TOUCH TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
`Information
`
`‘
`
`Official Monthly Publication oithe Society [or Information Display - www.informotiondisplmnorg
`
`Vol. 26, No. 3
`
`The Best of Ties
`for Touch O
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`
`Information
`DISPLAY
`
`MARCH 2010
`VOL. 26. NO. 3
`
`Editorial
`‘Ni! Limiiims i'i'.rari<‘.mi_fiJr Tm.-ml:
`Siepiien R Arwmd
`
`industry News
`
`Guest Editorial
`The Best of Times
`
`Anniversary of a Prediction
`
`.ie:iir_\' Drmrlun
`
`Gmfl ‘r{"rJHcer
`
`Paid Dr:Lu3:'
`
`Fronrlirie Technology: LCD In-Cell Touch
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`C.-‘eufii-i”iiifJ;¢=r and Mark Fiiiii
`Fronriine Technology.‘ Projected-Capacitive Touch Technology
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`Display Morkeipiaice: The State of the Touch-Screen Market in 2.610
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`Enabling Terbnaiflgy: Tmicli Screens and Touch Surfaces are Enriched by I-Iaptic Force-
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`Journal’ ofikr SH) April Contents
`Embiiiig Technology.‘ Beneath the Surface
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`G-£‘iJ_l‘?"r§ri2ik£r and Mark Fiiiii
`Making Displays Work for Tori: Taking Touch to New Frontiers: Why It lkiakt-.5 Sense and
`Him‘ to Make It Happen
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`Mark Humliiiii
`
`Display Week 2019 First Looks: Green Technology
`Dr»: Carkn.-yr
`
`Dispiay Week Ztilil First Looks: Touch Technology
`Jenrir i)r=ne1uri
`SID News: Latin Display 3009
`Official SID 2010 Housing Request Form
`Sustaining Members
`Index to Advertisers
`
`For Industry News, New Products, Current and Forthcoming Ar1ic|e5,
`see Www.Erift)rmgliondisplaynrg
`
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`COVER: Afiior derradrs r?.|"be=iri;,= behind ii?!
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`"The Best 01”!‘
`for ‘Touch
`
`Ifllsplcy wet-In 2:210
`
`CREDIT: Cover [lesion in; Acapelia Stunfios. inc.
`Soeciai thanks to Kevin Giitesoie ior his
`inspiratiorial suggestions.
`
`Next Month in
`
`Information Display
`
`Digital Signage
`* Indoor Digital Signage
`0 Outdoor LED Displays
`- Digital Signage Marketplace
`Plus
`
`- SID 2009 Honors and Awards
`
`- Display Week First Looks
`¢ Symposium Preview
`¢ Exhibit Preview
`
`- Jrmrimi of the SID May Contents
`
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`

`
`DISPLAY
`
`
`The Limitless Horizon for Touch
`by Stephen P. Atwood
`
`lfyou are just opening this March issue, I hope you notice
`that it is thicker than the previous few. The reason is fairly
`Simple. Our Guest Editor Geoff Walker brought to us an
`outstanding array of submissions and we just could not
`bring ourselves to cut anything out. Touch technology has
`been around for as long as I have been in the display busi-
`ncss.
`In fact. I've worked full t.ime at three different touch
`
`businesses and consulted with several more during my career. I can even remember
`some of the first demonstrations of various acoustic and capacitive touch technologies
`and I have had the privilege of meeting many of those inventors.
`But I doubt any of those early inventors could have envisioned the massive scale of
`adoption and utilization that has taken place around mobile devices. Sccntingly,
`almost overnight everyone is using touch with ease to navigate complex interactions
`with their iPhones. PDAs, and other devices. Early complaints about accuracy.
`response. uncertainty. and image quality seem to have evapotated like snow on a
`warm day. Of course. we know those issues have not really evaporated; rather. a
`significant number of very talented engineers have been hard at work innovating for
`the past several years and, wiI'_h some assistance from the semiconductor and lnat.eri:1ls
`industry. have circumvented these problems enough t.o please consumers. One of the
`most frequent complaints about early PDAs was the accuracy of their resistive screens.
`If you had an early PDA device with stylus input, you no doubt struggled at times with
`the gesturczrecognition software and became frustrated by the ort~screen keypad when
`the stylus picked the wrong letters or numbers. Similarly, using your finger to select
`things was like using a shotgun to hunt ants. Sure you could get the target. but the
`collateral impact was substantial. And. even if none of this deterred you, then the
`eventual degradation of the screen due to stylus-induced wear was disappointing.
