Advanced Helmet Display Electronics

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.