DIGITAL DISPLAY SYSTEM AND INDICATORS

The rapid growth of electronic handling of numerical data has bought with it a great demand for
simple systems to display the data in a readily understandable form. Display devices provide a
visual display of numbers, letters, and symbols in response to electrical input, and serve as
constituents of an electronic display system.

CLASSIFICATION OF DISPLAYS

Commonly used displays in the digital electronic fi eld are as follows.

1. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
2. Light Emitting Diode (LED)
3. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
4. Gas discharge plasma displays (Cold cathode displays or Nixies)
5. Electro-Luminescent (EL) displays
6. Incandescent display
7. ElectroPhoretic Image Displays (EPID)
8. Liquid Vapour Display (LVD)

In general, displays are classified in a number of ways, as follows.

1. On methods of conversion of electrical data into visible light

(a) Active displays (Light emitters – Incandescent, i.e. due to temperature, luminescence,
i.e. due to non-thermal means or physio-thermal, and gas discharge- glow of light around the
cathode.)
— CRTs, Gas discharge plasma, LEDs, etc.
(b) Passive displays
Light controllers, LCDs, EPIDs, etc.

2. On the applications
(a) Analog displays — Bar graph displays (CRT)
(b) Digital displays — Nixies, Alphanumeric, LEDs, etc.

3. According to the display size and physical dimensions

(a) Symbolic displays — Alphanumeric, Nixie tubes, LEDs, etc.
(b) Console displays — CRTs, LEDs, etc.
(c) Large screen display — Enlarged projection system

4. According to the display format

(a) Direct view type (Flat panel planar) — Segmental, dot matrix — CRTs
(b) Stacked electrode non-planar type — Nixie

5. In terms of resolution and legibility of characters

(a) Simple single element indicator
(b) Multi-element displays
DISPLAY DEVICES

When displaying large quantities of alphanumeric data, the read out system employed most
commonly is a familiar CRT. Conventionally, CRTs form the basis of CROs and TV systems. To
generate characters on the CRT, the generation system of characters on CRTs requires relatively
simple electronic circuitry. A typical CRT display has easy facilities for the control of digit size
by controlling the defl ection sensitivity of the system (either electromagnetic or electrostatic defl-
ection). The number of characters displayed can be changed with the help of time shared defl-
ection and modulator circuits. Importantly, the intensity and brightness can be realised. with
different grey scales, and the display can have different colour depending on the phosphor used in
the screen. Generally the phosphor is chosen to be white or green. Storage type CRTs facilitate
storing a stationary pattern on the screen without flickering display and it is possible to retain the
pattern for a long time, independent of the phosphor persistence.

LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LED)

The LED, Fig. 1 (a) is basically a semiconductor PN junction diode capable of emitting
electromagnetic radiation under forward conductions. The radiation emitted by LEDs can be either
in the visible spectrum or in the infrared region, depending on the type of the semiconductor
material used. Generally, infra-red emitting LED’s are coated with Phosphor so that, by the
excitation of phosphor visible light can be produced. LEDs are useful for electronics display and
instrumentation. Figure 2.10 (b) shows the symbol of an LED. The advantage of using LEDs in
electronic displays are as follows.

1. LEDs are very small devices, and can be considered as point sources of light. They can
therefore be stacked in a high-density matrix to serve as a numeric and alphanumeric
display. (They can have a character density of several thousand per square metre).
2. The light output from an LED is function of the current flowing through it. An LED can
therefore, be smoothly controlled by varying the current. This is particularly useful for
operating LED displays under different ambient lighting conditions.
3. LEDs are highly efficient emitters of EM radiation. LEDs with light output of different
colours, i.e. red, amber, green and yellow are commonly available.
4. LEDs are very fast devices, having a turn ON-OFF time of less than 1 ns.
5. The low supply voltage and current requirements of LEDs make them compatible with
DTL and TTL, ICs.

Fig 1: (a) Structure of a visible emitter using GaAs PN Junction (b) Symbol of LED

In germanium and silicon semiconductors, most of the energy is released in the form of heat. In
Gallium Phosphide (GaP) and Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) most of the emitted photons
have their wavelengths in the visible regions, and therefore these semiconductors are used for the
construction of LEDs. The colour of light emitted depends upon the semiconductor material and
doping level. Different materials used for doping give out different colours.

1. Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) — red

2. Gallium Arsenide Phosphide (GaAsP) — red or yellow
3. Gallium Phosphide (GaP) — red or green

Alphanumeric displays using LEDs employ a number of square and oblong emitting areas,
arranged either as dot matrix or segmented bar matrix. Alphanumeric LEDs are normally laid out
on a single slice of semiconductor material, all the chips being enclosed in a package, similar to
an IC, except that the packaging compound is transparent rather than opaque. Figure 1 (c) and (d)
gives typical LED packages for single element LEDs.

Fig 1: (c ) Metal can Tq-5 type (d) Epoxy type

LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY (LCD)

LCDs are passive displays characterised by very low power consumption and good contrast ratio.
They have the following characteristics in common.
1. They are light scattering.
2. They can operate in a reflective or transmissive configuration.
3. They do not actively generate light and depend for their operation on ambient or back lighting.