`Projectcd—capacitivc screens. with their matrix of absolutely addressed conductors
`and rigid glass surfaces. have really changed the experience. Now there is little
`calibration error or drill. the contact with your finger can be very light, which allows
`for more precise selections. and I have yet to see a prtvcap screen worn out by normal
`use. That said, we are far from the ideal solution because the typical pro-cap screen
`does not support stylus use and is more expensive than a similar resistive screen.
`Efforts to remedy this situation are revealed in the Frontline Technology feature
`“Projected-Capacitive Touch Technology" written by Gary Barrett and Ryomei
`Omote. Barrett. incidentally, is one of those fundamental inventors of touch technol—
`ogy l referred to in the hcginning of this editorial. If you talk to him, he can expound
`on the many technical and business challenges the industry faced in its infancy.
`It
`took a lot of hard work and creativity to get to where we are today. But don‘t let me
`leave you with the impression that resistive screens are outmoded either. Engineers
`have made great strides with resistive technology, employing more durable materials,
`bctltsr optical coatings, and even high—rcsolutjon matrix addressing to produce
`accuracy similar to that of pro-cap screens.
`So, does this mean the quest is basically over? Are we at the shores of the touch»
`technology journey and ready to unload the boats for good’? Have we discoverecl
`everything that needs to be d.isco\-cred‘? N ot a chance!
`If you have read any of our
`previous issues on this topic you kriovt-‘ the theme: Touch keeps getting better, but
`there is no one technology that does everything or meets the needs of all applications.
`
`2
`
`Infi-:m1tJti'oii Dt'_t‘pt’t:_\-' Rfiltfl
`
`Display. (t'ontirttred on page 35}
`
`The opinions expressed in editorials.
`columns. and feature articles do not neces-
`sarily reflect the opinions of the Executive
`Editor 01' Publisher of Irtfonnation DIspl.'a_y
`Magazine, nor do they necessarily reflect
`the position of the Society for Information
`
`Information
`
`Executive Editor: Stephen P, Atwood
`6 l 7500-9729, satwood @ a2oni>t.com
`- Editor-in-Chief: Jay Morrcalc
`2 I 2J4(1O-97{)(}, jn1ot1'eale to pCm4l 1 corn
`Managing Editor: jenny Damian
`5{}3;9g4.g523. jdom1an@pcm4] Loom
`Administrative Assistant: Ralph Nadell
`; Sales Manager: Danielle Rocco
`53168 Director: Michele Klein
`
`ill g
`
`:
`
`Il
`
`Editorial Advisory Board
`
`Stephen P. Atwood. Chair
`
`l l
`
`1
`
`Creme/?i;om'JrCorp, U.SA.
`
`373°C Fina“
`U”“"""”’_“3" “f T‘''‘“‘ ‘H D""”‘”* USA‘
`;_ Allan Kmfiz
`C""‘”h“’"' U‘S'A‘
`t
`Larry web”
`Comnirartt, U..S'.A.
`
`l
`
`.
`
`l
`
`Guest Editors
`
`Solid-State Lighting
`Jcflrey-‘ Spindler, Eastman Kodak Co.
`
`Flexible and Ultra—l.,ow—Powcr Displays
`Rob Zehner, E Ink Corp.
`
`3-D Technology
`Brian T. Schowertgcrdt. Um'vé'rst'r_t' of
`Washmgnm
`_
`OLE‘? Tmhnokhgy,
`Mm Hack‘ Llfljiletgfli Display Corp‘
`LCD T°°h“°l“’33'
`I
`I
`Sh”;F:::aw”’ U"”""‘”"-“' {ifCalm’)
`Green Manufacrurir: g
`Greg Gibson. A-’:axTECH FA5
`
`Touch Technology
`Geofl Walker’, .Nt=xfWt':tdow
`
`

`
`
`
`Tyco Electronics’ Elo Touch-
`
`Systems Rolls Out lnteliiTouch
`
`Plus Technology
`
`by Jenny Donelan
`
`IIttcll.iTouch Plus technology from Elo Touch»
`Systems. a pioneering touch te.chnoiog_\_i com-
`palty founded in I971. is. according to Elo.
