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 Berlin, Germany -
In the Future Zone of this year’s IFA trade fair in
Berlin, Philips Research will demonstrate its
thinnest 32’’ liquid crystal display (LCD) prototype
on show. With a 1mm light guide, Philips Research
has created a display prototype of only 8mm. When
incorporated into a TV set, Philips expects that
this ultra-thin LCD will tap into consumers’ desire
to easily hang their flat-screen TVs on the wall –
just as they would do with a painting.
Your TV as a piece of art
The ultra-thin backlight technology reflects the
general design trend and enables consumers to use
their TV as a piece of art rather than a piece of
electronics. People want to be able to hang their
TVs on the walls, just as if they were paintings.
Philips has continuously addressed this consumer
need with its timely introduction of smart display
designs. The latest product developments enabled the
launch of Essence, a stylish 42’’ slim display that
is only 38mm thick. Now, the backlight technology of
Philips Research takes it a step further and brings
the ultra-thin trend to a next level. “At just 8mm
thick, our ultra-thin display concept will enable
the thinnest 32” LCD-TV,” says Fred Boekhorst,
Senior Vice-President Philips Research and Program
Manager Lifestyle. “Our concept is also very light –
around 5 kg – enabling a 32” LCD-TV that is around
10 kg lighter than existing comparable TV sets. As a
result, hanging such an LCD-TV becomes simple and
easy.”
The world’s thinnest backlighting technology
Philips Research has based this ultra-thin design on
its extensive expertise in optical design and
backlighting technology. The novel technology
involves a very thin light guide plate illuminated
from the top and bottom by high-power,
energy-efficient LEDs. Using Philips’ patented light
in-coupling structure and a fine-tuned out-coupling
pattern, light can be distributed over the whole
display area in a uniform fashion. “We’ve managed to
cut the size of the light guide – which is the
thickest part of an LCD – from around 25mm to just
1mm,” says Boekhorst. “Hence, the thickest part of
the display has now become one of the thinnest
parts, even thinner than the LC panel. This has been
key in achieving the sleek ultra-thin design.”
As this is not a commercial product yet, the
ultra-thin display concept will be demonstrated by
Philips Research in the Future Zone, Philips stand
hall 22.
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