Advanced display technology on full view at SID

MANHASSET, N.Y. — The technologies responsible for displays ranging from near-to-the-eye to large flat-screen TVs will take center stage at the upcoming SID 2006 International Symposium, Seminar, and Exhibition.

Sponsored by the Society for Information Display (San Jose), the show will be held at Moscone Center in San Francisco June 4 through 9. It will highlight the diverse world of displays through over 500 business and technical papers, 550 exhibit booths, and a number of related seminars and tutorials. Over 8,000 attendees are expected, which company officials predict would be a record for the 44-year old show.

While large flat-panel TVs will continue to draw oohs and aahs at booths and remain a hotbed topic in many discussions, behind-the-scenes advances in display technologies are equally significant and will be much in evidence at the show.

For instance, Enuclia Semiconductor, a fabless semiconductor company, will demonstrate its pipeline video processing technology which promises to improve performance in flat-panel TVs. Enuclia (Beaverton, Ore.) is a three year-old startup headed by former LG.Philips LCD executive Bruce Berkoff.

Clairvoyante Inc., a display technology IP company, will show several applications of its PenTile Matrix technology in amorphous silicon and low-temperature polysilicon displays. The technology uses a concept called subpixel rendering to increase perceived resolution, taking advantage of characteristics of the human visual system. Clairvoyante (Cupertino, Calif.), expects the technology to improve the brightness, resolution, and power consumption of mobile displays.

Both Clairvoyante and Enuclia are on EE Times list of 60 Emerging Startups.

Makers of microdisplays still believe they can muscle in on applications where larger displays are not practical. Kopin (Taunton, Mass.) will show a number of near-to-the-eye displays, which are finding use in eyewear for applications ranging from the military to gaming, according to John Fan, chief executive, during a recent interview with EE Times.

"Eyewear is similar to watching a TV—designed with long-term viewing in mind. It’s better for the eyes than looking at a small screen," Fan said.

Though near-to-the-eye displays have not gained mass popularity in the U.S., Fan said they are popular for mobile video applications in Asia.

Not all the advances in displays are those that can be seen. In touch displays, Immersion Corp. is demonstrating tactile feedback technology that enables a touch screen to 'touch back' to ensure confirmation of a user’s input.

Immersion (San Jose) said the technology, called TouchSense, can be added to turn any touch screen into an active display that lets users feel that on-screen buttons press and release similarly to mechanical buttons.

The technical symposium at SID will highlight advances in areas such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic light-emitting diode displays, and backlights. But conspicuously absent are papers on cathode-ray-tube (CRT) advances—indicative of the industry’s shift away from this technology.

However, the program does include for the first time papers on field-emission-display (FED) technology, being pursued for flat-panel displays under development by companies such as Noritake Co. Samsung SDI, and Motorola.

For more information on SID 2006, see the website.