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Tech-Specs > Built-in 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).

Title	Released	Platforms
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
Defender	1981	PC Booter, Commodore 64, Atari 2600...
Donkey Kong	1981	PC Booter, Game Boy Advance, NES...
Electronic Poker	1979	Dedicated handheld
IceHockey: Lucky Puck	1979	Dedicated handheld
Jungler	1981	Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4...
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
Stargate	1981	PC Booter, NES, Commodore 64...
Super Cobra	1981	Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision...
Super Star Football	1979	Dedicated handheld
The Game Machine	1978	Dedicated console, Dedicated handheld
Turtles	1981	Odyssey 2, Casio PV-1000, Philips VG 5000...
UFO Master Blaster Station	1979	Dedicated handheld