In applications with high ambient brightness, such as outdoor devices, industrial displays or battery-operated HMIs, classic display technology often reaches its limits. Standard TFTs with backlighting require a lot of energy and are difficult to read in direct sunlight. BOE offers a promising solution here with a special display variant: reflective black and white TFTs, which were originally designed as transmissive modules, but open up new fields of application through targeted modification.
What is so special about these displays?
The reflective black and white TFTs developed by BOE are based on transmissive TFT-LCDs in which the original structure has been adapted by using a specialized rear polarizer. This polarizer is not translucent, but reflects the incident ambient light back through the liquid crystal layer to the viewer. The special feature lies in the structure of the polarizer.
The result is a passively readable TFT display that works completely without backlighting and still offers the usual resolution and precision of an active matrix TFT - albeit in monochrome (black and white). The polarizer cannot be used for full-colour TFT displays due to the colour filter.
Advantages of this technology
| Advantage | Description |
|---|---|
| Extremely low energy consumption | No backlight required - ideal for battery-operated devices |
| Best readability in daylight | The more light, the better the visibility |
| Simple system integration | Proven TFT technology with typical control standards |
| Low heat generation | Particularly relevant in closed, fanless systems, as no lighting generates heat |
| Monochrome display with high contrast | Ideal for simple, clear UI elements and texts |
Typical areas of application
- Outdoor terminals and information displays
- Portable measuring and testing devices
- Smart metering displays
- Wearables or panel devices with solar or battery operation
A major advantage of these reflective TFTs over classic passive LCDs (STN, FSTN, etc.) is their significantly higher resolution and image quality. While passive LCDs usually only enable coarse-resolution character or segment displays, active matrix TFTs offer fine-resolution pixel grids - ideal for scalable graphics, detailed symbols and flexible user interfaces. They therefore combine the high display precision of modern TFTs with the energy-saving benefits of reflective displays, making them particularly attractive for high-quality but energy-saving display solutions.