`the first surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) touch
`technology with multi-touch capabilities. and
`aiso the first SAW technology to receive the
`Windows ? logo.
`lnteliiTt)uch Plus records
`two .'-iil't"Ii1l[iJlnC(}l.l.‘i touch locations ztnywhcre
`on the screen with three axes of touch. The
`
`technology is designed to offer OEMs. appli-
`cation developers, and other customers tools
`to leverage the W'indow.~; 7 touch interface.
`Inte|liToLtch Pius will be commercially
`available. early this year. in the form of wreen
`components in sizes ranging from J? through
`32 in. for consumer touch monitors as wcll as
`
`all—in—one touch computers running Windows 7'.
`
`
`
`In addition. it 32-in. open-frame [ouch monitor
`will be available latter in 2t}l0.
`A new Eio TouchSysterns touch d.ri\=cr. also
`compatible with Windows 7, will be available
`this year for current Elo tnonitors and will
`offer the addition ol‘ digitized gestures to basic
`single-touch functionality. No new hardware
`is needed. This proprietary technology will
`enable real—time sirigle—fi ngei‘ gesture recogni-
`tion on all Elo touch monitors, a capability the
`company says can be easily integrated into all
`Elo touch monitors for compatibility with the
`: Windows 7‘ operating system. I
`
`News Briefs
`
`FIatFrog Laboratories AB. a developer and
`manufacturer of opticsrbased mu|ti—1ouch kits
`and subsystems. recently announced that it
`has raised €125 million (approxintately
`USSL8 ntilliont in new equity from interna-
`tional strategic and institutional investors.
`Proceeds from this new round of funding will
`
`.
`
`be used to commercialize Flad-‘rog‘.s product
`line of large. higlt—performarice n1ulti—touch
`in-glass displays. Tyco Electronics, Ltd.. a
`‘ Switzerland-based designer. manufacturer.
`and marketer of engineered electronic compo-
`nents and undersea telecommunication sys-
`terns. has acquired Sensitive Object. SA, a
`France—hased developer of tou-:h—input tech-
`; nc-logy. for approximately $62 million. Elo
`' TouchSystems ( mentioned in article earlier")
`is also it Tyco business. Amazon.-'.:om has
`reportedly bought Touchco. a small .start—up
`company that makes flexible touch screens.
`According to 11 February 3. 2010. article in the
`New Yorlr Times, "Arrta7.on Said to Buy Touch
`Start-up.“ Arnazon.co:n will merge Toucltco
`with the Kindle hardware division. Lab I26,
`in Calilornia. Touchco I1'I'.ll-{CS flexible. See-
`through. and pressure—sensitive touch screens.
`'- The coinpan}-"s touch—screen technology can
`reportedly make a distinction between the
`singular pressures applied by either a finger
`or stylus. This news was unconf"trtned by
`Amazon at press time. I
`
`1-Touch”!
`
`’Tl'll_lCi'l
`
`it
`
`it ('_"i_ir'1ta1
`
`.
`
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`-
`
`tt'iLilti—tout‘}'~. pt'oi:lr.irl...
`
`See Us at Display Week 2011} in Seattle
`
`

`
`
`
`The Best of Times
`
`by Geoff Walker
`
`
`
`it‘s hard to imagine how the touch industry could be any
`more exciting than it is right now. Consider the following.
`especially in light of the current worldwide economic crisis:
`- Consumer—device manu facterers are adopting touch at a
`very rapid rate.
`- New touch technologies are being created.
`- Touch is growing EX (units) to IUX (revenue) faster than the display industry.
`- Existing touch technologies are being refined and enhanced.
`- Projected-capaciti\-'e—toueh revenue has rocketed from $20 million to $600 million
`in 3 years.
`- The pace and scope of university research on touch has accelerated.
`- Display Week has dedicated one of the four half-day Sunday Short Courses to
`touch.
`
`* SID has designated touch as a special area of focus and created symposium sessions
`exclusively for touch.
`- Touch startups are being funded or acquired when they rareiy would have been in
`the past (FiatFrog, Touchco. Sensitive Objects ...l.
`- New conferences and shows devoted to touch are being created woridwidc.
`
`One of the several factors driving this excitement is that there is no perfect touch
`technology. Each of more than a dozen technologies has specific strengths and weak-
`nesses. For example. there still is not one touch technology for a smartphone that has
`high durability. high optical performance, rnuhi-touch. a flush surface (edge-to-edge
`glass or plastic). and can be touched with any object including a small-tipped throw-
`away stylus ~— at any cost? Yet all of these characteristics are in strong demand from
`smartphone OEMs.
`Another factor is the variation in requirements across different touch applications.
`For example, how many simultaneous touches does a touch technology need to
`support‘? The answer depends on the application and the device size. In small,
`narrow-bordered mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. the ability to
`recognize and track many touches is particularly useful when implementing "grip
`suppression” algorithms (see the article in this issue on projected-capacitive touch
`technology for more details).
`In nethooks and notebooks, one hand is almost always
`used to hold the screen steady. so the maximum number of touches that the other hand
`can apply is limited to five. and since it's only one hand. three or four is probably a
`practical limit.
`In desittop monitors and all»in~one computers. there are zero applica-
`tions today that require more than two touches. so the device 0EMs currentiy have
`little interest in incorporating ( more expensive) touch screens that can support more
`than two touches.
`In iarge-format (>30-in.l displays. the majority of applications
`today are "point-and-click" that require oniy a single touch (excepting CNN—TV’s
`multi-touch display, of course). On the other hand, it's not much ofa stretch to
`envision multi-player games and educational applications on large-format displays
`requiring +1-10 touches in the near future.
`In reality, the maximum number oftouches isjust one of more than 40 characteris-
`ties that define a touch screen. Ultimately, what really matters is the user experience,
`which depends on all of the touch sc reen's chat';.1C.le.ristic s. the user interface. the appli-
`cation, and Lhe operating system 2.1} coming. together to work in liannony to do what
`
`fcmitinired on page 45}
`
`4
`
`Irgfurrrtiifirrii i)i.rpi(J_t- .4}! H
`
`20 10 SID
`
`International
`
`Symposium,
`Seminar, and
`Exhibition
`
`Display Week
`20 1 0
`
`Seattle,
`Washington
`
`May 25-28, 201 0
`
` t DISPLAY
`WEEK
`Seaiue. WA ° May 23-28. 2-B10 - uvww.si:12010.org
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`as they take me chair — at www.mcrck-chcmicalsxom
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`- peapiz zoexpiaérz "now we make their jobs teams! an: nelo their
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`
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`What's ét Eike working with Merck Chemicals?
`
`Zoom in on the story!
`
`And read how we put smiles on
`our customers’ faces at
`
`www.merck—chemicalacom/testimonials
`
`That's what's in ii for you. Merck Chemicals
`
`Visit us at DISPLAY V?-EEK. 5
`Washington I HaEi 4Af~E E Booth 323.
`www.merck4di5p|ays.com
`
`{EN/IERCK
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`
`7TH55?:.éI»..'n:_v't_ha_arbyKnoll,Inc.
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`

`
`SH) Executive Committee
`President: P. Drzaic
`Pnesidelit-Elect; M. Aoandari
`Regional VP. Americas: T. Vttutsas
`Regional VP. Asia: 5. Naelnuta
`Regional VP. Europe: J-N. Perbct
`’l‘reast.t-rer; B. Berkeley
`Secretary:
`.-1. (ihosh
`Pastilresident:
`l..\‘L“el)er
`
`llirt-ciors
`Bay Area: 5. Pan
`I-leijing: B. P. Wang
`Belarus. V. Vyssotski
`Canada: T. C. Schlnidt
`Dayton: D. G. Hopper
`Delaware Valley: J. W. Parker Ill
`Detroit: 1. Kaniclzi
`France:
`.14‘. Pamela:
`Hong Kong: H. Lcung
`India: G. Rajewvaran
`Israel: G Golan
`Japan:
`Ibaralti
`Korea: K. W. Wl"t:ti'!f__'_
`Latin America: A. Marttmana
`Los Angclcs; I...Ta.nn:Is
`it-lid-Atlattdc:
`l). Morton
