ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on digital display applications of visible output devices. The light-emitting diode (LED) has found a multitude of roles as the field of optoelectronics has bloomed. The operation of an LED is based on the recombination of electrons and holes in a semiconductor. The 7-segment display is adequate for hexadecimal applications, but the 16-segment display is required for alphanumerics. In a low-power complementary metal-oxide semiconductor digital system the dissipation of a light-emitting diode or other comparable display technology can dominate the total system’s power requirements. The plasma display manufacturers have adopted the strategy of a strong attack on the greater than 40-in diagonal NTSC television and high definition television markets. DC displays can have the resistors or current sources connected to a display electrode external to the panel, which allows only one discharge to be ignited along that electrode at any one time.
