20-10-2012, 03:45 PM
INTERFEROMETRIC MODULATOR DISPLAY (IMOD)
[attachment=36855]
INTRODUCTION
1.1. WHAT IS INTERFEROMETRIC MODULAR DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY?
The Interferometric Modular (iMoD) is an electrically switched light modulator comprising a micro-machined cavity that is switched on and off using driver ICs similar to those used to address LCDs. An iMoD based reflective flat panel display can include hundreds of thousands of individually addressable iMoD elements. iMoD displays represent one of the foremost examples of a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based device.
In one state an iMoD subpixel reflects light at a specific wavelength and gives a pure, bright color at one intensity while in a second state it absorbs incident light and appears black to the viewer. The wing of butterflies employs the same phenomena. When not being addressed, an iMoD display consumes very little power.
The iMoD was invented by Mark W. Miles, a MEMS researcher and founder of Etalon, Inc., and (co-founder) of Iridgim Display Corporation. Qualcomm took over the development of this technology after its acquisition of Iridigm in 2004, and subsequently formed Qualcomm MEMS Technologies (QMT).[4] Qualcomm has allowed commercialization of the technology under the trademarked name "Imod", and this energy-efficient, biomimetic technology sees application and use in mobile phones, etc.
A major breakthrough in display technology, iMoD displays are the next generation of flat-panel displays and promise substantial performance and power-saving benefits over current technologies. Reflect on this: As butterfly wings and peacock feathers create color by causing light to interfere with itself, so do the elements in a QUALCOMM display. This is why we call it an Interferometric Modulator, or iMoD, display.
OVERVIEW OF IMOD TECHNOLOGY
MEMS-based display technologies have been under development for over a decade, but have only recently started to gain traction. Display systems based on arrays of movable mirrors are now widely available in the consumer marketplace. Deformable mirrors and mechanical shutters are also making use of MEMS-based displays. Their digital nature and fast response make them ideal for display applications. However, their role has been limited to applications with fixed-angle light sources rather than portable direct-view displays, as they are not effective when removed from a fixed-angle light source.
Developed to address these shortcomings, IMOD displays are based on the principle of interference, which is used to determine the color of the reflected light. IMOD pixels are capable of switching speeds on the order of 10 microseconds. Additionally, displays fabricated using IMOD technology have shown reflectivities of greater than 60 percent, contrast ratios greater than 15:1 and drive voltages of as low as 5 volts. Though simple in structure, IMOD display elements provide the functions of modulation, color selection and memory while eliminating active matrices, color filters and polarizers. The result is a high-performance display capable of active-matrix type functionality at passive-matrix cost. IMOD displays are a strong contender in the display industry, with the potential to offer many of the benefits of ink and report
Qualcomm’s Imod™ displays are a technology breakthrough that deliver substantial performance benefits over competing display technologies. The reflective displays, based on interferometric modulation (IMOD) technology, offer a significant reduction in power consumption as compared to other display technologies, while extending device battery life and enabling new features. Moreover, these displays require no backlighting and can be viewed in bright sunlight and in a wide range of environments.
Inspired by the simplicity of natural iridescent colors, the Imod display physically manipulates light using micron and sub-micron sized mechanical elements. These simple, elegant structures result in a display that is:
• Highly Reflective – provides consistent viewing quality in varied environments ranging from dim indoor lighting to the brightest outdoor sunlight
• Energy Efficient – dramatically reduces the energy consumption from the display resulting in increased usage time across every usage models
• Inspiringly Innovative – enables increasingly diverse industrial designs and applications while greatly enhancing the potential for carrier revenue.
This report will consider current market trends that drive the convergence of multimedia applications onto the cellular phone and the demand this convergence places on the limited battery budget of the typical handset.
