Photonics Spectra: LCD This is the syndication feed for Photonics Spectra: LCD. https://www.photonics.com/Splash.aspx?Tag=LCD Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:40:02 GMT Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:27:05 GMT 1800 Round-III Finalists of the Luminate NY Accelerator Announced
Empire State Development has announced its list of 10 finalists for the Lightning Round of Luminate NY, the world’s largest business accelerator for optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI) startups. The event, hosted the evening of Nov. 7 by the National Museum of Play in Rochester, awarded $100,000 to the 10 finalists, with companies operating across the tech spectrum, from quantum security to underwater optical communications. The finalists are listed below.

AkknaTek
Edgar Janunts, CEO, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Product: Lens Reviewer, optical imaging system
AkknaTek’s Lens Reviewer assists optical surgeons in implanting premium lenses for cataracts by correcting the lens centration after implantation. The...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Round-III_Finalists_of_the_Luminate_NY/p5/a65275 A65275 Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:27:05 GMT
Optically Rewritable LCD Could Enable Flexible Displays
Engineers from Donghua University have manufactured a flexible, optically rewritable LCD (ORWLCD), about as thin as a piece of paper, that would allow information to be uploaded onto a flexible paperlike display, where it could be updated quickly.

Combined flexible blue optically rewritable LCD. Courtesy of Zhang et al.
As with conventional LCDs, the ORWLCD is structured like a sandwich, with a liquid crystal filling between two plates. However, unlike conventional LCDs, where electrical connections on the plates create the fields needed to switch pixels from light to dark, the plates of ORWLCDs are coated with molecules that realign in the presence of polarized light and switch the pixels. This removes the need for traditional...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Optically_Rewritable_LCD_Could_Enable_Flexible/p5/a63278 A63278 Thu, 29 Mar 2018 13:36:19 GMT
Breakthrough in Fabricating Active-Matrix GaN Microdisplays
The growing interest in wearable devices has highlighted the need for high-performance microdisplays. Such displays are based on technologies that include reflective or transmissive liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs) or MEMS-based devices such as micro-mirror arrays for digital light processing and laser beam steering.

Emissive microdisplays based on OLEDs are particularly attractive for these applications; each pixel is self-emitting, resulting in low power consumption, high compactness and producing excellent image quality. However, for applications such as see-through glasses, a brightness of 5000 cd/m2 or more is needed, which exceeds the possibilities of current OLED microdisplays. At the same time, there is a...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Breakthrough_in_Fabricating_Active-Matrix_GaN/p5/a62807 A62807 Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:22:20 GMT
Display Technologies Shape the Immersive Experience
Almost four years ago, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg plunked down a reported $3 billion for technolgy company Oculus VR and said, “We believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality [AR] will become a part of daily life for billions of people.” Last year, Zuckerberg testified in court regarding a lawsuit against Oculus that virtual reality (VR) hasn’t taken off as quickly as he had anticipated and that virtual reality sales “won’t be profitable for quite a while.”

VR isn’t as hot as everyone thought and the evidence is compelling. For most people, the cost is prohibitive: Headsets start at $400 to $600 and go up from there if motion controllers, eye trackers and other accessories are...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Display_Technologies_Shape_the_Immersive/p5/a62714 A62714 Tue, 31 Oct 2017 12:56:13 GMT
Novel Mixes Expand Operating Temperature Range for LCDs
An experimental liquid crystal (LC) mixture has been shown to function properly in temperature range of −40 to about 100 °C, an improvement over current technologies used in automobile displays, smartphones and televisions, for example, which grow blurry and sluggish in extreme temperatures.

A team of researchers led by professor Shin-Tson Wu at the University of Central Florida formulated three new liquid crystal mixtures with a wide nematic range, small visco-elastic coefficient and low activation energy.

Professor Shin-Tson Wu and doctoral students work on liquid crystal mixtures in his lab at the University of Central Florida's College of Optics & Photonics. From left, Fenglin Peng, Yuge "Esther" Huang, Wu and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Novel_Mixes_Expand_Operating_Temperature_Range/p5/a60552 A60552 Fri, 08 Apr 2016 08:13:50 GMT
Asahi Sales Decrease, Profits Increase
Net sales amounted to ‎¥‎1,326.3 billion (about $11.5 million), down ‎¥‎22 billion year over year due to lower sales in the display business. Operating profits, however, increased by ‎¥‎‎71.2 billion ($620.8 million), up ‎¥‎‎9 billion ($78.5 million), with Asahi citing structural reform of the architectural glass business and a decline of raw materials and fuel prices as reasons for this increase.

