Nearly everyone is familiar with LEDs (light-emitting diodes) from their use as indicator lights and numeric displays on consumer electronic devices. The basic LED is a solid-state device that contains a chemical compound that gives off light … [Read more...]

Polymers are chemical substances that consist of large molecules that are, themselves, made from many smaller and simpler molecules: proteins and DNA are examples of naturally occurring polymers; many others, such as nylon, are artificially … [Read more...]

Fujitsu has developed a new plasma display type that overcomes the low-resolution restrictions of conventional PDPs. Called Alternate Lighting of Surfaces (ALiS), the technique uses interlaced rather than progressive scans. In a … [Read more...]

Many electronic appliances are at the threshold of a revolution that began with the discovery of polymeric conductors in the 1970s. Polymeric materials, which have historically been classified exclusively as electrical insulators, are now finding varied applications as both conductors and … [Read more...]

Plasma Display Panels (PDPs) are like CRTs in that they are emissive and use phosphor, and like LCDs in their use of an X and Y grid of electrodes separated by an MgO dielectric layer and surrounded by a mixture of inert … [Read more...]

The thin-film transistors which drive the individual cells in the overlying liquid crystal layer in traditional active-matrix displays are formed from amorphous silicon (a-Si) deposited on a glass substrate. The advantage of using amorphous silicon is that it doesn't require high temperatures, so … [Read more...]