adafruit tft lcd datasheet brands

The Adafruit 2.2"" TFT screen is a small breakout board equipped with a colorful and bright display that can be used with many type of microcontroller thanks to its SPI interface. The board"s voltage regulator let you connect the breakout board to a 3 V or 5 V controller.

This lovely little shield is the best way to add a small, colorful and bright display to any project. We took our popular 1.8″ TFT breakout board and remixed it into an Arduino shield complete with microSD card slot and a 5-way joystick navigation switch (with a nice plastic knob)! Since the display uses only 4 pins to communicate and has its own pixel-addressable frame buffer, it can be used easily to add a display & interface without exhausting the memory or pins.

The 1.8″ display has 128×160 color pixels. Unlike the low cost “Nokia 6110” and similar LCD displays, which are CSTN type and thus have poor color and slow refresh, this display is a true TFT! The TFT driver (ST7735R) can display full 18-bit color (262,144 shades!). And the LCD will always come with the same driver chip so there’s no worries that your code will not work from one to the other.

The shield has the TFT display soldered on (it uses a delicate flex-circuit connector) as well as a ultra-low-dropout 3.3V regulator and a 3/5V level shifter so its safe to use with 5V Arduinos. We also had some space left over so we placed a microSD card holder (so you can easily load full color bitmaps from a FAT16/FAT32 formatted microSD card) and a 5-way navigation switch (left, right, up, down, select). The microSD card is not included,

From TFT color displays to Adafruit display options, choose from the devices available here at Allied Electronics & Automation, part of RS Group. We stock high-quality products by leading manufacturers.

In order to explain what a thin-film-transistor - or TFT - display is, it"s worth explaining what TFT is. This is a field-effect transistor (FET) that is typically used in a liquid crystal display (LCD).

A TFT features a type of metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) that"s made using large, thin films of active semiconductor layers. TFTs also feature a layer that acts as an electrical insulator and metal contacts. This is all layered over a substrate, which is typically glass.

The reason glass is the most commonly used substrate is that TFT is used in LCD displays and there is a TFT for each individual pixel. LCD technology sees liquid crystals manipulate light. The molecules in these crystals move as the temperature changes, and the temperature is changed using an electrical current.

While early LCD screens used a passive matrix of pixels, where each pixel was controlled by an electrical charge, this caused blurring of images on the screen. However, the introduction of TFT technology meant that the mix of pixels became active, thanks to the thin film transistors in the TFT, which are individually controlled.

Pixels in the active matrix used in a TFT LCD display are paired with a transistor that allows individual pixels to maintain charge without an electrical current being required whenever the pixel had to be changed.

As these TFT displays feature a TFT liquid crystal that includes a semiconductor switch for each pixel, each pixel can be directly controlled. This means that the TFT is acting as individual switches for each pixel.

As mentioned previously, early LCD displays were often blurry due to the need for an electrical charge for the pixels. TFT allows the images on the screen to sharpen up, becoming more defined. It also offers a high-quality color contrast and brightness setting.Better for the user

The higher-definition images are ideal for the user in terms of reducing eye strain. TFT technology also means that on a practical level, any fixes that are needed are easier to managed as pixels operate on an individual level.Less energy consumption

In comparison with LED screens, TFT displays have a longer half-life. They are also available in a range of sizes, which means that half-life can be extended again.Versatile

TFT displays are used in everyday applications, from computer work and TV watching, to corporate settings where larger screens are needed for meetings. They are also used in photography, featuring in cameras that require high definition, and navigation systems, mobile phones, and car dashboards.

At Allied Electronics & Automation, part of RS Group, we stock a range of TFT displays that are designed to provide you with the high-quality, high-definition screens you need. From Adafruit displays to interactive TFT LCD touchscreen displays, there are different options available to suit your needs.

We are a leading authorized distributor in North America and stock products by leading names including Lumex, Adafruit Industries, and we also have Focus Display Solutions and IEE displays available.