Profits for the year amounted to ‎¥‎‎42.9 billion, up ‎¥‎27 billion due to income from the revision of the company’s corporate pension plan.

Chemical sales showed...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Asahi_Sales_Decrease_Profits_Increase/p5/a58328 A58328 Tue, 16 Feb 2016 15:12:41 GMT
Flexible Film Creates Colors from Reflected Light
From couture to camouflage, a new ultrathin color-changing film could one day change what we wear.

Unlike other flexible display technology, the film, which was developed at the University of Central Florida, reflects rather than emits light. It was created using a simple and inexpensive nanoimprinting technique that can produce a plasmonic nanostructured surface over a large area.

A National Geographic photograph of an Afghan girl is used to demonstrate the color-changing abilities of the nanostructured reflective display. Courtesy of the University of Central Florida.
A thin layer of high-birefringence liquid crystal is sandwiched over a metallic nanostructure shaped like an egg carton that absorbs some light wavelengths...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Flexible_Film_Creates_Colors_from_Reflected_Light/p5/a57536 A57536 Fri, 26 Jun 2015 11:25:31 GMT
Kopin Receives Orders Worth $1.8M for Fighter Jet HMDs
The SXGA displays are based on the company's new 8-in. wafer process and NanoJet technology. The orders are to be fulfilled over the next 15 months.

F-35 HMDs provide pilots with airspeed, heading, altitude, targeting information and warnings projected on helmet visors, rather than on a traditional head-up display. This approach greatly reduces the pilot’s workload and increases responsiveness, according to Kopin.

The F-35’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) streams real-time imagery from six IR cameras...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Kopin_Receives_Orders_Worth_18M_for_Fighter_Jet/p5/a57387 A57387 Mon, 27 Apr 2015 15:00:10 GMT
Consumers Demand More, and Photonics Is Up for the Challenge
The Consumer Electronics Association forecasts that the U.S. consumer electronics industry – in which photonics plays an enabling role – will generate $223 billion in wholesale revenue during 2015.

It’s a mixture of aesthetics, convenience and safety, along with a good measure of curiosity, that is driving photonics technology into our everyday lives. From smartphone gadgets, displays and virtual reality gaming to automotive sensors and wearable diagnostics, there is a scope for optics to enhance almost every aspect of the consumer’s world.

Consumer electronics (CE) products employ some cutting-edge optics, including semiconductors, optical fibers, LEDs, OLEDs, LCDs, IR imagers and sensors, and more. The...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Consumers_Demand_More_and_Photonics_Is_Up_for/p5/a57375 A57375 Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:09:47 GMT
Merck Developing Liquid Crystal Smart Windows
The mixture, called Licrivision, is placed between two panes of glass. The crystals are brought into various alignments by applying voltage.

Licrivision will be able to optimize light and thermal impact on glazed surfaces, conserving significant amounts of energy, the company said.

Approximately one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions result from maintaining the interior temperature of buildings with glass facades, the company said.

For more information, visit www.emdgroup.com.]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Merck_Developing_Liquid_Crystal_Smart_Windows/p5/a57083 A57083 Thu, 15 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT
Metamaterial Polarizing Filter Brightens LCDs, Photos
Polarizers are vital for LCDs and photography, but they waste energy by blocking enormous amounts of light. A new filter skirts this obstacle.

A team from the University of Utah developed the polarizing filter, which allows more light in to increase the lifespan of a display’s single battery charge and helps cameras and imagers function better in dim light.

The filter was created by etching a silicon wafer with nanoscale pillars and holes using a focused gallium-ion beam. The multilevel metamaterial linear polarizer rotates light with polarization perpendicular to its principal axis by 90°, the researchers wrote in the study.

Professor Dr. Rajesh Menon holds a piece of silicon etched with microscopic pillars and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Metamaterial_Polarizing_Filter_Brightens_LCDs/p5/a56932 A56932 Fri, 21 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMT
Silicon Labs Unveils First Digital UV Index Sensors
The demand for UV detection in consumer electronics is growing, challenging researchers industrywide to create a compact, efficient and accurate sensor. Silicon Labs has done just that.

The company’s new Si1132 and Si114x models are the industry’s first single-chip digital UV index sensor ICs, and are designed to track UV sun exposure, heart and pulse rate, and blood oximetry, and provide proximity and gesture control for smartphones and wearable computing products.

These optical sensors are for use with activity-tracking wrist and armbands, smart watches and smartphone handsets. In addition to enabling UV index sensing, the devices provide ambient light and IR proximity-sensing capabilities for health and fitness...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Silicon_Labs_Unveils_First_Digital_UV_Index/p5/a55824 A55824 Mon, 10 Feb 2014 00:00:00 GMT
South Africans develop ‘world’s first digital laser’
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) announced that it has developed a digital laser, a milestone its creators say represents a paradigm shift for laser resonators.

