Marine Glossary

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liquid crystal display

The type of graphic display used on laptop computers and many marine electronic displays, including radar. It utilizes sheets of polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electric current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light cannot pass through them. Each crystal acts like a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking the light. Monochrome images usually appear as dark gray images on a light gray background. A high quality color LCD uses thin film transistor (TFT) technology, also called active matrix technology, where each pixel is controlled by transistors. These can produce color images as sharp as traditional CRT displays.

In most applications the backlighting of the display is a key issue to ease of viewing, and also a key factor in power consumption. Light output from LCD screens is measured in nits. In the not too distant future, all radar screens (and computer screens) will be LCD (flat panel) types. See also cathode ray tube, radar screen, and pixel.

Abbreviation: LCD