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Tech-Specs > Built-in Display > VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display)

A vacuum fluorescent display (VFD) is a display device used commonly on consumer electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car radios, and microwave ovens. A VFD operates on the principle of cathodoluminescence, roughly similar to a cathode ray tube, but operating at much lower voltages. Each tube in a VFD has a phosphor coated anode that is bombarded by electrons emitted from the cathode filament. In fact, each tube in a VFD is a triode vacuum tube because it also has a mesh control grid. Unlike liquid crystal displays, a VFD emits a very bright light with high contrast and can support display elements of various colors. Standard illumination figures for VFDs are around 640 cd/m2 with high-brightness VFDs operating at 4,000 cd/m2, and experimental units as high as 35,000 cd/m2 depending on the drive voltage and its timing. The choice of color (which determines the nature of the phosphor) and display brightness significantly affect the lifetime of the tubes, which can range from as low as 1,500 hours for a vivid red VFD to 30,000 hours for the more common green ones. Cadmium was commonly used in VFDs in the past, but the current RoHS-compliant VFDs have eliminated this metal from their construction. VFDs can display seven-segment numerals, multi-segment alpha-numeric characters or can be made in a dot-matrix to display different alphanumeric characters and symbols. In practice, there is little limit to the shape of the image that can be displayed: it depends solely on the shape of phosphor on the anode(s).

23 Games

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Basketball: Dribble Away (1979 · Dedicated handheld)
Blackjack Calculator (1979 · Dedicated handheld)
Boxing: Knock-Em Out (1979 · Dedicated console)
Bridge Challenger (1979 · Dedicated console)
Dataman (1977 · Dedicated handheld)
box cover thumbnail Defender (1981 · PC Booter, Commodore 64, Atari 2600...)
box cover thumbnail Donkey Kong (1981 · PC Booter, Game Boy Advance, NES...)
Electronic Poker (1979 · Dedicated handheld)
IceHockey: Lucky Puck (1979 · Dedicated handheld)
box cover thumbnail Jungler (1981 · Xbox 360, Arcade, Arcadia 2001...)
Math Marvel (1980 · Dedicated handheld)
Mind Boggler (1978 · Dedicated handheld)
Mini-Vid: Breakfree (1979 · Dedicated console)
Mini-Vid: Dodge City Gunfight (1979 · Dedicated console)
Mr. Challenger (1978 · Dedicated handheld)
Soccer: Kick the Goal (1979 · Dedicated handheld)
Speak & Spell (1978 · Dedicated handheld)
box cover thumbnail Stargate (1981 · PC Booter, NES, Commodore 64...)
box cover thumbnail Super Cobra (1981 · Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision...)
Super Star Football (1979 · Dedicated handheld)
The Game Machine (1978 · Dedicated console, Dedicated handheld)
box cover thumbnail Turtles (1981 · Odyssey 2, Casio PV-1000, Philips VG 5000...)
UFO Master Blaster Station (1979 · Dedicated handheld)