Glossary of Liquid Crystal Display Terminology
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| Term | Meaning |
| Active Area | Area (L x H) of the LCD that has active segments. |
| Annunciator | A word or special symbol which is driven as a single segment |
| Array | Process Method of manufacturing whereby displays are arranged in rows and columns on a large laminate- and separated after they are filled with LCD fluid. |
| Backplane | The common electrode connection. There can be multiple backplanes in a multiplexed display. |
| Blue Negative | Display configuration of a backlit negative image STN display |
| CCFL | Cold Cathode Florescent Lamp |
| COG | Chip on Glass construction process |
| COT | Chip on Tab construction process |
| Common Plane | See Backplane |
| Contact Ledge | The area along the edge of the parts where electrical connections are made. |
| Contrast Ratio | The ratio of the luminance between the dark and light areas of the display. |
| CSTN | Color STN Color STN Technology. Each pixel of a CSTN display is actually 3 separate colored pixels of Red / Green / Blue. Each of those colors are controlled individually by the graphic controller chip. So in actually; a 320 by 240 pixel CSTN display actually contains 960 by 240 individually colored pixels |
| Dual in Line Pins (DIL) | Two rows of pins attached along parallel sides of a display. |
| Diffuser | Translucent material used for light diffusion placed between backlight lighting sources and the back side of an LCD. This material will create a more uniform backlight for an LCD from several unique sources of light. |
| Direct Drive | A method of driving a display whereby individual segments are driven from separate edge connections. |
| Elastomeric Connectors | A thin conductive material used to make connections between an LCD and a PC board. |
| ELED | Edge Lit LED backlight configuration |
| ELP | Electroluminescence Panel |
| First Minimum | An LCD construction technique where the cell geometry is optimized for maximum contrast and viewing angle. The geometry is different for each LCD fluid. |
| Font | The style of a letter or digit. |
| FSTN | Film compensated STN STN Technology with the addition of a retardation film to the display that compensates for the color added by the birefringence effect. This allows a black and white display to be produced and provides for a higher contrast and wider viewing angle. |
| Ghosting | A condition where segments which are in the"off" condition become slightly visible. |
| Heat Seal Cable | A thin flexible cable used to connect the LCD to the PC board which is bonded by heat cured adhesive at each end.. |
| Image Area | The total area bounded by the display characters |
| Ink Overlay | The process of applying opaque- colored inks to the display to provide colors- or highlight certain areas of annunciators. |
| LCD | Liquid Crystal Display |
| Liquid Crystal Fluid | An organic material which has both liquid and crystalline properties. |
| LCD Module | An LCD which includes a PCB- driver electronics- bezel- and possibly a backlight. |
| Multiplex (Mux) | A method of driving a display whereby multiple segments are driven from the same edge connection. |
| Negative Image | A display which has a dark background and lighter active segments- i.e. clear characters on a black background |
| Pixel | An individual active segment |
| Polarizer | A stretched polymer which transmits light in only one axis. A typical display has polarizers on the front and back. |
| Positive Image | A display which has a light background and darker active segments- i.e. black characters on a silver background. |
| Reflective | A viewing mode which uses ambient or other front lighting to provide the illumination for the display. |
| Segment | An active area within the display which can be turned on and off. This can be a single segment of a 7-segment character- an annunciator- or a pixel in a dot matrix array. |
| Static Drive | See Direct Drive |
| STN | Super Twisted Nematic A type of display which uses fluids which"twist" greater than 90o. An STN display has improved viewing angles and contrast at high multiplex rates |
| Transflective | A viewing mode which can use ambient light or backlighting to provide the illumination for the display. |
| Transmissive | A viewing mode which cannot use any type of front lighting to provide the illumination for the display- it therefore must use a backlight |
| TN | Twisted Nematic Twisted Nematic A type of display where the liquid crystal fluid rotates the plane of polarization 90o. |
| Viewing Area | The area of a display which is visible through a bezel or cut-out in an instrument. This area is made up of the"Active Area" and the boarder around the active area. |
| Viewing Angle | The preferred angle of viewing a display- usually described in comparison to a clock face- i.e. 12 o'clock for above the normal- or 6 o'clock for below the normal. |