`Mid—E.urope: G.0ver.<tuizcn
`New England; 3. Atwood
`Pacific Northwest; A. Ahileah
`Russia:
`I. N.Corripa.r1ci.s
`San Diego: 1‘. Striegler
`Singapore: C.C.Cl1ao
`Southwest: 3. U‘ Rourke
`Taipei: Y. T. Tsai
`Texas: 7.. Yaniv
`U.K. & lrelandz l. Sage
`llltraine:
`\’.S-organ
`Upper Mid-West: El. Bahadur
`Committee Chairs
`Aczdetuic: P.Eos
`Arcltivesillistoriatt: P. Baron
`Bylaws: A.Kn'letz
`Chapter Formation: Z. Yaniv
`Convention: D. Ecclcs
`Definitions 8: Standards: J. Misceli
`Honors zit Awards: C. King
`Long—Rartge Planning; M. Anantlari
`Membership: 3. Pan
`Nontinations: L. Weber
`Publications: B.-Snaoc
`Senior Member Grade: M. Anandan
`
`Il1l l:ti
`
`EE
`
`i3
`
`E
`
`Chapter Chairs
`Bay Area:
`I). Atrnitage
`Beijing: N. Xu
`liclarus: V. Vyssotski
`Canada:
`:‘\.KiI2i
`Dayton: F. Meyer
`Delaware Valley: J. Rlakc
`Detroit: 8. Pain
`France: J. P. Partieix
`Hortg Kong: H. S. liwolt
`India: 5.Kaura
`lsrael: B. intiitsity
`Iapan: K. Kon-do
`KI.u'l.':i: Y. S. Kim
`Latin America: V. Mammana
`Los Angclcs: P. .Ioujon—Rocl-ic
`Mid-Atlantic: 0. 'l'an
`M'td—Europe: A.Je1fs
`New England: B. Harl<av_~,-
`Pacific Northwest; A. Siizars
`Russia: S. Pasechnik
`San Diego: T. D. Suiegler
`Singaporefhialaysia: X. Sun
`Southwest: B.Ti1’t|e
`Taipei:
`‘i’.Tsa.i
`Texas: S. Penna
`U.l{. 84 [rcla.nd: 5. Day
`Ukraine;
`\-flfiergan
`Upper Mid-West: P. Downen
`Office Atiminlstl-ation
`Uft'iee and Data Manager:
`
`Iertny Bach
`
`Soeietyfnr Infonnatittat Display
`H75 5. Bascom Ave. Ste. 114
`- Campbell. CA 9501.124
`-ttJ8ftU'9-.190 I . ta: -3833
`:—mail: off} ce a sit! ore
`Itttp:itw:wu'.sltl.tirg
`
`=
`
`
`
`
`
`Anniversary of a Prediction
`
`by Paul Drzaic
`
`President, Society for Information Display
`
`’T‘here‘s a quotation generally attribttted to the famous U.S.
`baseball player Yogi Berra: ‘'It‘s tough to make predictions.
`especially about the future." While we hear predictions all
`the time from various sources, it"s uncommon for these
`
`predictions to accurately portray the future. Even rarer. and
`astonishing, are the predictions that appear controversial or even outrageous when
`they are made. but are prover: to be true over time. For this column. I‘d like to
`celebrate a prediction made during a keynote address at the SID Symposium in 2005
`that to my mind fits the ‘'astonishing’’ description.
`President Sang-Wan Lee of Samsung Electronics provided the talk I‘m referring to.
`His address was entitled “LCD Revolution — The 3rd Wave." and it provided a look
`back at the penetration of large-area active—matrix liquid-crystal-display {AMLCDJ
`technology into notebook and desktop applications (the lst and 2nd waves). He
`presented an impressive array of statistics showing progress in AM LCDs. including
`dramatic perforinance improvements in response time. brightness. contrast ratio, color
`depth. and viewing angle. President Lee also noted the industry's multi-billion dollar
`investment in AMLCD manufacturing capabilities. At that time, this meant 20
`companies operating 79 manufacturing lines worldwide. including one Gen 7'' and four
`Gen 6 fabs. Over {(10 million LCD monitor units were shipped that year. Based on
`these successes. President Lee projected that AMLCDS would next dominate the
`television market. sapplanting CRTs, plasma displays. and projection displays.
`It's important to note the electronic-display landscape in 2005. The retail price for
`40-42-inch LCD televisions was approaching the $2500 range. It was possible to
`purchase LCD TVs for less than $1500. but only in 30-inch and smaller sizes. CRTs
`held over 70% of the market share for televisions. with AMLCDS. plasma displays,
`and projection displays lighting tooth and nail for the balance. Most commonly,
`commercial AMLCD TV sizes topped out at around 42 inches. while plasma and
`projection displays were available up to 60 inches. While everyone was relatively
`confident that CRTs would continue to lose market share to flat-panel displays, it was
`not at all clear how quickly that erosion would take place or which mix of technolo-
`gies would win.
