Backlighting is the means of providing illumination for liquid crystal displays such as the ones found in TVs and computer monitors. LCDs do not produce their own light so an ambient light must be added from the side or back of the display panel.

LEDs are often used in backlighting applications and come in three basic forms: white, RGB and a full array of LEDs whose brightness cannot be controlled individually . White LEDs are most often used in applications such as computer monitors and use a technique developed in the mid-nineties where a phosphorus coating is applied to a blue LED and mixed with a yellow downlight to produce light that appears white. RGB LED backlighting can add enormous brightness and color spectrum to a display as they use three additive colors to produce a light that closely matches the colors in the LCD pixels. This improves efficiency and creates more vivid colors. Design flxibility and variety is increased exponentially when a full array of LEDs are used. There are unlimited options for messages, pictures and animated imaging when each LED is controlled individually.

The use of LEDs in computer monitor displays has been growing and now, virtually every manufacturer of monitors and laptop screens utilizes LEDs in their backlighting applications. This includes Apple (the first), ASUS, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, Sony, Samsung and more. The move to LED backlighting is due to the efficiency and uniformity improvements that have been made over the last decade to LED devices. In addition, LED backlighting is highly reliable with long life and low maintenance, requires less power, produces a larger color array, reduces blurring, increases brightness, improves contrast and is environmentally friendly. Panels with LED backlights can be built thinner as LEDs use less space and have much better heat dissipation than the cold cathode (CCFL) light used in traditional LCD displays.

The first commercial LED backlit LCD TV was introduced in 2004 by Sony and used RGB LED arrays to produce a color spectrum that was twice that of a conventional CCFL LCD television. This television series became quite popular as consumers rapidly noticed the enhanced viewing experience which included brighter, more vivid colors, better dimming and contrast and less bleed-through channels.

VCC offers a range of LEDs that can be applied in a large gamut of backlighting applications whether it be television, monitors, cameras, message displays or the next innovation that causes a breakthrough unforeseen at this time. Our engineers have extensive experience in selecting the right type of LEDs for you backlighting applications as well as the right configuration and implementation will be needed to achieve the best results. Contact VCC today for advice, materials and even prototyping and production assistance. We are dedicated to meeting all of your LED design and application needs.