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New Substrate Tech Creates System LCDs

Posted by timothy on from the just-toss-the-cpu-in-there-too dept.

smartalix writes "Sharp Microelectronics has recently developed a new LCD substrate technology called Continuous-Grain Silicon (CG-Silicon), that enables device integration on a scale previously impossible. The technology enables the creation of System LCDs that integrate all driver and operation circuitry -- including digital logic, LCD driver, power supply, I/O interfaces, and signal-processing circuitry -- onto the glass itself. Eventually even the device's CPU will be included on the substrate. A key SLCD feature is the ability to dynamically control the resolution and color depth, providing output in multiple-resolution modes while lowering overall power consumption. A 3.7-in. SLCD created with CG-Silicon had a power consumption of 14 mW for color VGA, 8 mW for color QVGA, and 2 mW for monochrome QVGA. The first commercially available product that incorporates the System LCD architecture is Sharp's Zaurus SL-C700 PDA, recently released in Japan."

26 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. With the way the economy's been lately by Amsterdam+Vallon · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... I think I'd rather have a CDL than an LCD.

    --

    Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate. Ex-O'Reilly/MIT employee, now a full-time Google employee.
  2. QVGA? by pestie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What the bejesus is QVGA?

    1. Re:QVGA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      QVGA

      QVGA is an emerging standard for Palm Powered devices. Traditionally, Palm Powered devices have featured 160 x 160 pixel screens. QVGA screens feature a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The QVGA standard was originally adopted for the HandEra 330. New products with built-in QVGA technology are anticipated within the coming year.

      QVGA-aware applications include support for a high-resolution bitmaps, additional fonts, and a collapsible 'virtual' graffiti area. Optionally, they can also support landscape and portrait screen rotation.

    2. Re:QVGA? by antop · · Score: 4, Informative

      Quarter VGA (320x240)

    3. Re:QVGA? by hazyshadeofwinter · · Score: 5, Funny

      See, over here it's a Quarter VGA with cheese, but in France they call that a Royale with Cheese.

      --
      Click here if you just like to click on shit.
    4. Re:QVGA? by SeanAhern · · Score: 3, Informative

      No. If the original poster is correct about QVGA being 240x320, then it's not the same.

      The Clie with the graffiti area displayed is 320x320. If you collapse the graffiti area, the display is 320x480.

      So the Clie would essentially be 2 QVGA displays stacked.

  3. what ever happened to.... by eracerblue · · Score: 3, Funny


    okay great. now my LCD can think for itself.

    but what ever happened to OLEDs & flexible LCDs?

  4. Good news... by Cutriss · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The first commercially available product that incorporates the System LCD architecture is Sharp's Zaurus SL-C700 PDA, recently released in Japan.

    If that's true, then it's about time. I can't count how many next-gen display technology announcements I've seen on /. about stuff that's supposed to make better displays cheaper, and then the product never comes to market.

    The fact that there's something already out there using it means that we're much more likely to see the technology become more widespread and adapted to other devices.

    --
    "Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
    1. Re:Good news... by First_In_Hell · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Keep waiting. How long does it take for any new technology to reach an affordable implementation and price? Look at flat-panel monitors. Just now are they becoming affordable. We had to enture $1500 15' inch LCDs that now sell for $250 which had crappier quality than a low end laptop screen.

      Also, what is right for the Japanese market is not always right over here. The way they use cell phones over there borders on some science-fiction movies, while companies are still trying to get online cell phone games to catch on over here.

  5. Some information, good Sir by Amsterdam+Vallon · · Score: 5, Informative

    but what ever happened to OLEDs & flexible LCDs?

    OLED developments
    Flexible LCD manufacturing/selling information

    --

    Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate. Ex-O'Reilly/MIT employee, now a full-time Google employee.
  6. Link to the actual article by DeadMoose · · Score: 5, Informative

    As much as I love trusting the poster to have not made up a news story...here is the actual press release.

  7. The future is HERE... again. by Ninja+Master+Gara · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It sounds truly awesome. Soon we'll be grafting pda's to our skin, as promised for decades. Dick Tracy watch?! Hah! I can play Tetris!

    Btw, a direct link to the news article is here

    --

    ---
    When I grow up, I want to be a kid again.
  8. More info on power consumption by hobbs · · Score: 5, Informative
    Wanting more info on this, I found: Sharp Slashes LCD Power Consumption which is from Feb 2001 and appears to be an announcement of the tech. I really wanted to know the relative power consumption (since my e740 pocketpc sucks power), and this articles says:
    Compared to a conventional active-matrix display, which is refreshed between 60 and 70 times per second, the ULC (ultra-low-power consumption) technology only sends signals when the screen image is changed. This results in a drop in power consumption to one-third conventional levels for moving images and one-thirtieth for still images
  9. superman! by WPIDalamar · · Score: 3, Interesting


    circutry on glass?

