FLCOS Microdisplay FAQs
What does FLCOS stand for?
FLCOS stands for ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon. Ferroelectric describes how the liquid crystal is chemically organized and activated. For more detail on why FLCOS is a compelling choice for microdisplay technologies, please visit our FLCOS Innovations page.
Why is sequential color better for projection?
Sequential color creates color by quickly cycling each individual pixel through shades of red, green and blue (instead of placing red, green, and blue pixels closely together as spatial color systems do). This method generates individual, full color pixels that provide the viewer with increased image quality and color fidelity. Sequential color also provides much higher optical throughput, achieving better efficiency than LCOS solutions using color filters.
Why is FLCOS better for sequential color projection?
FLCOS technology allows the liquid crystal to switch pixels on and off much faster than typical LCOS displays—as much as 100 times faster, at a switching speed of 1/10,000 of a second. This high speed provides higher optical throughput and wider operating temperature ranges than sequential color LCOS using nematic liquid crystals. It also allows FLCOS to operate at the industry’s highest color field rate and thus avoid the color breakup evident in typical LCOS and DLP solutions.
Why is a single chip solution for projection a good idea?
Enabled by a CMOS process, our single chip solution integrates the display panel, image processing, memory, and LED controllers—greatly simplifying projection designs. These products have a small footprint and draw less than 100mW of power.
What kinds of applications do your projection products support?
Our FLCOS microdisplays have shipped in more than 20 million consumer applications. As panels or modules, they are ideal for mobile applications like camera viewfinders and heads-up displays. They’re also an excellent choice for pico projectors for cell phones and handhelds.
What advantages do your hexagonal shaped pixels provide?
Our WQVGA panel is built with hexagonal pixels where each row is offset by a half pixel (much like a honeycomb). This pixel arrangement greatly improves the perceived resolution and smoothes diagonal lines. Along with the improved image quality provided by our sequential color displays, these hexagonal pixels produce DVD quality results from a WQVGA resolution panel, perfect for applications that project video.