HEADS-UP DISPLAY FOR SHIPBOARD USE

A NEW TYPE OF LIQUID CRYSTAL MATERIAL, POLYMER DISPERSED LIQUID CRYSTALS (PDLC), WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR USE AS A HEADS-UP DISPLAY. THIS PROPOSAL IS CENTERED ON RECENT DRAMATIC ADVANCES IN LIQUID CRYSTAL TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATED BY THESE PDLC UNITS. THESE NEW MATERIALS EXHIBIT EXCELLENT TRANSMISSION (>90%) IN THE POSITIVE CLEAR MODE, ALONG WITH RAPID RESPONSE TIME (\1 MILLISECOND) AND LOW VOLTAGE (\30V) AND POWER (300 NW) REQUIREMENTS. ADDITIONALLY, THESE DEVICES CLEARLY HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR FABRICATION AS LARGE AREA (PERHAPS UP TO 1 METER X 1 METER) DISPLAYS INCLUDING USE ON CURVILINEAR SURFACES. THE PHASE I WORK EFFORT WILL INVOLVE CONSTRUCTION OF PROTOTYPE DISPLAYS AND WILL INCLUDE QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF DISPLAY CHARACTERISTICS (I.E., % TRANSMISSION, CONTRAST AND BRIGHTNESS, RESPONSE TIME AND ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS). THE PHASE I WORK EFFORT WILL CONCLUDE WITH SUBMISSION OF WORKING HEADS-UP DISPLAY UNITS FOR EVALUATION BY NAVY PERSONNEL. OUR (POLYTRONIX) ABILITY TO RESPOND TO THIS INITIATIVE AND PROVIDE THE NECESSARY RESULTS IN ONLY A SIX-MONTH PERIOD IS PREDICATED ON OUR CURRENT RESEARCH ON PDLC MATERIALS. OUR RESULTS CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THAT THE PDLC DISPLAYS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL ARE NOW POSSIBLE TO BUILD AND OPERATE.