August 2000

NEWS & ANALYSIS
Silicon Light Machines On a Rampage
Microdisplay developer, Silicon Light Machines (SLM, Sunnyvale, CA), has announced a series of developments that have catapulted them forward recently. First came a big licensing deal with Sony Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) for projection products, then an acquisition by Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (San Jose, CA) and a refocus on optical communications devices. Soon, the company expects to announce customers that will use their Grating Light Valve (GLV) technology in print engines. Wow!

Screen Technology Makes Progress
One of the key technologies for realizing a high quality image from a projection system, especially a rear-projection system, is the screen. As the panel size used to drive these systems gets smaller and companies work to develop rear-projection monitor applications, there is an acute need for higher quality screens. In this report, we have summarized some recent developments for SID , INFOCOMM and discussions with company officials. The end result is a new crop of screens that are likely to meet the needs of next generation rear-projection systems.

Sharp Pushes CGS Toward Low Temp Process
Sharp Corporation (Nara, Japan), along with development partner, Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd (Kanagawa, Japan), have been saying for several years that its special type of poly-silicon microdisplay technology, called CG (Continuous Grain) Silicon, would enable very low cost microdisplays. While a CG-Silicon microdisplay is currently used in a commercial product, the cost of the 60-inch rear-projection televison is $50K, implying that the three displays are hardly cheap. Recent results from the companies however, indicate they are making headway. At SID 2000 they reported on a low-temperature version of the CG-Silicon process that could dramatically lower costs.

Sony Showcases HDTV Display
Sony Corporation's Home Networking Company (Tokyo, Japan) has been working on a liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) microdisplay using ferroelectric liquid crystal. Last January, they reported on a novel drive scheme for the display and recently, have described the interface electronics for the device. The prototype system features a 0.9-inch 1920 x 1200 LCOS display driven by red, green and blue LEDs and the ability to display NTSC or HDTV video signals or computer data from VGA to UXGA resolution. Sony is readying this device for use in projection, headset or handheld products.

Kopin Snags Camcorder Deal & Army Contract
Kopin Corporation (Taunton, MA) has revealed a third major customer for their monochrome CyberDisplay 320. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Seoul, Korea) joins Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan), the world's largest consumer electronics company and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC, Kanagawa, Japan) as the third company to use Kopin's 320 x 240 resolution display as a viewfinder in camcorders.

Philips Reduces Arc Jumping in Lamps
Philips GmbH (Aachen, Germany) has been shipping its UHP-S (Ultra-High Pressure) lamps since the end of 1999. But at SID 2000, it finally revealed some of the secrets behind the lamps' performance. In paper 9.1, author Holger Moench described a new drive waveform that significantly reduces the size of arc jumps - a primary contributor to loss of image brightness.

Digital VGA OLED Demonstrated
Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd (SEL, Kanagawa, Japan) has demonstrated a monochrome yellow OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) with a digital drive circuit that overcomes non-uniformity problems associated with conventional analog drive schemes. The 0.7-inch VGA prototype is fabricated with poly-silicon transistors on a glass substrate and small molecule OLED technology. It was developed for potential headset applications.

Balzers, CRL Change Names
Balzers Thin Films (Balzers, Liechtenstein) has changed its name. The new corporate name will be Unaxis, and the Thin Films group will be called Unaxis Optics. Meanwhile, CRL Opto (Hayes, UK) is the new name for the Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) group of Central Research Laboratories (CRL).

Applications
DLP/LCD Rear-Projection
Summary of recent products and developments in rear-projection featuring coverage of Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Clarity Visual Systems, ComView Graphics, Ltd., Delta Products Corporation, Gundermann Mikroelektronik, Hitachi Software, La Vidia Company, Mitsubishi Electronics America, Prokia Technology Corporation, Synelec, and Samsung Electronics America.

Wearables
Wrap-up of the latest developments in wearable PCs and related products with coverage of Georgia Tech, SensaTex, WearLogic, The University of Toronto, Xybernaut, Selfware, Capella, Communication Intelligence Corporation, Zykronix, and Microvision.

CRT-Based Rear Projection
News from Thomson Multimedia, Sony Electronics and Samsung.

Market Intelligence
First Quarter LCD Report
LCD Market to Double by 2006
UK Leads Move to Digital TV
Samsung Number One in TFT-LCDs

Bottom Line
Three-Five Increases Net and Design Wins
Samsung Reports Big Gains in Sales and Earnings
Universal Display Makes Russell 3000 Index
Xybernaut Makes Russell 2000 & 3000

Movers & Shakers
moves by Joseph Goodman, Dr. Terry Scheffer and Mark Fihn.