Hsinchu, Taiwan, October 30 — Jasper Display Corp. (JDC) now announced its 1080p LCOS microdisplay demonstrated for color sequential 1 panel projector and small pixel phase only modulation. In FPD, 2012, it shows good potentiality for phase type modulation, such as spatial light modulator, holography, lithography, laser beam pattern generating, fundus imaging by corrective optics, optical tweezers, femtosecond laser pulse shaping, wave front corrections to phase shifting applications. Using CMOS wafer backplane design, Jasper LCoS technology is featuring at extremely small pixels, high fill factor (pixel aperture ratio), digital drive, multi-level phase control, highly frame rate, lower flicker noise and thus makes it an ideal solution for diverse phase modulation applications.
From T. D. Wilkinson’s paper, “There are a whole host of ‘next generation’ applications which will prove even more important than mainstream displays in the future, however we must first solve the key issue of how to implement a truly multi-level phase modulating structure at frame rates in excess of 1 kHz in this technology.” Jasper LCoS technology is digital drive with highly frame rate, which is good for multi-level phase control and minimize flicker noise. Of all the SLM technologies, liquid crystal on silicon has the advantage of utilizing the current mass production of the mature liquid crystal and integrated circuit industries and Jasper is aiming to provide a variety of liquid crystals that can be used to achieve performance requirements necessary for various types of SLM applications. Below is our study for requirements for LCOS in SLM Phase applications that is our target in this market development.
Requirements for LCOS in SLM Phase Applications
The requirements for non-display applications SLM devices such as optical comparators, optical
tweezers, optical telecommunications switches and holographic projection are different from the LCOS panels optimized for intensity display at video rates.
Digital Drive Backplane
Jasper display’s LCOS backplane is a digital drive scheme where a pulse width modulation (PWM) encodes a certain phase level into a series of binary pulses and every individual pulse interacts with the LC molecule causing the LC molecule to rotate to the desired phase level presentation.
Multi-phase Level
Jasper displays’ LCOS have the advantages of precise control of the multi-level phase modulation with its unique modulation method which allows at least 4096 (12bits) RMS voltage levels, this is especially important in many of the non-display applications (see table 1).
Table 1 Applications and their benefits from multi-level phase modulation
| Applications | Benefits of high speed multiphase SLM |
|---|---|
| Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer | Increased optical efficiency (low loss), better noise control (low crosstalk) more ports |
| Optical recognizer | Increased versatility, better image discrimination, improved invariance properties |
| Adaptive optics | Improved optical efficiency (low loss), improved aberration correction, more channels |
| Holographic projection | Better light efficiency, improved noise control, full plane asymmetry |
| Optical tweezers | Full plane asymmetry, higher particle manipulation density |
Fast Field Rates
Using Jasper Display’s unique modulation technique, fast field rates exceeding 1 kHz have been achieved in its JD4552 Full HD panel, which is many times faster than the typical 120 Hz LCOS panels on the market today. The liquid crystal response time combined with the rapid modulation results in the benefit of multiple stable phase levels for Jasper LCOS panel. Jasper’s backplane allows various types of liquid crystal material to be used to implement different electro-optic modes for specialized applications.
Minimizing Flicker Noise
Flicker noise can be minimized by high modulation rates. There are suitable liquid crystal materials available to overcome this when combined with Jasper’s binary modulation techniques. This flicker can be reduced with the high modulation pattern rate achieved by Jasper display’s LCOS panel and the precise cell voltage level and DC balance control. This is a significant improvement over most of the SLM devices available today.
Conclusion
Jasper Display’s LCOS backplane and the controller FPGA is capable of sustaining frame rates at the 1 kHz level now, and the ASICs now in development improve this by enabling even higher field rates utilizing a 64 bit wide data path operating at 700 Mbps per pin. This record setting data transfer speed is enabling a new generation of highly capable phase modulators based on Jasper Display’s LCOS technology.
About Jasper Display Corp.
Jasper Display Corp., operations established in 2010, has successfully developed and brought to the marketplace a new, very high speed Full HD microdisplay and microdisplay controller, the first in a line of new LCOS products to support high field rate LCOS phase operations at FHD resolution. For more information about Jasper, visit the company’s website at www.jasperdisplay.com.