Specifically, this discussion will center on the ever increasing gap between the energy available and the energy demands of the handset. Similarly, this reportwill consider the convergence driven market trend of expanding handset use in increasingly diverse viewing environments. Finally, this report will address the solutions Imod display technology offers to these trends. Namely, this report will illustrate the energy savings Imod displays provide, and their ability to enable utilization of the handset throughout the entire range of illumination conditions.
OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF THE IMOD DISPLAY
As shown in the left-hand side of Figure 1, each pixel within a Imod display is composed of micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) elements. The display is built on a glass substrate, and each MEMS element functions as a resonant optical cavity that strongly reflects a specific portion of the visible spectrum. The related visual color that is created is directly proportional to the cavity’s depth. Thin films deposited on the substrate comprise one wall of this cavity, and the other wall is a highly reflective flexible membrane.
When electrostatic force is applied across the cavity, the membrane collapses against the substrate films, the cavity becomes very thin, and the resonant wavelength moves into the ultraviolet spectrum. Consequently, the viewer perceives a collapsed MEMS element as being black or “off.” As shown in the right-hand side of Figure 1, color displays are made by composing a single pixel from MEMS elements of different thicknesses. Varying the cavity depth results in variations of resonant wavelengths which yield variations of color. This pixel construction utilizes no color filters, polarizers, or organic compounds. Such simplicity leads to high energy efficiency, brightness, and environmental stability that are the hallmarks of the Imod design.
OVERVIEW OF PORTABLE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES
Ink and report are arguably the de facto standard for information display. Developed over 5,000 years ago, today’s inks and dyes provide lifelike color imagery. Display technologies, on the other hand, are relatively new. The CRT was developed less than 100 years ago and the increasingly popular flat-panel display less than 40 years ago. For roughly a decade now, engineers have been working to create a display technology capable of providing a report-like reading experience, not only with regards to superior viewability, but also with respect to cost, power and ease of manufacture. Display technologies such as backlit LCDs, reflective LCDs, electroluminescent (EL) displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and electrophoretic displays (EPD) were all steps in this direction. IMOD displays, based on industry-proven MEMS technology, promise to take the quest for report-like displays to a new level.
[attachment=36855]
INTRODUCTION
1.1. WHAT IS INTERFEROMETRIC MODULAR DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY?
The Interferometric Modular (iMoD) is an electrically switched light modulator comprising a micro-machined cavity that is switched on and off using driver ICs similar to those used to address LCDs. An iMoD based reflective flat panel display can include hundreds of thousands of individually addressable iMoD elements. iMoD displays represent one of the foremost examples of a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based device.
In one state an iMoD subpixel reflects light at a specific wavelength and gives a pure, bright color at one intensity while in a second state it absorbs incident light and appears black to the viewer. The wing of butterflies employs the same phenomena. When not being addressed, an iMoD display consumes very little power.
The iMoD was invented by Mark W. Miles, a MEMS researcher and founder of Etalon, Inc., and (co-founder) of Iridgim Display Corporation. Qualcomm took over the development of this technology after its acquisition of Iridigm in 2004, and subsequently formed Qualcomm MEMS Technologies (QMT).[4] Qualcomm has allowed commercialization of the technology under the trademarked name "Imod", and this energy-efficient, biomimetic technology sees application and use in mobile phones, etc.
A major breakthrough in display technology, iMoD displays are the next generation of flat-panel displays and promise substantial performance and power-saving benefits over current technologies. Reflect on this: As butterfly wings and peacock feathers create color by causing light to interfere with itself, so do the elements in a QUALCOMM display. This is why we call it an Interferometric Modulator, or iMoD, display.
OVERVIEW OF IMOD TECHNOLOGY
MEMS-based display technologies have been under development for over a decade, but have only recently started to gain traction. Display systems based on arrays of movable mirrors are now widely available in the consumer marketplace. Deformable mirrors and mechanical shutters are also making use of MEMS-based displays. Their digital nature and fast response make them ideal for display applications. However, their role has been limited to applications with fixed-angle light sources rather than portable direct-view displays, as they are not effective when removed from a fixed-angle light source.
