A novel display technology that claims to be simpler in construction than an LCD and better performing than organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) or plasma appears to be inching closer to commercialization.
UniPixel Displays Inc. developed its Time Multiplexed Optical Shutter (TMOS) technology to address display requirements in avionics applications, particularly heads-down cockpit deployments. The Woodlands, Texas, company has engineering prototypes and expects "to have the display in a television application by the fourth quarter," said CFO James Tassone.
A UniPixel display consists of just six layers, compared with 15 for plasma and 30 for LCDs, and takes only 12 steps to manufacture, versus 128 steps for an LCD. Using a "frustrated total internal reflection" technique, red, green or blue light enters a light guide from the edge of the display. The display structure enables daylight readability.
The colors cycle for an equal amount of time in very rapid succession, reflecting off a mirror at the opposite edge that scatters the light and produces a uniform distribution across the display. Materials used in the construction of the light guide keep light from escaping, so that total internal reflection is achieved, according to the company.
A simple lens/shutter mechanism is constructed above the light guide by sandwiching the microlens and standoff layers between transparent conductors. When the two conductive layers are oppositely charged at any given pixel, they attract. The lens is squeezed down through the standoff layer.
