LCoS backplane enables smallest microLED AR displays
The company says it re-engineered its liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) backplane technology into a constant current drive configuration for microLED pixels based on its 0.26” diagonal (~3 µm pixel) 1080p display format. The solution, says the company, enables microLED developers to accelerate their time to market by bonding their devices to a backplane driven by CP’s field-proven NOVA display drive architecture to enable complete display subsystems meeting critical augmented reality (AR) requirements for compactness, optical performance, and brightness with high frame rate, low latency, and low power consumption.
“Our custom, constant current pixel circuit design provides greater tolerance to forward voltage variation and IR drops in the microLED array resulting in a previously unattainable level of uniformity,” says Ian Kyles, CP Vice President of Electrical/Software Engineering. “It additionally features globally on-the-fly programmable pixel current control that greatly increases the system bandwidth, enabling higher frame rates while maintaining full bit depth. The backplane also has additional steering pixels beyond its native 2048×1080 resolution to enhance alignment/integration of the display within the optical system.”
microLED developers using this backplane can access the company’s monolithic integrated display module (IDM) (measuring 7.25 x 15.5 x 3.1 mm) with a low-pin-count interconnect and a direct MIPI input packaged into a compact subsystem amenable to smaller optical engine size. The IDM integrates CP’s proprietary NOVA drive architecture’s software defined platform to enable customizable frame-by-frame control of video frame rates (up to 240 Hz), bit depth, and other parameters to optimize for low latency, short persistence and low power while maintaining near 100% duty cycle according to type of image content and use case.
“Process integration compatibility is also important,” says Andrew Shih, CP’s Marketing and Business Development Manager, “as bonding of the microLED array to the backplane requires a highly planar interface. CP’s backplane wafers feature excellent planarity, a direct benefit from extensive process tuning work to meet earlier LCoS requirements. By partnering with CP, whose backplane technology facilitates both wafer level process integration and a direct path to a complete NOVA-based microdisplay subsystem solution, microLED developers can focus on their core competencies in compound semiconductor photonic device engineering and process development while reducing development time and cost.”
A provisional backplane reference specification is presently available for customer review and the company says it is currently accepting engagements with leading microLED developers.
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
