Transparent hi-res LCD screen

[sean]

A friend of mine might want me to do some microcontroller programming for an idea of his - so I'm taking a look at the possible hardware just in case I do get involved. The idea requires a transparent display - perhaps a laptop screen with all the backlighting stuff removed. My problem is - I'm not even sure if that's workable, and if so, what it's called. Searching only reveals low-resolution LCDs like the kind you find on a calculator, or finished products like monitors.

It can be black and white (in fact, that's preferable) and it only needs to cover maybe 1/4 sq. feet. But it does need to have a decent resolution (somewhere in the neighborhood if 640 x 480 would be plenty). Is there a technical term for JUST the crystal, and no backlighting? Any leads to help me search would be greatly appreciated.

edit:

http://www.dorpo.com/pictures/pro_basic/DP-053H.JPG

A display like that would be perfect if only it could work pixel by pixel instead with the blocky numbers only.

[abachler]

You are lookign for an LCD Matrix, good luck finding a source that sells just the matrix though, most companies manufactuer their own.

[zacs7]

Perhaps a portable DVD player screen?

They're rather small, I turned one into a projector a while ago (until it broke :-)). The only problem is, even the TFT screens are very hard to read without a good backlight. Although leaving the casing on, they're just as thin as the image you posted, just not see-through.

[sean]

even the TFT screens are very hard to read without a good backlight

The way we're using it - that's of no concern.

You are lookign for an LCD Matrix, good luck finding a source that sells just the matrix though, most companies manufactuer their own.

Blast! Well thanks for letting me know what the technical term was!

[rdrast]

Check here:
TFT LCD Panel: VGA and WSVGA

They are relatively inexpensive, notebook replacement displays. Most have removable transflective and backlight assemblies.

[MK27]

Originally Posted by zacs7

Perhaps a portable DVD player screen?

They're rather small, I turned one into a projector a while ago (until it broke :-)).

Just out of curiosity: how?

[zacs7]

Originally Posted by MK27

Just out of curiosity: how?

Since it was a TFT screen, just took the back-light off, bought a 1000W globe, 2 fresnel lens and a lens from a overhead projector. A bit of maths, and bang, projector for ~$100. The only problem is that a 1000W globe produces a bit of heat :-). I also tried making a projector using a 15" LCD monitor and an overhead projector, which had pretty nice picture quality (about 1.5m^2 at 1024x768px) , but suffered the same fate due to heat. I would never buy a projector, as they're so easy to make. Perhaps using an LED instead of a 1000W globe is the way to go?

If you have enough money, and could find the right lenses, then you could potentially use a high-res 17" computer monitor. I've read about people using CRT guns, but that doesn't usually work too well.