"I was flabbergasted by the exhibited prototype of the panel, even though I came here to look at it," said many LCD engineers who saw Samsung's Blue Phase mode LCD panel at SID 2008.
The Blue Phase mode LCD panel is not as prominent as Sony's organic light emitting display of which people crowded to catch a glimpse last year. And visitors rather tended to gather around Samsung's electronic paper showcased next to the panel.
Still, the Blue Phase mode LCD panel aroused the notice of professional engineers who know this can be a once-in-a-decade technological revolution if realized.
The characteristics of the panel include a super-high-speed response and super-wide viewing angle, and it does not require oriented film.
"The liquid crystal's response time to electric field is faster than that of the OCB mode, and its viewing angle is broader than that of the IPS mode," said an engineer specialized in LCD panel. "They both match for CRT and PDP."
The cell structure of the panel is simple enough that it does not require oriented film or any optical film except for a deflecting plate. Many engineers were being surprised that the panel was actually prototyped and showing videos.
"This is the main feature of our exhibition," said Jun H Souk, who leads the development of LCD panels at Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Blue Phase is a kind of liquid crystal phase that appears in the narrow temperature range between chiral nematic phase and liquid state. Thus far, this temperature range has been very narrow, from 2 to 3°C, and the application to the display has been seen as difficult.
"I thought it would take 20 years to prototype the panel," a Japanese LCD engineer said.
This time, Samsung drastically expanded the temperature range where the Blue Phase appears and realized the prototype. Some engineers speculated that the company broadened the range to about 50°C.
The Blue Phase mode LCD panel controls the birefringence of liquid crystal layer by electric voltage. When the electric field (voltage) is zero, the liquid crystal layer is optically isotropic. By adding transverse electric field, the layer acquires optical anisotropy.
However, "this optical anisotropy is usually so small that you need a very thick cell gap," a Japanese LCD engineer said.
Therefore, it seems that Samsung devised a new technique to make the Blue Phase mode LCD panel. The company merely said that it optimized the liquid crystal materials and manufacturing processes, and used a special electrode and circuit design.
The prototyped panel that Samsung unveiled at the exhibition has some defects. Though array defects, such as point defects and line defects, are not essential problems, there are some "stains" that were probably caused by orientation defects. Also, its picture quality is not very high.
"The panel is still in its early stage," said a Japanese LCD specialist who saw the prototype. "Samsung is probably about to make a development plan, aiming at mass production. It might found some specific problems with the plan by making the prototype."
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