Konica Minolta Launches High Accuracy Colour Analyzer

Nov. 11, 2010 - PRLog -- Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc. (Headquarters: Sakai, Osaka, JAPAN; President: Toshihiko Karasaki; hereinafter referred to as “Konica Minolta”) is proud to announce that the Color Analyzer CA-310, a high-speed instrument that enables higher-accuracy measurements of displays such as LCD TVs that use LED backlights by reducing errors due to variations in the peak wavelengths of LED backlights, is now available.

LCD TVs with LED backlights have become very popular in recent years since such technology can make the TV flat and lightweight. However, when conventional color analyzers are used for white- balance adjustment on LED-backlit LCD TV production lines, measurement errors are considerably larger than when non-LED backlights are used. A high-end luminance colorimeter could be used for accurate measurement of the screen but such measurements would be too slow for practical use on production lines.

To solve this problem, Konica Minolta, a leader in color analyzers for display white-balance adjustment for the last quarter of a century with a top market share, have succeeded in developing a new sensor which is suitable for measuring the brightness characteristics of LED backlights.

Although the emission wavelength distribution*1 of conventional backlights such as fluorescent lamps is uniform, it varies somewhat from LED to LED. When TVs with different LEDs are adjusted using a conventional color analyzer, they may show colors that are significantly different from each other, resulting in color reproduction that is incorrect compared to the original colors. In order to resolve this problem, Konica Minolta developed a new sensor with sensitivities that even more closely match the CIE 1931 color-matching functions*2 to enable correct measurements even if emission wavelength distribution varies. The CA-310 equipped with this new sensor makes it possible to properly adjust even LED-backlit LCDs TVs to reproduce images very close to the original with natural color.

The CA-310 also offers ten times the measuring speed of our luminance colorimeter (Konica Minolta Chroma Meter CS-200) which provides the equivalent high level of accuracy as the CA-310 but is intended for different purposes. The greatly enhanced work efficiency of the CA-310 makes it ideal for use on LED-backlit LCD TV production lines, where it can contribute to increased production effi-ciency.

Main Features of Color Analyzer CA-310
Konica Minolta continues to develop precise sensing technology and applications in order to offer solutions matching customer needs and to maintain our status as “essential” for customers.

1 Sensors that more closely match the CIE 1931 color-matching functions
For the CA-310, Konica Minolta used how the human eye sees color as the model, and succeeded in developing sensors that even more closely match the color-matching functions defined by the CIE in 1931 which express the sensitivity of the human eye. This makes it possible to minimize measurement error for most light sources regardless of emission distribution.

2 Reduces errors due to LED emission distribution variations to less than 1/3
Variations in the emission distribution of LED backlights result in individual differences of about 10 nm in peak intensity wavelength. If LED-backlit LCD TVs with such individual differences are adjusted using conventional color analyzers, color differences of close to 0.010 on the xy chromaticity diagram may occur. But with the CA-310, the color difference in the same case is reduced to around 0.003, enabling errors to be suppressed to less than 1/3.

3 High-speed measurements of even extremely low luminances down to 0.005cd/m2
Sensor noise reduction technology has been used to enable measurements even in the extremely low luminance region around 0.005cd/m2 at speeds as fast as 4 times per second. This allows the high-speed high-accuracy measurement essential for manufacturing high-grade displays. In addition, at luminances higher than 2.0 cd/m2, 20 measurements per second are possible.

About Konica Minolta Sensing Europe B.V.:
Konica Minolta Sensing Europe B.V., an affiliate of Konica Minolta Sensing Inc. Japan is a leading provider of measurement solutions for applications in the fields of Colour & Appearance, Light, Display and 3D shape digitalization. Konica Minolta Sensing Europe serves the industry in the EMEA region with Branches and Distributors in more then 30 countries. Derived from our state-of-the-art optical and image processing technologies, measuring solutions from Konica Minolta Sensing help improve quality control and support R&D in a wide variety of industries.

Our colour management solutions are essential to control and monitor quality in many areas of manufacturing, such as automotive, coatings, plastic, construction materials, food, chemicals and pharmaceutics. In the innovative area of Light & Display technology, Konica Minolta Color Analyzers enjoy an “industry standard” position. Our 3D digitizers are widely used in applications such as medicine, cultural heritage and academic education and research. Konica Minolta Sensing will continue to innovate, utilizing the latest high-accuracy sensing technology providing solutions which meet the ever-changing needs in diverse fields.

For further information about Konica Minolta Sensing, visit:
www.konicaminolta.eu/measuring-instruments.html

Terms and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.

Konica Minolta Sensing Europe B.V., NL-3439MN Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
Contact:
Andreas Ullrich
Konica Minolta Sensing Europe B.V.
Phone: +41 (0)43 322 98 02
andreas.ullrich@seu.konicaminolta.eu

*1: How much light is emitted at each wavelength by a light source
*2: Spectral response curves defined by the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) in 1931 which express the sensitivity of the human eye.

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