Brighter microdisplays can be used on sunny days

17 Jun 2002

eMagin has bagged a USD 5 million contract from the US Air Force to manufacture OLED microdisplays.

The US microdisplay and virtual imaging developer eMagin, has been awarded the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the US Air Force for the third time. The company will use the USD 5 million contract to develop its miniature active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology.

"We aim to start with luminance and reach brightness levels over 30,000 cd/m2," said a company spokesperson. "This means producing displays that are more than two hundred times brighter than typical computer displays."

The team plans to produce visors that are transparent yet can be used in bright sunlight. This "see-through capability" will allow users to overlay data and information over real-world images.

Previous phases of the program have led to an active matrix OLED-on-silicon microdisplay that featured more than 1.3 million tiny 12 micron pixels in an area smaller than the average postage stamp.