Samsung announced today that it has developed an amorphous silicon (a-Si) seven-inch, single-chip TFT-LCD panel that reproduces colors in resoultions of up to 800 x480 pixels.

The seven-inch LCDs are mostly used in mobile devices, including DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting), PMP (portable multimedia players) and CNS (car navigation systems), and normally require 4 to 7 drive ICs (integrated circuits). Also, on a conventional seven-inch LCD panel, the T-con (time controller that drives the screen), power platform and other components typically are attached to a circuit board on the exterior of the LCD. The complexity of this integration point has been a major obstacle to slimming the package profile of mobile LCD devices.

The new single-chip design, with a contrast ratio of 400:1 and a brightness level of 450 nits, uses Samsung's ASG (amorphous silicon gate) technology. The ASG incorporates the Gate-driver IC function directly on the surface of the glass panel, while simultaneously integrating the T-con function within the Drive-IC. In the single-chip design, the surface area of the drive circuit and the number of components that it contains are each one-third less than that used in existing WVGA panel designs.

The one-chip seven-inch WVGA panel will be first publicly displayed during the first week of June at the SID (Society for Information Display) Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.

Technical Data

Display Size: 7.0"
Resolution: WVGA (800 x480 pixel)
Mode: a-Si
Display Type: Transmissive
Brightness: 450(nits)
Contrast Ratio: 400:1
Colors: 16,700,000
Color Saturation: 50%
Viewing Angle (Top/Bottom/Left/Right): 45/50/60/60
Power Consumption: 300mW