Abstract: A solid state device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD 11) is provided with fast warm up characteristics by using an internal heater (31). The internal heater (31) preferably is located on a backplane, (13) and is used during warmup to supplement a conventional heater (41). The external heater (41) permits the LCD heater system to operate continuously at a selected temperature and not cause deterioration of the LCD (11). The internal heater (31) is electrically isolated from the device's backplane electrodes (17), for example, by the use of a thin oxide layer (33) between the internal heater (31) and the backplane electrodes (17).

Abstract: A lighting unit (11) for providing diffused light is particularly useful for back illumination of a flat panel active matrix display (21). The unit (11) includes one or more fluorescent lamp tubes (13,15) which are embedded in RTV rubber or other transparent potting material (29). A pair of diffusing layers (31,35) cause the light output from the unit (11) to be evenly distributed. A ground plane (27) acts as a reflector, a heat sink and permits partial-power operation. Advantages include reduced flicker and an ability to withstand rough service.