`That landscape explains why Sang-Wan Lee’s predictions were so astounding at I_l1e
`time. Looking ahead to 2010. he made the following ciaimsz
`
`-
`
`*
`
`-
`°
`
`-
`
`-
`
`AMLCD televisions would attack both CRTs at the low end and plasma}
`projection screens at the high end, competing in cost. quality. and size.
`A target of H10 million AMCLD televisions by 20l0 was achievable -
`conventional forecasts were in the 60-70 million unit range.
`The retail price for a 32-inch AMLCD would be less than $1000.
`Commercial LCDs would compete head to head with plasrnarproiection units
`in sizes up to 7'0 inches.
`The industry would continue to invest in large. new-generation fabs up to
`Gen 9.
`
`New applications would emerge based on this availability.
`
`Attending the talk, I distinctly heard the audience audibly reacting t.o these claims —
`the price points. unit volumes. and commercial sizes were viewed as extremely
`tcoirtirmcd on page 45)"
`
`6
`
`lrtforimtrim: Displr.-_\= JWU
`
`

`
`BLT. The Woride
`
`M-e.e?£ Efficient LED 8 ed
`
`Keybeerde.;Key;:»a:i=e
`
`best perfe m
`‘Anti-Refie Ear
`
`'
`
`- Chemicaffifivtre
`
`0 Heat Temgge n;.
`- Technical
`roc;
`
`APPLICATIONS
`
`- Touch Paqeis
`- ATMs 8.. Kiosks
`- Miiitary & .=$\Viori'
`- Ruggedized Displa
`.Equiprnent, Military.-
`
` 440-922-4584
`Tei: 304-624-7461
`Eu.-3p] -
`WWW.3UrOpteC.COrn
`Gtasnnd Palmer
`europtecu sa @ europteeczorn
`technologies
`
`infoi-‘-githame.com
`www.g|t;home.com
`
`‘See Us at
`Display Week 2020 in Seattle
`
`423 Tuna Street
`
`Clarksburg, WV 26301
`
`See Us at Display Week 2010 in Seattle
`
`

`
`
`
`LCD In-Cell Touch
`
`Imagine being able to touch the surface of any display with yourfinger or a stylus and
`have the location. ofyour touch instantly identified down to th.e exact pixels. Imagine this
`happening with no cover glass or special coatings or any other obstruction in front of the
`display, and with minimal change inside the display. That’s the promise of in-cell touch.
`The problem is that the promise remains mostly out of reach. This article explores that
`promise and its ctirrent status in detail.
`
`by Geoff Walker and Mark Fihn
`
`- On-cell: The touch sensorisan X-Y
`
`array of capacitive electrodes deposited
`on the top or bottom surface of the color-
`
`filter substrate. Strictly speaking. when
`
`the electrodes are on the bottom surface
`of the substrate they are physically inside
`
`
`
`Table 1: The difficulty of integrating each of 11 touch technologies as
`out—ccIi touch is shown as green {easy}, yellow (medium), and red (hard)
`
`Touch Technology
`
`Difficulty of Out-Cell Integration
`
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`'Ii‘-lEtcr1'n “in-cell touch“ generally refers
`
`to lhe implementation of :1 touch sensor inside
`the cell of a liquid-crystal display {LCD}.
`While the term and technology have been
`applied to touch sensors integrated into
`plasma-display panels. electrophoretic
`{electronic paperjclisplays, and 0LED~:., this
`article examines only the application in LCDS.
`LCD in-cell touch currently exists in three
`fonns, only one of which is physically inside
`the LCD cell. The three forms; are as follows:
`
`-
`
`In-celtr The touch sensor is physically
`inside the LCD cell. The touch sensor
`
`can take the form of light-sensing ele-
`ments. micro-switches. or capacitive
`electrodes.
