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Backlight
The light source for an active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD), located behind the panel. It is usually made up of several fluorescent lamps, a light guide, reflectors, and brightness-enhancing films.
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Backplane
Another name for thin-film transistor (TFT) array (see Array). TFT backplanes can be used to make active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays.
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Black Matrix
A light-shielding film that separates the pixels of the color filter.
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Borosilicate
A family of glass compositions in which boron trioxide and silicon dioxide are major components.
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Brightness
This is the measure of the luminosity in a display.
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Burn-in
A tendency for an image that is shown on a display over a long period of time to become permanently fixed on the display. This is most often seen in emissive displays such as cathode-ray tube (CRT) and plasma, because chemical changes can occur in the phosphors when exposed repeatedly to the same electrical signals. This is most noticeable in electronic signage such as in airport information displays, or displays that are used with video games, and is less noticeable in consumer televisions.
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COG
Chip-on-glass, a method of bonding driver-integrated circuits (ICs) directly to the edges of active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for smaller packages, higher quality, and improved ruggedness.
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Color Filter
A component of the active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. The color filter contains primary colors – red, green, and blue – that enable the LCD to produce more than 16 million colors.
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Contrast
Dynamic range of light and dark values in a picture.
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Corning 1737 Glass
This was the predecessor to EAGLE2000®, glass. This glass was used for producing active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) substrates and was the standard when it was introduced in 1994. This glass is also referred to as Code 1737 glass.
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CRT
Cathode ray tube (CRT), a technology used in many traditional television sets and desktop computers. A CRT uses a vacuum tube that produces images when an electron beam strikes a phosphorescent surface. CRT devices are bulkier and require more space than active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) devices.
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CTE
Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). The slope of the expansion versus temperature curve. For glasses, it is typically expressed as a value multiplied by 10-7/oC.
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Direct view
A term used to refer to active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs), cathode ray tubes (CRTs), plasma displays, and other displays that create the exact image that the user views. In contrast, projection displays need magnification optics to create the final image that is viewed.
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DLPTM
Digital Light Processor (DLPTM ), a proprietary technology developed by Texas Instruments as a microdisplay projection element. DLP uses an array of tiny mirrors on a silicon chip to reflect light from a projection lamp to form an image. Requires a lamp, color wheel, and optics to make front-projection and rear-projection displays.
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DMD
Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD), a generic term for Texas Instruments' DLPTM chip.
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Driver IC
Microprocessors (“chips”) that send data to (address) the rows and columns of pixels in an active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD) to create the image. This functionality can be integrated into the panel if a low-temperature, poly-crystalline silicon (LTPS) backplane is used; otherwise, the driver-integrated circuits (ICs) are attached to the display via a tape-automated bonding method (TAB) or are attached to the edges of the display (chip-on-glass or COG).
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EAGLE2000®
This is Corning’s lightest (low density), most durable glass, which was created in 2000 and has helped Corning become the worldwide leader in large-generation substrates. EAGLE2000 has become the standard against which all other liquid crystal display (LCD) glass is measured. EAGLE2000 glass also has the industry’s lowest coefficient of thermal expansion, which provides improved thermal stability of the glass, reduced risk of breakage from thermal downshock, higher-resolution displays, and compatibility with COG (chip-on-glass) processes.
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EAGLEAPTTM
Similar to EAGLE2000, but this glass is specially treated so that it has increased thermal stability, as required for low-temperature and super-low-temperature poly-crystalline silicon (LTPS) processing.
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EL
Electroluminescent (EL). This is a display technology based on the light-emitting ability of certain phosphors (typically ZnS) in an electric field. EL displays can be further subdivided into thick-film, thin-film, alternating-current, and direct-current type displays.
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Electrochromic Display
This is a reflective display that uses electrochromic materials to switch pixels on and off. Electrochromic materials change color when the oxidation state of the material is changed by an applied voltage. NTERA is working on a display based on this technology. Electrically switchable automobile rear-view mirrors are an example of this technology.
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Electrophoretic Display
This is a reflective display that uses electrophoresis to switch pixels on and off. Electrophoresis is the motion of charged particles suspended in a liquid in response to an electric field. Positively charged particles move toward the cathode, and negatively charged particles move toward the anode. If these particles are colored, the display shows different colors to the user as the particles move. E Ink and Gyricon are examples of this type of display.
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Emissive
A direct-view display, such as cathode ray tube (CRT), field emission display (FED), plasma, electroluminescent (EL), and organic light emitting diode (OLED), where the light generation, switching, and coloring are all done at once by the display. These displays do not need a separate backlight to provide light for the image. See also Transmissive, Reflective, and Projection.
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Fabrication Lines
The production lines that Corning’s customers use to create their products. The customers take our glass substrates and apply their own processes to create a final product. These are also referred to as fabs.
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FED
A field emission display (FED) is an emissive flat-panel display that uses many small electron emitters to excite a phosphor screen and emit light. Also known as thin cathode-ray tube (CRT) or carbon nanotube FED. This technology is still in the development phase and is not currently available commercially.
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Finishing
This is the cold processing of the glass article to form the final product. Processes include cutting, grinding, polishing, and washing.
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Forming
This is the processing of molten-liquid glass into the basic shape of the end product. Typical forming processes include blowing and pressing, but for sheet glass, the typical forming processes include float forming and various downdraw processes, such as Corning’s proprietary fusion process.
