40 years of the super-twisted
nematic (STN-LCD) patent
From expert to expert company DMB Technics
The person behind this groundbreaking patent is Dieter Heimgartner, co-inventor of STN technology and founder of DMB Technics AG in Hünenberg, Switzerland. With his expertise and innovative spirit, he laid the foundations for the success of this groundbreaking technology and his company.
Video: 40 Years of STN Patent – We're celebrating a special
milestone
In the world of display technology, there are some milestones that shape entire industries. This year marks the
40th anniversary of one of them: the granting of the patent for super-twisted nematic (STN) technology in 1984.
The beginnings – from a bicycle workshop to Research Institution
Dieter Heimgartner was born in 1961, the youngest of five siblings. His father ran a bicycle and motorcycle
workshop, where Dieter learned about technology at an early age. This hands-on experience, combined with his
curiosity about technical concepts, led him to start an apprenticeship as a physics laboratory technician at the
renowned Swiss company BBC in 1977. Dieter was introduced to the emerging field of LCD technology in the first
few months of his training. He discovered his passion for displays while working at the company LCD-Fabrik
Videlec AG in Lenzburg – an interest that would shape his entire career.
The breakthrough –
the STN-LCD patent
In 1983, Dieter Heimgartner began working at the research centre of BBC (now ABB), where there was a strong
focus on the development of display technologies. Together with a team of five researchers, he achieved a major
breakthrough: the development of STN technology, which was patented in 1984. This new technology made it
possible to create high-resolution graphic LCD displays that could be controlled with what is known as the
time-division multiplexing method.
