Toshiba Mobile Display touch panel

Toshiba Mobile Display touch panel

Toshiba Mobile Display (TMD) has unveiled a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution touchscreen LCD panel where the capacitive multi-touch input functionality is integrated into the liquid crystal cell. The company says that this will allow the production of touch-enabled displays without having to add an additional touch panel to the LCD during the manufacturing process. The technology is initially headed for vehicle-mounted and industrial applications but could well lead to the development of more compact mobile products.

The new achievement is made possible by forming the display pixel electrodes and thin-film transistor (TFT) within the LCD panel using low-temperature poly-silicon technology, creating a circuit capable of accurately detecting electrostatic capacitance changes between the electrodes and the object touching the display.

TMD says that its new technology is some 57 percent thinner than conventional touch-enabled LCD displays - at approximately 1mm thick - and that weight is reduced by almost half to 225 grams (7.93 ounces). The surface reflection ratio also gets reduced by ten percent.

To inhibit any possible signal interference in the panel, TMD has developed a proprietary sensor circuit where the accuracy of detection by the sensor is increased by forming an amplifier circuit in the pixels. This is claimed to enable precise transmission of sensor signals to the outside of the panel, resulting in consistent, responsive touch panel operation. TMD's new touchscreen technology is headed for SID 2011 in Los Angeles from May 17 to 19.

Source: gizmag