`
`Geoff Walker is the Marketing ifvangeiist &
`Jlmiu.-‘.'It'_v Gttrtt at l'\iexrlv'l’irJdow, the heading
`snI.p_,riiier' ofopticai touch screens. He is the
`Guest Edimr_f(}t'Ii1iS issue of Information
`Display. is a recognized totto't—iJidtrstr\‘ expert
`who has been working with !0i4'(.‘i’l' screet1s_foJ'
`20}-‘ears. He ran be reached at 408/506-7556
`and gn=oii<er@nextwina'ow.Com. Mark Fiim
`is pubiisiter of the Veritas et Visits newslet-
`ters, fotwsed on the technologies and markets
`reiated to flexible ciispiu_\-‘.5’. dispia_\‘—reiated
`standards and réfgtlialiatls, 3-D dis'pia_t-‘s,
`high—pe13”ormaJ1ce dispiays. and touch
`screens. He can be reached at 254/791-0603
`or mark@' veritasetvistts. com.
`
`8
`
`infi:J'::u1titJrr £}ispit1_\‘.i‘/ii!
`
`f]362—El9'i2it}_"i«’2(}l E)-fl(lS$l .00 + .00 © SID 2010
`
`

`
`
`
`end producfs industrial design) in order
`to achieve the touch function.
`
`- Theoretically tmlimited {controller-
`dependentl r'nulti~tot.tch functiottalityt
`since each pi xel or group of pixels
`should be individually detectable.
`- Conceprually very high touch-perfor-
`malice, including low parallax error
`(assunting no cover-glass). very accurate
`and linear toLtCh~p0inl data (due to the
`unchanging underlying piscl matrix}. and
`potentially higher resolution than the
`LCD {through inter-pixel interpolation
`when a Scn.‘t01' is present in each pixel].
`- Theoretically tnuch lower cost‘ for the
`touch function. since the changes in an
`L.CD’s manufacturing cost should be
`minimal.
`
`In reality, all ol‘ these advantages have
`turned out to be compromised to some degree.
`The next several sections of this article delve
`
`into each of the three technologies and their
`advantages and disadvantages in more detail.
`
`Table 2: In-cell and on-ceil
`
`touch technologies are being
`invcsti gated by various LCD
`manufacturers. The manufacturers
`
`with the most significant developme.nt
`efforts are shown in bold; green
`denotes each manufacturer's primary
`focus.
`
`Charge
`Sensing
`Light Voltage lin-cell or
`LCD
`Manufactttrer Sensing Sensing on-cell]
`
`
`
`
`Chi Mei Innolux H I
`CPT
`
`I
`
`I
`
`I-lanr3Sl.ar
`
`LG Display
`NEC
`
`Samsung
`
`Seiko-Epson
`
`J'rtfr:rrnt.'rt'r;:r z")i.r_:n’t.{y .x’x".l’f}
`
`9
`
`the cell — but this is still usually called
`"on—cel|“ because of the type of elec-
`trodes. (This is a good illustration of the
`lact that the terminology for in-cell touch
`is still evolving.)
`- Ora‘-cell: This new term, coined in 2009
`by AU Optronics Corp, describes the
`configuration in which :1 standard touch
`screen { usually only resistive or pro-
`jected capacitive} is laminated directly
`on top of the LCD during module manu-
`facturing. Unlike the odter two, this con-
`figuration typically requires an additional
`piece of glass — even though it. is techni-
`cally possible to use a film-—film resistive
`touch screen in this case.
`
`Because these terms and the technology
`that they describe are quite new. there is still
`quite a bit of variation in their use in technical
`and marketing documents. Caution is advised
`while reading any relevant material; "on—cell"
`may often be used to describe something that
`is actually “out~ceil,"' and vice-versa.
`
`Out-Cell Touch
`
`Out-cell is basically just the integration of a
`touch solution at the LCD-module manufac-
`
`turcr. This is not Iundatnentall y di tierent than
`the touch integration that is often performed
`by third-party integrators today. The major
`difference is that it is likely to be lower cost,
`which means that out-cell is probably going to
`become a general trend. one most likely to
`occur with technologies that are easy to inte-
`grate. Table l categorizes all current i.(lUCl'l
`technologies in terms of the difficulty of
`integrating them as out—cell touch.
`As shown in Table l. resistive and pro-
`jected-capacitive touch screens are the most
`likely candidates for ottt-cell itttegmtitin.
`These two most commonly used technologies
`accounted for over 95% of the total number of
`
`touch screens shipped in 2009. Both are often
`attached to LCDs by tbird—party integrators.
`so it is easy for the LCD-module manufac-
`turer to do the same. Projected-capacitive
`sensors are increasingly