The popularity of Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) has rapidly soared over the years due to the numerous advantages it offers over other display technologies. This application note provides an introduction to the basics of LCD; its construction, physics behind its operation, and the different factors affecting its properties and performance. Moreover, 8-bit PIC® microcontrollers with integrated LCD controllers are also introduced. Prominent features of the LCD Driver module of these MCU families are discussed, including contrast control, drive waveforms, biasing methods, power modes, and other LCD circuit design considerations. Lastly, the code samples for a 1-Hour Countdown Timer application for both the PIC16 and PIC18 devices are presented. The application uses the segmented and dot matrix LCD for the two families, respectively.
