 Some behind-the-screens work just completed by Samsung will soon enable many of the portable devices you enjoy to offer thinner and lighter touch panel displays. The Korean electronics giant has announced a new LCD technology called HTSP that will allow manufacturers to incorporate touch screen functionality directly into the TFT fabrication process, whereas most current touch-sensitive applications require a separate, sensor-laden printed circuit board (PCB) attached to the top of the display.
So far the company is able to create LCDs as big as 3.5 inches using the new method, meaning that you can expect to see hTSP-sporting smartphones, PMPs, and nav devices on store shelves in the near future. The new 3.5” LCD, referred to as the 3.5” hTSP (hybrid Touch Screen Panel), features qVGA resolution and a built-in touch screen. Normally, an LCD panel with touch screen must have a separate printed circuit board (PCB) attached to the top of the LCD panel that contains sensor circuitry. Now, Samsung has eliminated this requirement by including all sensor circuitry within the panel. As a result, mobile devices designed with the new 3.5” display can be thinner and lighter, while maintaining a bright, high contrast image.
Adding to production cost efficiencies, the company produced the touch screen circuitry inside the new panel using the same thin-film transistor (TFT) processing that it uses today in mass production at existing LCD facilities.
The new LCD panel can be applied to a wide range of portable applications that require a touch screen, such as navigation terminals for vehicles, and personal media players (PMPs). Future applications will include smart phones, PDA phones, ultra-mobile PCs and other multimedia mobile products.
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