LCDs Boast Digitizer Tablet And Built-In Image Capture

July 7, 2003

TFT polysilicon LCD panels address the needs of tablet PCs, PDAs, palmtops, and notebook computers.

At the recent Society for Information Displays Conference, Toshiba America Electronic Components announced that it is expanding its line of Kangaroo LCD modules for tablet PCs with a 12.1-in. thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD, the LTD121KA0S.

The module includes a pocket behind the LCD panel for inserting a digitizer tablet between the panel and the backlighting unit without interference from the left or right of the display's backside. The XGA (1024 by 768 pixels) unit features luminance of 170 cd/m² (at 6 mA), 260,000 colors, and 4.5-W power consumption (at 6 mA). Pixel pitch is 0.24 mm, and there's an LVDS-type (low-voltage differential signaling) interface. Samples as well as full production orders of the display cost $350.

Toshiba also demonstrated the first system-on-glass (SOG) input display. This novel low-temperature TFT polysilicon 3.5-in. prototype LCD not only displays color images, it also captures images such as photos and printed text for storing into a computer. Two-dimensional photo sensors embedded within the LCD make this capability possible. The transmissive LCD features QVGA resolution (320 by 240 pixels) and 260,000 colors.

"Capturing and displaying images of business cards is an example of a PDA application for this device," says Steve Vrablick, LCD business development director for TAEC. "This technology could be used to capture data from a catalog, read barcodes, recognize and authenticate fingerprints for security applications, or import a private route map into a PDA from a navigation system."

"This breakthrough technology offers a new approach to image capture that opens up many possibilities for new consumer and business applications in mobile electronics devices by adding image-sensing functionality to the display without the need for additional hardware," adds Alexis Gerard, president of research firm Future Image Inc.

See associated figure

Toshiba America Electronic Components [email protected]

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.