Telescopic pixel display


Telescopic pixel display is a new display technology which combines some of the properties of a Liquid Crystal Display and a Digital Micromirror Device .

Operation principle

The telescopic pixel design is based on the optical telescope. 'Telescopic' indicates that each pixel acts as a miniature telescope consisting of a primary and secondary mirror that can both be deformed by application of specific voltage.
When the pixel is turned off, the primary and secondary mirrors are parallel, therefore both block the passage of light, reflecting it back to the backlight, so that the pixel appears dark.
When the pixel is on, the primary mirror deforms into a parabolic shape that focuses light onto the secondary mirror. After reflecting from the secondary mirror, light propagates through the hole in the membrane and the pixel appears bright.

Advantages

Performance tests on arrays of telescopic pixels suggest they hold substantial promise for future displays. Backlight transmission was measured at 36 percent, and simulations indicated that this could reach 56 percent with design improvements. In a modern laptop with a five-hour battery life, this increase in efficiency could lead to almost 45 extra minutes of battery time without reducing screen brightness. Pixel response time was 0.625 ms—fast compared to LCDs, which have 2 to 10 ms response times. These response times may also be fast enough to allow sequential color processing where colors are displayed as rapid pulses of red, blue, and green from each pixel, streamlining fabrication and device design. Other advantages of the telescopic pixel are potential low cost as well as relative ease of fabrication and control.

Disadvantages

The only drawback of TPD would be the contrast ratio. Experimental measurements conducted with non-collimated light showed a very low contrast ratio of 20:1. Simulations indicate that contrast ratios of up to 800:1 may be possible, which is also possible with current LCD technology. Plasma & organic light-emitting diode have much higher contrast ratios, so a lot needs to be done to compete with these technologies.