LCD brightness decay due to particulate contamination of back light unit

Abstract

So far, particulate contamination problems occurring in cleanroom environments have been intensively investigated by considering the product yield in semiconductor manufacturing or liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing. This study, however, focused on the particulate contamination problem causing the degradation of LCD TVs run in common environments. A field test was conducted by running a LCD TV in an office room for 60 days in order to collect and analyze the particles contaminating the backlight unit (BLU) of the LCD TV. Based on the field test result, soot particles were generated to simulate the contaminant particles, and an accelerated test was performed by exposing the LCD TV to a soot aerosol of relatively high concentration. As the exposure time was increased, the degree of particulate contamination of the BLU became more severe, and the decay rate of the LCD brightness increased. As a result, the particulate contamination of the BLU was found to greatly affect the decay rate of the LCD brightness. A numerical simulation was performed to elucidate the mechanism of particle influx into the BLU and to predict the particle deposition pattern. The contaminant particles could enter into the BLU through the gaps on the BLU casing due to the air flow induced by natural convection in the BLU. The particles were thought to have been deposited on the walls in the BLU, especially at the corner regions.