TMOS displays 10x brighter and 60% cheaper than LCD !

WhatHappend · 10-20-2009, 12:18 AM

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/s...leID=220601177

Quote:

A possible successor to the CRT, LCD and even the organic LED is scheduled to hit the market next year, according to a MEMS film developer.

Uni-Pixel, Inc. (Woodlands, Texas) recently announced volume deliveries of its MEMS films. Dubbed "Opcuity," the films are used in time-multiplexed optical shutter (TMOS) displays that are 10 times brighter and 60 percent cheaper to manufacture than LCDs. The films also can be fabricated on the same manufacturing lines as LCDs.

Earlier this year, Samsung Electronics revealed that it had a joint development agreement with Uni-Pixel for its TMOS display technology.

"One of the beauties of our manufacturing process is that it subtracts from existing LCD lines--you just need to remove some equipment that is no longer needed," said Uni-Pixel's CFO James Tassone. "Since we use no red, green and blue sub-pixels, our process is less demanding, requiring only one-third as many thin-film transistors.

"In fact, we can use LCD manufacturing lines that are aging and due to be retired; instead of scraping an aging LCD line, you can retrofit it to make our advanced TMOS displays," Tassone claimed.

TMOS displays use only a single layer of MEMS film between the bottom ("mother") glass and the top glass sheet in an existing LCD structure. By contrast, LCDs have five different layers between the bottom and top glass, including polarizers and color filters that reduce light emissions. As a consequence, the single layer used with TMOS produces displays that are much brighter than LCDs produced on the same line.

Instead of using sub-pixels for red, blue and green, each pixel in Uni-Pixel's MEMS film is uniform, deriving its color by time-mutiplexing the red, green and blue light from side-mounted LEDs that inject light into the bottom glass layer. The scheme acts as a light guide.

Instead of a white backlight to illuminate RGB subpixels, Uni-Pixel's approach routes light from side-mounted LEDs onto the same pixel, with the Opcuity film acting as an optical shutter.

Applying a voltage to a TFT causes the Opcuity film to deform downward, coming into contact with the bottom glass, routing light from LEDs up to a particular pixel. By time-multiplexing in synchronization with the blinking red, blue and green side-mounted LEDs, any color can be mixed at any pixel location, Uni-Pixel claims.

The films, which are microfabricated on inexpensive roll-to-roll manufacturing lines, use MEMS-patterned structures to deflect light from guides to pixels with sub-10 micron micromirrors that are said to react 1,000-times faster than liquid crystals (TMOS displays update pixels in microseconds compared to milliseconds for LCDs).

Uni-Pixel and Samsung are perfecting the TMOS process for 4-inch displays. Since TMOS displays are transparent from the backside, they are also suited for larger displays. By sandwiching Opcuity films between window panes side-lit with LEDs, large displays will be possible on store windows that are only visible from the outside, the company said.

WhatHappend · 10-20-2009, 12:25 AM

Here is a pdf with images to illustrate the technology: http://www.prad.de/download/TMOS_-_U...Whitepaper.pdf

**PFC5** · 10-22-2009, 03:17 AM

Sounds interesting but LCDs are already brighter than people need in their home and have to be turned down. They need to work on better black levels and much better viewing angles as the areas they need to work with LCD.

Thanks for the link!

Loves2Watch · 10-22-2009, 09:50 AM

Vaporware...

WhatHappend · 10-27-2009, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFC5

Sounds interesting but LCDs are already brighter than people need in their home and have to be turned down. They need to work on better black levels and much better viewing angles as the areas they need to work with LCD.

Thanks for the link!

They are showing a 176 degree viewing angle in the pdf. I can't imagine needing more that that.

The display being 1,000x faster than liquid crystals would be a good benefit.

The brightness also is a benefit in that the back light can be strobed to prevent motion blur that happens with LCD that is caused by the exact same image being shown for ~41.7msec (24p film frame rate). With the extra brightness having the backlight off would not effect contrast and make the human brain not see blurred images without the need for the fake 120Hz interpolated frames.

It would also seem logical that if the colors are mixed by time multiplexing 3 color LEDs that keeping the same percentage mix of each color but reducing the percentage of on time that the three LED are illuminated per period of time would allow the black level to approach a pretty dark black. But with all the side LED lighting there probably is a lot of potential for light scattering ruining the black level.

They are saying products next year, so we will see what they come up with.

**PFC5** · 10-27-2009, 09:54 AM

I missed that speed increase that will be a good improvement. It is nearly impossible to get a mfg to report an accurate viewing angle on LCDs so just seeing that spec means nothing at this point. We have to wait for whether the black levels are improved but I do not have high hopes with it being edgelit.

They do not mention black levels or viewing angles being improved in the article so for now I am going to assume there is not much improvement there otherwise they would be talking about it as a main selling point since those are 2 of the 3 biggest issues with LCDs.

10-22-2009, 03:17 AM	#3
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,374	Sounds interesting but LCDs are already brighter than people need in their home and have to be turned down. They need to work on better black levels and much better viewing angles as the areas they need to work with LCD. Thanks for the link! __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

10-22-2009, 09:50 AM	#4
Loves2Watch SPAM Police Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: AZ, NM, TX, MX Posts: 13,940	Vaporware... __________________ Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player. Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's.

10-27-2009, 09:54 AM	#6
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,374	I missed that speed increase that will be a good improvement. It is nearly impossible to get a mfg to report an accurate viewing angle on LCDs so just seeing that spec means nothing at this point. We have to wait for whether the black levels are improved but I do not have high hopes with it being edgelit. They do not mention black levels or viewing angles being improved in the article so for now I am going to assume there is not much improvement there otherwise they would be talking about it as a main selling point since those are 2 of the 3 biggest issues with LCDs. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

10-20-2009, 12:25 AM	#2
WhatHappend High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 183	Here is a pdf with images to illustrate the technology: http://www.prad.de/download/TMOS_-_U...Whitepaper.pdf