A transmissive LCD has a better visual characteristic than a reflective LCD. The power required
by an LCD to scatter or absorb light is extremely small, of the order of a few mW/cm. LCDs
operate at low voltages, ranging from 1–15 V. The operation of liquid crystals is based on the
utilisation of a class of organic materials which remain a regular crystal-like structure even when
they have melted. Two liquid crystal materials which are important in display technology are
nematic and cholesteric, as shown in Fig. 2.
 Fig 2: Liquid Crystal Material (a) Ordinary Liquid (b) Nematic Liquid Crystal (c) Cholesteric Liquid
Crystal

The most popular liquid crystal structure is the nematic liquid crystal (NLC). The liquid is
normally transparent, but if it is subjected to a strong electric fi eld, ions move through it and
disrupt the well-ordered crystal structure, causing the liquid to polarise and hence turn opaque.
The removal of the applied fi eld allows the crystals structure to reform and the material regains
its transparency. Basically, the LCD comprises of a thin layer of NLC fluid, about 10 m thick,
sandwiched between two glass plates having electrodes, at least one of which is transparent. (If
both are transparent, the LCD is of the transmissive type, whereas a reflective LCD has only one
electrode transparent.) The structure of a typical reflective LCD is shown in Fig. 3. The NLC
material in Fig. 2.12 has a homogeneous alignment of molecules. While the glass substrate
supports the LCD and provides the required transparency, the electrode facilitates electrical
connections for the display. The insulating spacers are the hermetic seal.

Fig 3: Reflective Display using NLC

The LCD material is held in the centre cell of a glass sandwich, the inner surface of which is coated
with a very thin conducting layer of tin-oxide, which can be either transparent or reflective. The
oxide coating on the front sheet of the indicator is etched to produce a single or multi segment
pattern of characters and each segment of character is properly insulated from each other. LCDs
can be read easily in any situation, even when the ambient light is strong. If the read electrode is
made transparent instead of reflective, back illumination is possible by a standard indicator lamp.
Extending back illumination a step further by adding a lens arrangement. LCDs can be used as the
slide in a projection system, to obtain an enlarged image.

Important Features of LCDs

1. The electric fi eld required to activate LCDs is typically of the order of 104 V/cm. This is
equivalent to an LCD terminal voltage of 10 V when the NLC layer is 10 m thick.
2. NLC materials possess high resistivity > 1010 W. Therefore the current required for
scattering light in an NLC is very marginal (typically 0.1 mA/cm2 ).
 3. Since the light source for a reflective LCD is the ambient light itself, the only power
required is that needed to cause turbulence in the cell, which is very small, typically 1
mW/cm.
4. LCDs are very slow devices. They have a turn-on time of a few milliseconds, and a turn-
off time of tens of milliseconds.

To sum up, LCDs are characterised by low power dissipation, low cost, large area and low
operating speed. LCDs are usually of the seven segment type for numeric use and have one
common back electrode and seven transparent front electrodes characters, as shown in Fig. 4. The
back electrode may be reflective or transmissive, depending on the mode of operation of the
display device. Generally arrays of such characters are simultaneously fabricated using thin- film
or hybrid IC technology for segments and conductors on glass plates, and then filled in with NLC
material, followed by hermetic sealing. LCD arrays utilising a dot-matrix are also possible, but
they are not popular because of their slow operation.

Fig 4: Seven Segment LCD Character

Segmental Displays using LEDs

In segmental displays, it is usual to employ a single LED for each segment. For conventional 7
segment LED displays (including the decimal point, i.e. the 8th segment), the wiring pattern is
simplified by making one terminal common to all LEDs and other terminals corresponding to
different segments. The terminals can be either of the common anode (CA) form or common
cathode (CC) form, shown in Figs 5 (b) and (c).

(a)
Fig 5: (a) LED 7 Segment Format (b) Common anode connections (c ) Common Cathode Connections

A typical static single digit 7 segment LED display system and multi-digit are shown in Figs. 5 (a)
and (d). Multi-digit display system may be static or dynamic. Common anode type displays require
an active low (or current sinking) configuration for code converter circuitry, whereas an active
high (or current sourcing) output circuit is necessary for common-cathode LED type display. Both
multi-digit and segmental displays require a code converter; one code converter per character for
static display systems and a single code converter for time shared and multiplexed dynamic display
systems, which are illuminated one at a time. The typical circuit schemes described in the figures
are only of the decimal numeric character. An 8 digit display system, operating on this principle
and suitable for digital instrumentation is given in Fig. 5 (d).

Fig 5 (d) Multi-digit display system (8 digit) using LED 7 segment characters

Table 1.1: Some Popular Display Devices

Table 1.2 : Typical Applications of Digital Display

Review Questions:

1. How are the displays classified. List different types of display devices?
2. Draw the structure of an LED and explain its operation.
3. What are the conditions to be satisfied by the device for emission of visible light?
4. State the advantages and disadvantages of using LED in electronic display.
5. List different materials used to radiate different colours.
6. Discuss with a neat diagram, a method of realizing a 7-segment numeric display using
LEDs.
7. Bring out the important differences between the common anode and common cathode type
circuit arrangements for a 7-segment numeric display using LEDs.
8. State the operating principle of LCD display.
9. State different types of liquid crystal used for LCD display.
10. Explain with diagram the operation of a Nematic Liquid Crystal (NLC).
11. Explain the basic differences between transmissive and reflective type LCD.
12. Explain with a diagram the operation of a reflective display using NLC.
13. State the important features of LCDs.
14. State the advantages of LCD display over LED display.
15. Compare LCD and LED display.