LED-backlit display ideal for indoor/outdoor use

Sharp Microelectronics has introduced a 12.1in LC-display to its portfolio of displays with LED backlighting for industrial applications such as measurement, testing or controlling equipment.

The new display is said to be a high-brightness model providing good optical features, offering an XGA resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels.

The Sharp display type LQ121X3LG02 offers high brightness of 1,200cd/m and a contrast ratio of 1,000:1.

This makes it ideal for industrial applications such as measurement, testing or controlling equipment, as well as applications that are used either totally or partially outdoors.

For outdoor applications, displays have to meet high demands, including difficult light conditions such as direct sunlight or fluctuations in temperature.

The LED backlighting of the LQ121X3LG02 with 5 x 8 LEDs is said to offer numerous advantages compared with displays with CCFL back lights, such as rapid response and good dimming capability.

The display brightness can therefore be easily controlled by photodiodes and automatically adjusted in correlation of the ambient light conditions.

This means that the display remains constantly and easily legible, even in frequently changing light conditions, Sharp said.

The company added that they are also more mechanically robust as LEDs are far less breakable than the glass bodies of cold cathode lamps.

This makes mechanical design simpler and increases resilience.

Sharp said that in technological terms, LEDs are superior to CCFLs at low temperatures; at ambient temperatures below 0C, LED backlights can achieve a service life of up to 200,000 hours and provide full light output as soon as they are switched on.

In the case of higher temperatures, however, LEDs are sensitive.

A strong local heat build-up on the lighting modules must be discharged effectively, as it can damage the LCD panel and the backlighting itself, which would lead to a reduction in service life.

For this reason, Sharp has developed a special chassis for LED backlit industrial displays, in which the LEDs of the backlight are thermally coupled directly to the mechanical parts of the module.

This means that waste heat is efficiently discharged into the environment via the rear of the display, ensuring that there is no damaging heat accumulation even at high ambient temperatures.

The optical features of Sharp's 12.1in display with XGA resolution and LED backlighting ensure high image quality even under challenging light conditions.

With an operating temperature of -20C to +60C, it is suited for both indoor and outdoor use.

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