Electroluminescent displays
Elliott Schlam · Information Display · 1989
COMPETITION BETWEEN the three prime flat-display technologies continues to intensify.Each saw further improvements in 1989, while market demand grew steadily.Each of these technologiesliquid crystal, plasma, and electroluminescence (EL) -has now demonstrated viable products that acceptably replicate screen patterns that in the past could only have been displayed by a CRT.They do this with order-of-magnitude savings in volume and weight over a CRT and sometimes appreciable savings in power.Notwithstanding these advances in flatpanel displays, CRTs are also advancing in technical attributes and in the marketplace.The CRT continues and will continue to be the technology of choice in most instances because of its overall technical and price advantages.However, the perceived demand that has prompted all the flat-panel R&D over the years is becoming a reality.For now, it remains difficult for flatpanel displays to create images as clear and vibrant as those created on CRTs.But as time goes on, the gap between flat-panel and CRT display quality will narrow.This is particularly significant for EL, because, of all the flat-panel technologies, it is thin-film electroluminescent (TFEL) technology that produces a display that most resembles the CRT in appearance and function.