Mono displays tame the drive in autos

Add more chrome to your vehicle— that is, monochrome. Varitronix takes on the automobile industry, targeting automotive dashboard and other control- panel applications, with its new mono TFT technology. The company claims the technology enables advanced and informative consoles whilst avoiding the complex drive requirements of full-colour TFT.

Many automotive and industrial instrumentation projects have no requirement for full colour. Consequently, monochrome TFT becomes an ideal high-performance alternative to DSTN and other passive display technologies. Boasting a contrast ratio of approximately 1000:1, it offers the same performance characteristics as full-colour TFT in terms of viewing angles and operating temperatures.

Monochrome TFT also improves the sunlight readability of the display over full-colour TFT. With a transmission ratio in excess of 20%, there’s potential to reduce the brightness or even eliminate the backlight to save power. On top of that, monochrome TFT is much simpler to drive, requiring only small changes to the drive electronics for an existing DSTN solution.