A type of display that uses liquid crystals. Examples range from the 7-segment displays in digital watches to screens in laptop computers and HD televisions (see flatscreen display). Controlling the electric field applied to each element of the display generates an image. Displays can be reflective, where the display is viewed from the same side as the incident light, or transmissive (backlit), where the light source is behind the display.

For computer screens, especially colour displays, a much higher performance may be obtained from active-matrix LCDs. In these LCDs, thin-film circuitry is deposited on a glass substrate in the screen and is used to control individual pixels (picture elements) in the image.