NTSC
The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
color specification.
There are several challenges with LED backlights. Uniformity is hard to achieve, especially as the LEDs age, with each LED aging at a different rate. Also, the use of three separate light sources for red, green, and blue means that the
white point
A white point (often referred to as reference white or target white in technical documents) is a set of tristimulus values or chromaticity coordinates that serve to define the color "white" in image capture, encoding, or reproduction. Depending on ...
of the display can move as the LEDs age at different rates; white LEDs are also affected by this phenomenon, with changes of several hundred
kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
s being recorded. White LEDs also suffer from blue shifts at higher temperatures varying from 3141K to 3222K for 10 °C to 80 °C respectively. Power efficiency may also be a challenge; first generation implementations could potentially use more power than their CCFL counterparts, though it is possible for an LED display to be more power efficient. In 2010, current generation LED displays can have significant power consumption advantages. For example, the non-LED version of the 24"
Benq
BenQ Corporation (; ) is a Taiwanese multinational company that sells and markets technology products, consumer electronics, computing and communications devices under the "BenQ" brand name, which stands for the company slogan ''Bringing Enj ...
br>
G2420HDBconsumer display has a 49W consumption compared to the 24W of the LED version of the same display
G2420HDBL.
To overcome the aforementioned challenges with RGB and white LED backlights an 'advanced remote phosphor' LED technology has been developed by NDF Special Light Products, specifically for high-end and long-life LCD applications such as
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
displays,
Air Traffic Control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
displays and medical displays. This technology uses blue pump LEDs in combination with a sheet on which phosphorous luminescent materials are printed for colour conversion. The principle is similar to Quantum Dots, but the phosphors applied are much more robust than the quantum dot nano-particles for applications that require long lifetime in more demanding operational conditions. Because the phosphor sheet is placed at a distance (remote) of the LED it experiences much less temperature stress than phosphors in white LEDs. As a result, the white point is less dependent on individual LEDs, and degrading of individual LEDs over lifetime, leading to a more homogenous backlight with improved colour consistency and lower lumen depreciation.
The use of LED backlights in
notebook computer
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper lid ...
s has been growing.
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
has used LED backlights in some of its higher-end slim
VAIO notebooks since 2005, and
Fujitsu
is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...
introduced notebooks with LED backlights in 2006. In 2007,
Asus,
Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
, and
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
introduced LED backlights into some of their notebook models. ,
Lenovo
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo ( , ), is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, Personal computer, personal computers, ...
has also announced LED-backlit notebooks. In October 2008, Apple announced that it would be using LED backlights for all of its notebooks and new 24-inch
Apple Cinema Display
The Apple Cinema Display is a line of flat-panel computer monitors developed and sold by Apple Inc. between 1999 and 2011. It was initially sold alongside the older line of Apple Studio Display (1998–2004), Studio Displays, but eventually rep ...
, and one year later it introduced a new LED
iMac
iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms.
In it ...
, meaning all of Apple's new computer screens are now LED. Almost every laptop with a
16:9 display introduced since September 2009 uses LED-backlit panels. This is also the case for most LCD television sets, which are marketed in some countries under the misleading name ''LED TV'', although the image is still generated by an LCD panel.
Most LED backlights for LCDs are ''edge-lit'', i.e. several LEDs are placed at the edges of a lightguide (Light guide plate, LGP), which distributes the light behind the LC panel. Advantages of this technique are the very thin flat-panel construction and low cost. A more expensive version is called ''full-array'' or ''direct'' LED and consists of many LEDs placed behind the LC panel (an ''array'' of LEDs), such that large panels can be evenly illuminated. This arrangement allows for ''local dimming'' to obtain darker ''black'' pixels depending on the image displayed.
Backlight dimming
LED backlight are often dynamically controlled using the video information (dynamic backlight control or dynamic “local dimming” LED backlight, also marketed as HDR, high dynamic range television, invented by Philips researchers Douglas Stanton, Martinus Stroomer and Adrianus de Vaan
[Method of and device for generating an image having a desired brightness; D.A. Stanton; M.V.C. Stroomer; A.J.S.M. de Vaan; US patent USRE42428E; 7 June 2011; https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=RE42428E]).
Using PWM (pulse-width modulation, a technology where the intensity of the LEDs are kept constant, but the brightness adjustment is achieved by varying a time interval of flashing these constant light intensity light sources), the backlight is dimmed to the brightest color that appears on the screen while simultaneously boosting the LCD contrast to the maximum achievable levels
If the frequency of the pulse-width modulation is too low or the user is very sensitive to flicker, this may cause discomfort and eye-strain, similar to the
flicker of CRT displays. This can be tested by a user simply by waving a hand or object in front of the screen. If the object appears to have sharply defined edges as it moves, the backlight is strobing on and off at a fairly low frequency. If the object appears blurry, the display either has a continuously illuminated backlight or is operating the backlight at a frequency higher than the brain can perceive. The flicker can be reduced or eliminated by setting the display to full brightness, though this may have a negative impact on image quality and battery life due to increased power consumption.
Diffusers
For a non-ELP backlight to produce even lighting, which is critical for displays, the light is first passed through a lightguide (Light guide plate, LGP) - a specially designed layer of
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
that
diffuses the light through a series of unevenly spaced bumps. The density of bumps increases further away from the light source according to a
diffusion equation
The diffusion equation is a parabolic partial differential equation. In physics, it describes the macroscopic behavior of many micro-particles in Brownian motion, resulting from the random movements and collisions of the particles (see Fick's la ...
. The diffused light then travels to either side of the diffuser; the front faces the actual LCD panel, the back has a
reflector to guide otherwise wasted light back toward the LCD panel. The reflector is sometimes made of
aluminum foil
Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in North American English; often informally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than ; thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. Standard household foil is typ ...
or a simple white-pigmented surface.
Reflective polarizers
The LCD backlight systems are made highly efficient by applying optical films such as prismatic structure to gain the light into the desired viewer directions and reflective polarizing films that recycle the polarized light that was formerly absorbed by the first polarizer of the LCD (invented by Philips researchers Adrianus de Vaan and Paulus Schaareman), generally achieved using so called DBEF films manufactured and supplied by 3M. These polarizers consist of a large stack of uniaxial oriented birefringent films that reflect the former absorbed polarization mode of the light. Such reflective polarizers using uniaxial oriented polymerized liquid crystals (birefringent polymers or birefringent glue) are invented in 1989 by Philips researchers Dirk Broer, Adrianus de Vaan and Joerg Brambring. The combination of such reflective polarizers, and LED dynamic backlight control
make today's LCD televisions far more efficient than the CRT-based sets, leading to a worldwide energy saving of 600 TWh (2017), equal to 10% of the electricity consumption of all households worldwide or equal to 2 times the energy production of all solar cells in the world.
Power consumption
The evolution of energy standards and the increasing public expectations regarding power consumption have made it necessary for backlight systems to manage their power. As for other consumer electronics products (e.g., fridges or light bulbs), energy consumption categories are enforced for television sets. Standards for power ratings for TV sets have been introduced, e.g., in the USA, EU, and Australia as well as in China. Moreover, a 2008 study showed that among European countries, power consumption is one of the most important criteria for consumers when they choose a television, as important as the screen size.
[Controlling Power Consumption for Displays With Backlight Dimming; Claire Mantel et al; Journal of Display Technology; Volume: 9, Issue: 12, Dec. 2013; ]
References
External links
{{Wiktionary
Animated tutorial of LCD and Backlight technology by 3MBacklight Bleed Test
Types of lamp
Liquid crystal displays
Light sources