Advanced Helmet Display Electronics Navy SBIR FY2005.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2005.1 Topic No.: N05-020 Topic Title: Advanced Helmet Display Electronics Proposal No.: N051-020-1405 Firm: Displaytech, Inc. 2602 Clover Basin Drive Longmont, Colorado 80503 Contact: Mark Handschy Phone: (303) 772-2191 Web Site: www.displaytech.com Abstract: We propose development of innovative head-mounted display (HMD) imagers that combine a commercially-proven technology with performance characteristics that would let a single display product serve a wide range of military HMD applications. Our HMDs are based on low-voltage/fast-switching ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon (FLCOS) display panels with LED illumination. This combination enables HMDs with the following distinguishing characteristics: (a) all-digital gray-scale with integrated drive electronics including programmable gamma control and refresh-free display of stored images and (b) ultra-high brightness up to 30,000 fL and beyond. These characteristics enable single-chip, low-power HMD image-generation systems in compact packages with few-wire cable interconnects. The Phase I effort will demonstrate an ultra-high brightness 1280 x 1024 full-color laboratory-prototype HMD. Through the design, fabrication, and characterization of a CMOS test chip, it will also prove the feasibility of an innovative all-digital gray-scale pixel architecture providing the foundation for one-chip HMDs with resolution roadmap driven by Moore's Law from 1280 ' 1024 to 2K ' 2K. Benefits: An HMD with the characteristics enabled by our innovations could simultaneously meet the needs of military cockpit, training and simulation, and dismounted special-operations applications. Return