    Sweet, so when can we have computers that come on crystals like in the superman movie.

    Oooh, can the glass go transparent? I'd love a window that doubles as a computer. I bet it can't :(

    1. Re:superman! by matt_martin · · Score: 3, Funny

      >Sweet, so when can we have computers that come on crystals like in the superman movie.

      Uhhh, so silicon is, uhh like, already a crystal, or something...

      --
      Lurking in the desert
  10. So does this mean... by ZaMoose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So then, what happens when I crack the screen? Time for an all-new Zaurus?

    Wait a tick... that's bloody brilliant on Sharp's part!

    I'm going to work on getting Sony and Nintendo to start integrating processing functionality into their controllers. Then, when somebody gets pissed and breaks one, they'll have to buy a whole new console!

    I'm off to the USPTO, suckers!

    --
    I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
    1. Re:So does this mean... by jandrese · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As opposed to current PDA technology that still works great after you crack the screen???

      The big difference I can see is the opportunity to make really thin electronics, since you don't have to have the circut board behind the display anymore (just the batteries).

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
  11. Does that mean .... by binaryDigit · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oooh circuitry on the lcd panel itself. Does that mean that I'll get floating point errors and gp's if I press the glass to see the pretty colors?

  12. System shock.. by eieken · · Score: 5, Funny

    LCD driver, power supply, I/O interfaces CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not touch the screen.

    --
    Meet new people, and kill them.
  13. Carppy transistors by brejc8 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A few months ago I was talking to someone who was working on using the transistors on LCDs to do actual computation. The problem was thet there is a hude varioation in speed between individual transistors. Making the worst case delay and clock distribution too painful to make the system usefull for anything.

    They were at the Async confrence and they were very intrested in doing everything asynchronously. It makes sence as implementing the logic in asynchronous circuits solves both problems.

    --
    Mouse powered Chips, Open source Processors and Lego
  14. The New Zaurus by yoz · · Score: 3, Informative

    One word: WANT.

    Here's the press release and spec sheet.

    It's coming to the US... ... but Dynamism have done their own English port already. (Any stories/opinions of Dynamism?)

    Keyboard doesn't look great (but at least it's better than the original tiny Zaurus one)

    I've always wanted something tiny I could carry around that would give me decent QWERTY with a landscape screen capable of displaying VT100 readably (or, better, actual graphics) that could also connect to the net when I'm out and about. This looks like it (though expansion is limited to SD & CF - that's enough for WiFi and BlueTooth, though.)

    -- Yoz

  15. getting SL-C700 Zaurus in USA by porky_pig_jr · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.dynamism.com/zaurus/index.shtml

  16. This is bad news... by webmaven · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Crap. This means that we'll be dealing with displays that have completely integrated copy-protection mechanisms.

    Even if current efforts such as Intel's HDCP are flawed, future versions of these technologies may not be amenable to cryptographic attacks, and hardware based attacks will be extremely difficult if the circuitry is embedded in the screen itself.

    This falls perfectly in line with the Broadcast Protection Discussion Group's desire to mandate implementation of a broadcast flag that all devices must honor.

    --
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  17. Re:Howzabout a foldable/rollable LCD? by cybermace5 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "v-paper" eh?

    I suggest the brand name 'Vaper'.

    --
    ...
  18. I wonder... by wazzzup · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This technology combined with technology derived from Apple's new patent application, I wonder if we could have iPod's where the case itself displays the funky visualizations?

    Just a thought.

  19. Interactive Views and specs on the Zaurus SL-C700 by erlkonig · · Score: 3, Informative

    On this flashy japanese page you can look at the C700 from different angles in both the input and viewing modes, as well as see the english specs.

    OS: Linux Embedix

    CPU: Intel XScaleTM(PXA250 400MHz)

    RAM: Flash 64MB (user area about 30MB) and SDRAM 32MB (workarea)

    Screen: 640x480 ("dots") 64K colors

    Cardslots: SD, CF type II.

    ?: 4 hours, 50 minutes

    Dimensions: 120mm W x 83 mm D x 18.6 mm H

    Mass: 225g

    The front page to get to this was from http://sl.ezaurus.com/ , from http://www.sharp.co.jp/