science

Transflective liquid-crystal display

Transflective liquid-crystal display is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Transflective liquid-crystal display rather than just read about it. In short: A transflective liquid-crystal display is a liquid-crystal display (LCD) with an optical layer that reflects and transmits light (transflective is a portmanteau of transmissive and reflective). Technology Under bright illumination (e.g. when exposed to daylight) the display acts mainly as a reflective display with the contrast being constant with illuminance.

Key takeaways

Transflective liquid-crystal display belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Transflective liquid-crystal display to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Transflective liquid-crystal display from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A transflective liquid-crystal display is a liquid-crystal display (LCD) with an optical layer that reflects and transmits light (transflective is a portmanteau of transmissive and reflective).

Technology Under bright illumination (e.g. when exposed to daylight) the display acts mainly as a reflective display with the contrast being constant with illuminance. However, under dim and dark ambient situations the light from a backlight is transmitted through the transflective layer to provide light for the display. The transflective layer is called a transflector. It is typically made from a sheet polymer. It is similar to a one-way mirror but is not specular. An application is digital LCD wristwatches. In dim ambient light or at night a backlight allows reading of the display in its transmissive mode. Digital time displays in alarm clocks for bedrooms may also work this way. If they are battery-powered, the backlight may be push-button operated. The backlighting is usually dim, so that the display is comfortably readable at night. Some 21st century smartwatches such as the Pebble Smartwatch and the Amazfit Stratos also use transflective LCDs. When an illuminance sensor is added for control of the backlight, such a transflective LCD can be read over a wide range of illuminance levels. This technique is often found in automotive instrumentation. In portable electronic devices the transflective mode of operation helps to save battery charge, since in bright environments no backlighting is required. Some displays that transmit light and have minor reflectivity are best readable in the dark and fairly readable in bright sunlight, but only under a particular angle; they are least readable in bright daylight without direct sunlight.

Trade names Display manufacturers label their transflective screens under a variety of trade names:

BE+: SolarbON Boe Hydis: Viewiz Daylight Computer Co.: LivePaper Dell: DirectVue or DirectView. DEMCO CSI: SOLARBON LG Display: Shine-Out Motion Computing: View Anywhere Motorola Mobility: AnyLight3 NEC Displays: ST-NLT Nokia: BlackView (BVD) Panasonic: CircuLumin Pebble (watch): E-paper Pixel Qi: 3Qi

See also Anti-reflective screen Electronic paper High brightness monitor Passive-matrix liquid-crystal-displays

References

External links Close up views of transflective pixel structure

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Transflective liquid-crystal display

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Transflective liquid-crystal display claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Transflective liquid-crystal display before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Transflective liquid-crystal display ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Transflective liquid-crystal display

In research: Transflective liquid-crystal display appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Transflective liquid-crystal display in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Transflective liquid-crystal display is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Display technology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Transflective liquid-crystal display outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Transflective liquid-crystal display in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Transflective liquid-crystal display means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Transflective liquid-crystal display out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Transflective liquid-crystal display in simple terms?

A transflective liquid-crystal display is a liquid-crystal display (LCD) with an optical layer that reflects and transmits light (transflective is a portmanteau of transmissive and reflective). Technology Under bright illumination (e.g. when exposed to daylight) the display acts mainly as a reflect…

Why does Transflective liquid-crystal display matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Transflective liquid-crystal display?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Transflective liquid-crystal display.