Shadow Mask CRTs

Aperture Grille CRTs

Some CRTs use a shadow mask which can be made from a variety of materials including iron and Invar. Due to high operating temperatures in monitors, shadow masks made of Invar generally perform better than iron shadow masks. Conventional shadow mask CRTs have a rounded appearance. They are less expensive to produce and are used primarily on 14" and 20" CRTs.

The Aperture Grille consists of a grid of vertical wires with one or two horizontal stabilizing wires. Because there are fewer horizontal interruptions, in general, aperture grille based CRTs are brighter than a shadow mask based CRT.

Note: Due to advances in shadow mask CRT design, some shadow mask CRTs rival aperture grille CRTs in brightness.

FST (Flat Square Technology) Advanced FST CRTs have an overall flatter surface than other CRTs. This flatter surface along with Dynamic Focus provide a sharper image, and less distortion in the corners.

Trinitron® - These vertically flat CRTs, manufactured by Sony, combined with the aperture grille technology help create brighter, more vibrant colors for which Trinitron is known for.

Microfilter™ - This is a newer technology in CRTs developed by Toshiba that uses special filters to produce greater color fidelity and brightness.

Diamondtron™ - Manufactured by Mitsubishi, these CRTs use a three in-line electron gun and two lensed to align the electrons on the phosphors. This configuration increases brightness as well as improving focus.

Fine Focus, High Contrast™ - This CRT by Hitachi combines an advanced electron gun and darker tinted glass to create a CRT with a sharper image, finer focus and purer colors. These CRTs use a dot pattern that has a horizontal pitch of 0.22mm which is roughly equivalent to a 0.26mm dot pitch.