GRID FREE MODULAR LARGE SCREEN LIQUID CRYSTAL (LC) DISPLAYS WITH COLORS

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS OIS HAS DEVELOPED ACTIVE MATRIX LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYS USING A BROAD RANGE OF AMORPHOUS SILICON ALLOY ADDRESSING DEVICES INCLUDING TFT'S, NIN DIODES, AND IN PARTICULARLY PIN DIODES. MOST OF OUR RECENT WORK IS CONCENTRATED ON DISPLAYS DRIVEN BY PIN DIODE SWITCHES. THESE DISPLAYS SHOW FULL COLOR VIDEO PERFORMANCE OVER A WIDE TEMPERATURE RANGE (-54 C TO 85 C), AND HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR MILITARY, AVIONIC AND AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS. IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCING LARGE GRID FREE MODULAR LCD BY MATCHING SMALLER DISPLAY COMPONENTS TO A DIVERGING FACE PLATE (FIBER OPTIC MICROCHANNEL PLATE WITH TILT TO 15 DEGREES AT THE EDGE FIBERS). IN PHASE I (THE CURRENT PROPOSAL) THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ARE TO ACHIEVE ACCEPTABLE RESOLUTION FOR A DISPLAY PLUS FACE PLATE COMBINATION, AND TO OPTIMIZE THE BACKLIGHT IN ORDER TO HAVE SUNLIGHT READABILITY (HIGH AMBIENT LIGHT LEVELS). THE DISPLAYS FOR THIS STUDY WILL BE OUR HIGH RESOLUTION (164 DOTS PER INCH) COLOR, ACTIVE MATRIX LCDS. THIS MAIN OBJECTIVE WILL INCLUDE THE OPTICAL MATCHING OF THE DISPLAY AND FACEPLATE, AND IMPROVING PHOTOMETRIC PERFORMANCE. A NEW TECHNIQUE USING THE FACEPLATE TO GET HIGHER CONTRAST RATIOS (CR), AND VISIBILITY NEARLY INDEPENDENT OF VIEWING ANGLE, WILL BE TESTED. PROTOTYPES USING THESE CONCEPTS WILL BE BUILT IN PHASE I ON A SMALL SCALE BUT WITH FULL PERFORMANCE. THIS WILL LEAD US TO SUCCESSFUL FULL SCALE INTERFACING BETWEEN ADJACENT DISPLAY UNITS IN PHASE II.