There is growing activity in the field of flat panel displays as companies rush to try to be first to market with a convincing alternative to the liquid crystal diode, but Hopewell Junction, New York-based FED Corp is seeking to go one further by integrating the computer and display into a single unit. It has rallied a multi-disciplinary team of component suppliers and end-users to develop core technologies to integrate computer functions and high-performance flat-panel displays into a single compact unit it has dubbed the Smart Display. The project will receive funding under the Advanced Technology Programme of the US National Institute of Technology, and it aims to revolutionise display technology by developing a multi-layer ceramic module with the FED display on one side and flip-chip integrated circuits on the other, integrating both the display and computer functions in a single component. Analog Devices Inc, ceramic substrate supplier Cetek Technology Inc, and three display users – B F Goodrich Avionics Systems, InfiMed Inc and Kaiser Electronics Inc make up the team. The heart of the new display will be FED Corp’s recently developed field emission display in which the three colour electron guns are replaced by an array of electron emitters, each handling a single pixel on the screen. The field emission display provides highly energy-efficient light generation, is extremely fast, with high resolution, uses low-power drivers, and is very bright, with colour reproduction of today’s cathode ray tubes. Technical goals include showing mono and colour versions of a 1,280 by 1,024 head-mounted display for medical and portable workstation applications, and a small colour direct-view instruments display for avionics.
