LCD SPI display : Working, Benefits & Manufacturers

Introduction : LCD SPI displays are widely used in modern electronics for their low power consumption, compact design and reliable communication interface. Based on the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol, these displays enable fast and efficient data transfer between microcontrollers and LCD modules, making them ideal for embedded systems, IoT devices, industrial controls, medical instruments and consumer electronics. In this application note, we will explain how LCD SPI displays work, the key advantages they offer and highlight leading manufacturers providing reliable display modules for different industries.

LCD SPI display working and interfacing

The figure depicts 0.8 inch transparent 48 x 64 LCD SPI display module developed by Questwise Ventures, United States. As per details on company website, this module uses ST7565 controller. It does not have any backlight in its design. It runs on 3.3V supply voltage. Module has following pin-out details. CS : Chip Select , RES : Reset, DC : Data/Command, SCK : SPI Clock, SDI : SPI MOSI Data pin, 3V3 : 3.3V supply, GND

Image Courtesy : Questwise Ventures

This SPI based LCD display can be interfaced with any master device such as microcontroller or Arduino or Raspberry Pi. In this interfacing, LCD display acts as slave device. Following points summarize working of this master-slave interfacing.

• Data is transmitted over MOSI.
• Clock pulses are provided by master via SCLK.
• CS ensures only selected device listens.
• DC differentiates between sending commands (e.g. clear screen) and data (pixels).

Advantages of SPI display

Following are some of the benefits of LCD SPI display.

1. It supports fast data rates compared to other serial protocols such as I2C.
2. Reduces complexity as it requires four main connections (e.g. SCK (clock), MOSI (Master Out Slave In), CS (Chip Select) and VCC/GND).
3. SPI supports full duplex communication which is useful for continuous data exchange requiring simultaneous data transmission and reception.
4. SPI is compatible with various LCD display types including character and graphic displays.
5. SPI can interface multiple slave devices using individual CS lines. Hence peripherals can be added due to change in requirements without any significant changes in the hardware as well as firmware.
6. SPI consumes less power compared to parallel interfaces.

LCD SPI display Vendors

Conclusion: With benefits like reduced wiring complexity, faster refresh rates and easy integration with popular microcontrollers such as Arduino, STM32 and Raspberry Pi, LCD SPI displays continue to be a preferred choice in display technology.