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FPD
Flat panel display (FPD). FPD can be used to refer to any of a number of "flat" display technologies including liquid crystal display (LCD), plasma, field emission display (FED), or others.
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Fusion
This is the proprietary process through which Corning produces LCD glass substrates. The fusion process begins when raw materials are blended into a glass composition, which is melted and conditioned to be homogeneous and virtually defect free. The molten glass is fed into a trough called an “isopipe,” filling it until the glass flows evenly over both sides. It then rejoins, or fuses, at the bottom, where it is drawn down to form a continuous sheet of flat glass.
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Large-generation Size Glass
Substrates that are Generation 5 and larger are classified as large generation. Large-generation size substrates provide substantial cost efficiencies and greater output per substrate. Large-generation substrates not only allow customers to get more panels per sheet, but also to produce larger panels.
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LCD (See also AMLCD)
Active matrix liquid crystal display (LCD). A display technology that uses a switch at each pixel to create high-resolution and fast-response times. One type of LCD in which the switch used is a thin-film transistor (TFT), is known as a TFT-LCD. Displays based on this technology range from as small as 1" diagonal up to 40" diagonal.
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LCD Module
A thin-film transistor (passive) or active matrix liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) that contains all components, including backlight and driver integrated circuits (ICs), and is ready to be integrated into an end product such as a TV, monitor, notebook PC, or other device. This term is often used interchangeably with LCD panel.
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LCD Panel
A thin-film transistor (passive) or active matrix liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) that includes the array, color filter, and liquid crystal. May also include a backlight and driver-integrated circuits (ICs), but sometimes is used to refer to just the glass-liquid crystal composite. Often used interchangeably with LCD module.
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LCD Projection
A projection technology that uses small thin-film transistor active matrix liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs), of 2” diagonal or less, as picture elements. The light from the projection lamp is switched and given color by one of three TFT-LCDs, and then is combined into a picture by optics, and finally projected onto a screen. These can be used to make a rear-projection TV or a front-projection data projector.
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LCoS
Liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS), a type of reflective micro-display that can be used to make front-projection, rear-projection, or near-eye displays. A thin-film transistor (TFT) array is made on a silicon chip and becomes a display by adding a liquid crystal layer to control the reflection of light off the chip. A color wheel or color scroll, a light source, and a lens array are other system components needed for LCoS projection.
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Lifetime
A measure of the durability of a display, expressed in how many hours of operation it takes for a display to show half the brightness as compared to the brightness it showed when it was new. For example, if a display is rated for 50,000 hours lifetime, it should take 50,000 hours of cumulative operation before it is half as bright as compared to when it was new. Most displays degrade slowly over time so the effect is not noticeable unless compared directly with a new display.
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LTPS
Low-temperature poly-crystalline silicon (LTPS). Lasers, or other low-temperature energy sources, are used to crystallize amorphous silicon into a more conductive state known as poly-crystalline silicon (p-Si). This poly-crystalline silicon layer is patterned through photolithography to make a thin-film transistor (TFT) backplane. Active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs) made with LTPS backplanes are capable of higher resolution and better aperture ratio than LCDs made on amorphous silicon backplanes. Driver-integrated circuits (ICs) can also be integrated into the backplane, for better form factor and higher quality. This is especially useful for small displays for mobile devices where smaller panels enable smaller and lightweight end products.
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Passive matrix LCDs
These are the predecessors to active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs); these displays do not incorporate a thin-film transistor (TFT) or switch at each pixel. As a result, they tend to have lower resolution, slower refresh rates, and poorer viewing angles than active matrix LCDs.
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Photolithography
The patterning step of the process by which transistors are made for displays or microprocessors. Thin films of silicon or other materials are deposited on a substrate, then covered with another material (photoresist) that reacts to light. This material is exposed to light through a mask that is patterned for one layer of the transistor. Then the exposed area is etched away, taking the underlying thin film with it. The photoresist is cleaned off next, leaving the patterned thin film. This is repeated several times with different thin films to create the transistor array.
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Pixel
Short for "picture element," a pixel is the basic unit of information on a display. It can be made up of different colored sub-pixels.
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Plasma
Emissive flat-panel display technology that uses a gas plasma to excite phosphors and make them glow. Used for large-size displays (typically 32" diagonal and up), but has a limited market because of the high cost of production. Also called plasma display panel (PDP).
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Polarize
This is a material that selectively transmits light with a given polarization. Polarizers are critical in the operation of most active matrix liquid crystal displays (LCDs), as the liquid crystal manipulates polarized light. A twisted-nematic (TN) LCD typically has polarizers on both sides of the LCD cell.
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Poly-crystalline silicon TFT-LCD
Type of thin-film transistor active matrix liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) that uses transistors made from poly-crystalline silicon rather than amorphous silicon.
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Projection
A display that uses from one to three small emissive, reflective, or transmissive displays to create a picture that is enlarged by a set of optics to the final viewable size. The light is provided by a projection lamp, the switching is done by the small displays, and the color can be provided by the small displays or separate color elements. See also Emissive, Transmissive, and Reflective.
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p-Si
Poly-Si represents a silicon film consisting of many tiny silicon-crystallization segments. Polysilicon is used in large-area electronics as a layer in the thin-film transistors.
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p-Si Glass Substrates
Glass that is made of poly-crystalline silicon, rather than amorphous silicon, and used as layers in thin-film transistors (TFTs). P-Si glass substrates enable thinner, lighter mobile handsets that offer higher resolution and greater functionality.