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92 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2026 For Kristin Moyer, designing display elec- tronics is all about scale. As displays shrink in size and grow in resolution, every engineering decision becomes more demanding. In this interview, the Global Electronics Association design instructor ex- plains the strengths and limitations of today's domi- nant display technologies—LCD and LED—as well as the emerging role of AR/VR displays. Kristin also explores the PCB design, manufacturability, and re- liability challenges that accompany each. Marcy LaRont: Kristin, display electronics have be- come part of nearly every product we use today. From a PCB designer's perspective, what makes designing for displays different from designing for other types of boards? Kristin Moyer: From an engineer's point of view, what's in the stadium LED is no different than what I design for a cellphone display; it's really a matter of scale. What are the categories of display electronics? The industry is really centered around two domi- nant categories—LCD and LED—with a third emerging category in AR/VR, like the type found in smart glasses, where the technology etched into the transparent medium provides the augmented reality. There is technically a fourth category, plasma displays, but that technology largely peaked two decades ago. Before we dive into the design challenges, give us a quick overview of today's display technologies. LCD and LED displays solve the same problem in different ways. LCDs use a backlight and liquid crys- tals to control the light passing through the display, while LEDs generate their own light. From a design standpoint, the biggest difference is manufactur- ability. As displays become smaller and demand high resolutions, LEDs can be fabricated at much finer pitches than LCDs, making them the preferred technology for many modern applications. Is that why we have seen a shift toward LED technology? Exactly. Higher pixel density means higher resolu- tion. Think about early Mario video games, where you could see every square pixel. Today's microLED displays pack thousands of LEDs into the same space, producing photorealistic images using less power. For PCB designers, though, that increased density creates its own challenges in routing, placement accuracy, thermal management, and manufacturability. BY M A RCY L A RO N T, I - C O N N ECT 0 07 F E AT U R E A RT I C L E Understanding Design for Display Electronics