SBIR-STTR Award

Microvision, Inc. will develop a CRT replacement platform using its MEMS-based scanned beam display technology. Microvision’s effort will leverage the knowledge gained in internally funded monochrome feasibility demonstrator and existing MEMS products to jumpstart an effort aimed at developing a fieldable full color display that eliminates many of the disadvantages of current CRTs. The effort will begin by examining and analyzing three candidate architectures that convert non-visible light to visible light to determine the best match to the military’s requirements and to provide a platform that can be most readily manufactured and commercialized. After selecting a single architecture, Microvision will then develop a more complete system model of a display according to the selected architecture to predict achievable performance and manufacturability. The model will incorporate Microvision’s expertise in MEMS scanning, the limitations of currently available wavelength converting materials, an analysis of color masking techniques, and Microvision’s extensive optical and system modeling capabilities. The analysis will inform Microvision’s development of a next-stage plan to produce a full-color prototype system. Accordingly, additional deliverables include, a roadmap leading to a Phase II prototype and a realistic commercialization plan for both civil and military Phase III products.

Benefits:
Each year, timely access to information becomes more crucial and yet more burdensome in the military, industrial, consumer, and medical arenas. Existing approaches are rapidly becoming unacceptable. In particular, mobile displays in current use force unacceptable limitations on the users’ efficiency and performance and display of critical information. Currently available mobile displays are becoming performance constrained with respect to resolution, brightness, field of view, operating temperatures, voltage, and power consumption. Additionally, such displays present unacceptable tradeoffs with respect to cost, performance, and size. They do not provide an acceptable path to a mobile, full color, high-resolution display with acceptable ergonomics, brightness, and color gamut. See, e.g. , D. G. Hopper and D. D. Desjardins, Aerospace Display Requirements: Aftermarket and New Vehicles, Proceedings of the 6th Annual Strategic and Technical Symposium Vehicular Applications of Displays and Microsensors (Society for Information Display (SID) Metropolitan Detroit Chapter, 1999) pp.59-62. (Noting that 503 of 866 display sizes in the military are unique). In mobile vehicle applications, the ideal display would provide mobile information visualization to military users in a low power, high quality, wearable unit that allows hands-free operation and a path to a full-color gamut. In mobile user applications, the system should allow the wearer to receive high information content images without significantly reducing mobility. The weight, cost, power consumption, voltage, ergonomic, image quality, color gamut, and other requirements of mobile displays now far outstrip the performance of current CRT solutions. See, e.g., D. G. Hopper, Invited Paper 21st Century Aerospace Defense Displays, in Society for Information Display (SID) Symposium Technical Digest, Session 29 (Applications: Airborne Displays,Paper 29.1, pp.414-417. (Noting the vanishing vendor syndrome for CRT vendors.). The proposed approach overcomes these difficulties with a micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) based scanning system that employs a light beam to activate wavelength converting materials. The underlying architecture lends itself to meeting the size, performance, and power consumption requirements of broad-based mobile applications. Among the military applications are supplemental information presentation to vehicle operators, situational information presentation to on-the-ground troops, mobile visual control of UAVs, improved MRO efficiency, and general augmented image presentation. This daylight readable, lightweight display with small power requirements can be integrated into many systems so that both ground and air personnel share access to the same common operational picture-enhancing target acquisition and targeting across domains. Microvision intends to insert this color technology into several of its existing commercial and industrial product platforms along with its current partners and with other industry leaders. In automotive and other vehicles, commercial applications for this MEMS-based display include many display applications especially high information systems, and those that would benefit from reconfigurability. Microvision has presented the MEMS-based architecture as a next-step to several of the non-phosphor based scanning display systems Microvision has developed together with major automobile manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers. These joint automotive programs include navigational displays, adaptable operational controls, and entertainment displays. Outside of the automotive arena, such architectures can support handheld displays for shared viewing that will be peripherals to mobile computing and telecommunications devices. Microvision has been in discussions with mobile telephone operators regarding possible product capabilities. More generally, it is expected that the architectures developed in this program would share subsystems with other products in Microvision’s portfolio. In particular, the electronics will be largely the same as Microvision’s commercial Nomad product and the miniature color display that Microvision has developed in conjunction with its partners, Canon and BMW. The developments here can thus be expected to considerably accelerate Microvision’s technology developments and benefit from Microvision’s investment in other product development. Thus, the U.S. Government should be able to capitalize on an existing and very broad-based MEMS technology already developed, and constantly being matured by Microvision, thus reducing the financial burden to the Government.

Keywords:
Scanning display Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Replacement display Phosphor Scaleable display Photoluminescent Color display

Microvision, Inc. will design, fabricate, integrate, and test a prototype full-color display platform using its MEMS-based scanned beam display technology to replace high voltage and high power consumption CRTs. The Phase II effort leverages the Phase I research that analyzed three candidate architectures to convert non-visible light to visible light into a platform that best matches military requirements and commercialization potential. During the initial stage of the Phase II effort, the design, selection, and performance testing of several photoluminescent screen materials will be conducted. Following the photoluminescent screen material selection, Microvision will then fabricate, integrate, and test the MEMS-based display subsystems with commercially available optics, electronics, and control modules to produce a direct view, color CRT-replacement bench top display demonstrator. This low-voltage and small volume bench top display demonstrator shall be used to prove the scalability of the MEMS-based architecture and quantify its image quality and technical performance characteristics. Simultaneously, Microvision will also build and test a color head-mounted, high-resolution display by using an alternative photoluminescent screen material technique. Additional deliverables include a product development roadmap leading to a Phase III effort and dual use commercialization plan for DoD and commercial products.

Keywords:
Scanning display, Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Replacement display, Phosphor, Scaleable display, Photoluminescen