A common type of
flat-panel display consisting of a grid of horizontal and vertical wires. At the intersection of each grid is an
LCD element which constitutes a single
pixel, either letting light through or blocking it. A higher quality and more expensive type of display, called an
active-matrix display, uses a
transistor to control each pixel.
In the mid-90s, it appeared that passive-matrix displays would eventually become extinct due to the higher quality of active-matrix displays. However, the high cost of producing active-matrix displays, and new technologies such as DSTN, CSTN and HPA that improve passive-matrix displays, have cause passive-matrix displays to make a surprising comeback.