Developed to address these shortcomings, IMOD displays are based on the principle of interference, which is used to determine the color of the reflected light. IMOD pixels are capable of switching speeds on the order of 10 microseconds. Additionally, displays fabricated using IMOD technology have shown reflectivities of greater than 60 percent, contrast ratios greater than 15:1 and drive voltages of as low as 5 volts. Though simple in structure, IMOD display elements provide the functions of modulation, color selection and memory while eliminating active matrices, color filters and polarizers. The result is a high-performance display capable of active-matrix type functionality at passive-matrix cost. IMOD displays are a strong contender in the display industry, with the potential to offer many of the benefits of ink and report
Qualcomm’s Imod™ displays are a technology breakthrough that deliver substantial performance benefits over competing display technologies. The reflective displays, based on interferometric modulation (IMOD) technology, offer a significant reduction in power consumption as compared to other display technologies, while extending device battery life and enabling new features. Moreover, these displays require no backlighting and can be viewed in bright sunlight and in a wide range of environments.
Inspired by the simplicity of natural iridescent colors, the Imod display physically manipulates light using micron and sub-micron sized mechanical elements. These simple, elegant structures result in a display that is:
• Highly Reflective – provides consistent viewing quality in varied environments ranging from dim indoor lighting to the brightest outdoor sunlight
• Energy Efficient – dramatically reduces the energy consumption from the display resulting in increased usage time across every usage models
• Inspiringly Innovative – enables increasingly diverse industrial designs and applications while greatly enhancing the potential for carrier revenue.
This report will consider current market trends that drive the convergence of multimedia applications onto the cellular phone and the demand this convergence places on the limited battery budget of the typical handset.
Specifically, this discussion will center on the ever increasing gap between the energy available and the energy demands of the handset. Similarly, this reportwill consider the convergence driven market trend of expanding handset use in increasingly diverse viewing environments. Finally, this report will address the solutions Imod display technology offers to these trends. Namely, this report will illustrate the energy savings Imod displays provide, and their ability to enable utilization of the handset throughout the entire range of illumination conditions.
OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF THE IMOD DISPLAY
As shown in the left-hand side of Figure 1, each pixel within a Imod display is composed of micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) elements. The display is built on a glass substrate, and each MEMS element functions as a resonant optical cavity that strongly reflects a specific portion of the visible spectrum. The related visual color that is created is directly proportional to the cavity’s depth. Thin films deposited on the substrate comprise one wall of this cavity, and the other wall is a highly reflective flexible membrane.
When electrostatic force is applied across the cavity, the membrane collapses against the substrate films, the cavity becomes very thin, and the resonant wavelength moves into the ultraviolet spectrum. Consequently, the viewer perceives a collapsed MEMS element as being black or “off.” As shown in the right-hand side of Figure 1, color displays are made by composing a single pixel from MEMS elements of different thicknesses. Varying the cavity depth results in variations of resonant wavelengths which yield variations of color. This pixel construction utilizes no color filters, polarizers, or organic compounds. Such simplicity leads to high energy efficiency, brightness, and environmental stability that are the hallmarks of the Imod design.
OVERVIEW OF PORTABLE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES
Ink and report are arguably the de facto standard for information display. Developed over 5,000 years ago, today’s inks and dyes provide lifelike color imagery. Display technologies, on the other hand, are relatively new. The CRT was developed less than 100 years ago and the increasingly popular flat-panel display less than 40 years ago. For roughly a decade now, engineers have been working to create a display technology capable of providing a report-like reading experience, not only with regards to superior viewability, but also with respect to cost, power and ease of manufacture. Display technologies such as backlit LCDs, reflective LCDs, electroluminescent (EL) displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) and electrophoretic displays (EPD) were all steps in this direction. IMOD displays, based on industry-proven MEMS technology, promise to take the quest for report-like displays to a new level.