LCD Control
Using the C505L
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AP0829 05.99
1
Introduction
In many applications it is necessary for a microcontroller to display some information to a
user. Information can be displayed using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), segmented LED
displays, dot matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), or segmented LCDs.
Segmented LCDs are popular because they use less power than segmented LED
displays, convey more information than individual LEDs, and require fewer I/O lines than
dot matrix LCD displays.
This Application Note focuses on interfacing Segmented LCDs to the Infineon C505L 8-bit
microcontroller. The example software demonstrates the configuration of the LCD
controller and Analog-to-Digital converter for use as a simple voltmeter.
2
Theory of Liquid Crystal Displays
Liquid Crystal Displays are a inexpensive, low power means to display information.
Unfortunately, the structure and control schemes of the displays are usually complicated.
LCD control becomes even more complicated when the structure is designed to reduce
the display pin count.
2.1
Structure of Liquid Crystal Displays
Figure 1 shows the cross-section of a simple LCD. An LCD is made of a liquid crystal
sandwiched between two thin, grooved filaments. Transparent electrodes are placed
above and below this structure. The placement of the electrodes defines the segments of
the display. The “electrode, filament, liquid crystal” structure is then sandwiched between
two layers of glass. Polarizing filters are then placed above the top piece of glass and
below the bottom piece of glass. Beneath the bottom filter is usually a reflector.
Sometimes the bottom polarizing filter and the reflector are combined into a single
“polarizing reflector”.