In a paper published in Nature Communications (doi: 10.1038/ncomms3289), the CSIR researchers showed that beams can be digitally controlled from within a laser. They overcame the limitations of using specialized optical elements to customize the output beam of a laser “comprising an electrically addressed reflective phase-only spatial light modulator as an intracavity digitally addressed holographic mirror.” The phase and amplitude of the holographic mirror can be controlled by writing a computer-generated hologram in the form of a...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/South_Africans_develop_worlds_first_digital/p5/a55449 A55449 Sun, 01 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMT
Nanosys Quantum Dots Pass Production Milestone
Advanced materials supplier Nanosys said it has passed a major production milestone that represents a "significant step forward" in adopting quantum dot technology for displays.

The shipment of more than 2000 kg of its Quantum Dot Concentrate, used to make Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF), took place at its recently opened 60,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility in Milpitas, Nanosys said.

Nanosys has reached a 2000-kg production milestone for quantum dots used in high-performance consumer displays. Courtesy of PRNewsFoto/Nanosys.

A drop-in optical component for LCDs, QDEF creates a richer, more lifelike color while consuming significantly less power, the company said. It is working with supply chain partners to continue...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Nanosys_Quantum_Dots_Pass_Production_Milestone/p5/a55009 A55009 Thu, 03 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMT
South Africans Develop ‘Digital Laser’
South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) held a press conference this week to announce it has developed the first digital laser, a milestone its creators say represents a paradigm shift for laser resonators.

In their paper, described in the Aug. 2 edition of Nature Communications, the CSIR team showed that beams can be digitally controlled from within a laser. They say they overcame the limitations of using specialized optical elements to customize the output beam of a laser "comprising an electrically addressed reflective phase-only spatial light modulator as an intracavity digitally addressed holographic mirror." The phase and amplitude of the holographic mirror can be controlled by writing a...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/South_Africans_Develop_lsquoDigital_Laserrsquo/p5/a54927 A54927 Fri, 20 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMT
QDs Are Entering the Mainstream
Since their discovery in the 1980s, quantum dots have been quietly gaining momentum, making slow but steady headway in applications from displays and lighting to photovoltaics and health care.

Unique and versatile, quantum dots (QDs) are no longer confined to the fringes of abstract research. They are finding their way into televisions, computer screens, lighting devices and even our bodies. With the promise of better light quality and unparalleled color performance, these minute particles also are popping up in some surprising places.

Because of their controlled excitation properties and ability to reflect in three dimensions, they can be easily tuned to provide the desired emission wavelength just by changing their core size...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/QDs_Are_Entering_the_Mainstream/p5/a53053 A53053 Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT
Lasers Printed via Ink-Jet
Using everyday ink-jet technology, scientists have designed a process for "printing" an organic laser on virtually any surface. The development has wide-ranging possible applications, including biomedicine and displays.

Most lasers today are made on silicon wafers similar to those used in microchips — an expensive process. But the new method, developed by researchers at the Centre for Molecular Materials for Photonics and Electronics and the Inkjet Research Centre, both in the engineering department at the University of Cambridge, uses technology similar to that used in many homes.

Their approach involves developing lasers based on chiral nematic liquid crystals (LCs), similar to the materials used in flat panel LCDs....]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Lasers_Printed_via_Ink-Jet/p5/a51920 A51920 Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT
Brüning Wins Innovation Award for Laser Technology
A team led by Dr. Stephan Brüning of Schepers GmbH & Co. KG has won the €10,000 Innovation Award Laser Technology 2012 prize for the development of a 3-D microstructuring tool that uses high-power ultrashort-pulse lasers for embossing and printing applications.

The prize was initiated by Arbeitskreis Lasertechnik eV and the European Laser Institute ELI and was presented at the International Laser Technology Congress ALK’12 in Aachen.

Rainer Pätzel, director of marketing at Coherent GmbH, and his colleagues received second place in the 2012 competition for their work on excimer lasers for active-matrix LCD- and active-matrix OLED-based flat panel displays.

The third place team led by Dr. Markus...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Brning_Wins_Innovation_Award_for_Laser_Technology/p5/a51073 A51073 Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT
3M Invests in Pixel Qi https://www.photonics.com/Articles/3M_Invests_in_Pixel_Qi/p5/a49385 A49385 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Tyndall Launches Spinout https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Tyndall_Launches_Spinout/p5/a48541 A48541 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT