David Savastano, Editor06.13.12
There are few more demanding customers than the U.S. military, particularly when it comes to giving soldiers in the field the equipment they need to successfully and safely complete their missions. The difference between high-quality and average equipment can literally be life and death.
Night vision goggle displays are certainly one such application. The better the quality and contrast, the easier it is for soldiers to see what is coming at them.
One look at the displays the U.S. Army uses shows just how sharp these thermal night vision goggles really are. These displays, which are supplied by Bellevue, WA-based eMagin Corporation, provide a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.
“Our displays are very high contrast, as each OLED pixel goes to black when it turns off,” said R. Bruce Ridley, vice president business development and special products for eMagin. “This is ideal for military thermal night vision, as it allows the soldier to discern what is coming at them much more quickly and accurately. “
Founded in 1994, eMagin specializes in active matrix organic light emitting diodes, or AMOLEDs. These lightweight materials utilize a backplane made of a silicon chip rather than glass, and are engineered to handle the harshest of environments.
“Our claim to fame is that we were the first company to bring active matrix OLEDs to the market,” said Ridley. “In 2001, we shipped our first active OLED display, and now we have more than 200,000 displays in harsh environments, primarily military, and we are continuing to grow the commercial side of our business.
“Our OLEDs can withstand the harshest environments, even to the point of operating in a vat of liquid nitrogen for a time,” Ridley added. “The key for low temperature operations is that there are no heaters required, as with LCD technology, and OLEDs are instantly on and viewable at any temperature.”
Formed in 1994 as FED, for Field Emitting Displays, eMagin switched over to OLED development in the mid-1990s when its leaders realized that OLED was coming faster than expected. The company successfully went public in 2000, and changed its name at that point.
Ridley said that eMagin’s technology offers numerous technical advantages for the military.
“A key difference is that our backplane is a seamless silicon chip,” Ridley noted. “By contrast, cell phone displays use glass as a backplane. We were the first licensee of Kodak’s patent, which used glass. We designed our display to sit on top of a silicon chip, with a see-through cathode layer on top.
Reducing the weight a soldier carries is essential for the military, and eMagin’s AMOLED displays are both thin and use low power, 80% less than LCD displays, thus reducing the battery powered required.
“Another advantage is that OLED displays need to be very thin for the military, with no backlights, and each pixel is its own source of light,” Ridley continued. “The display functions on low power, which is critical, as soldiers don’t have to carry extra batteries.”
The advantages that eMagin’s AMOLED technology offers also are ideal for commercial applications, where the company has made inroads into such areas as binoculars, high-end cameras, firefighting thermal goggles and gaming equipment.
“On the commercial side, our displays are mobile, and are built for applications where flat panels don’t make sense, such as veterinarian headsets for farm animals,” Ridley said. “We also are seeing our displays used for high-end viewfinders for cameras and cinematography equipment, training and thermal resolution equipment for firefighters.”
The ability to withstand harsh environments comes into play for firefighters. “We’ve seen cameras come back melted, but our display was fine,” Ridley said.
The last of the U.S.-based display manufacturers, eMagin is doing very well, as it emphasizes quality above all. WUXGA OLED-XLTM, eMagin’s most recent advance, is a full-color high-definition 3-D head mounted microdisplay.
“We are technically driven and continue to drive improvements,” Ridley said. “One of our key advantages is that we have developed long-standing relationships with our suppliers, and they bring their new developments to us. Our resolution (8.1 microns) is the highest density pixel pitch, and there’s no real limit to how small you can make OLED pixels.”
The company’s success has led to eMagin adding new capacity to its manufacturing facility in Fishkill, NY. Ridley anticipates the company will see the same success in the commercial side of the business in the coming years.
“We are gearing up for large-scale production using our evaporative process,” Ridley concluded. “We are doing well in the military market, and we see a role for us in the high-end performance market.”
eMagin’s new full-color WUXGA OLED-XLTM microdisplay, prototype headset. |
One look at the displays the U.S. Army uses shows just how sharp these thermal night vision goggles really are. These displays, which are supplied by Bellevue, WA-based eMagin Corporation, provide a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.
“Our displays are very high contrast, as each OLED pixel goes to black when it turns off,” said R. Bruce Ridley, vice president business development and special products for eMagin. “This is ideal for military thermal night vision, as it allows the soldier to discern what is coming at them much more quickly and accurately. “
Founded in 1994, eMagin specializes in active matrix organic light emitting diodes, or AMOLEDs. These lightweight materials utilize a backplane made of a silicon chip rather than glass, and are engineered to handle the harshest of environments.
Eye-level view of Times Square using augmented reality glasses with eMagin’s WUXGA OLED-XLTM microdisplay technology. |
“Our OLEDs can withstand the harshest environments, even to the point of operating in a vat of liquid nitrogen for a time,” Ridley added. “The key for low temperature operations is that there are no heaters required, as with LCD technology, and OLEDs are instantly on and viewable at any temperature.”
Formed in 1994 as FED, for Field Emitting Displays, eMagin switched over to OLED development in the mid-1990s when its leaders realized that OLED was coming faster than expected. The company successfully went public in 2000, and changed its name at that point.
Ridley said that eMagin’s technology offers numerous technical advantages for the military.
“A key difference is that our backplane is a seamless silicon chip,” Ridley noted. “By contrast, cell phone displays use glass as a backplane. We were the first licensee of Kodak’s patent, which used glass. We designed our display to sit on top of a silicon chip, with a see-through cathode layer on top.
Reducing the weight a soldier carries is essential for the military, and eMagin’s AMOLED displays are both thin and use low power, 80% less than LCD displays, thus reducing the battery powered required.
“Another advantage is that OLED displays need to be very thin for the military, with no backlights, and each pixel is its own source of light,” Ridley continued. “The display functions on low power, which is critical, as soldiers don’t have to carry extra batteries.”
The advantages that eMagin’s AMOLED technology offers also are ideal for commercial applications, where the company has made inroads into such areas as binoculars, high-end cameras, firefighting thermal goggles and gaming equipment.
“On the commercial side, our displays are mobile, and are built for applications where flat panels don’t make sense, such as veterinarian headsets for farm animals,” Ridley said. “We also are seeing our displays used for high-end viewfinders for cameras and cinematography equipment, training and thermal resolution equipment for firefighters.”
The ability to withstand harsh environments comes into play for firefighters. “We’ve seen cameras come back melted, but our display was fine,” Ridley said.
The last of the U.S.-based display manufacturers, eMagin is doing very well, as it emphasizes quality above all. WUXGA OLED-XLTM, eMagin’s most recent advance, is a full-color high-definition 3-D head mounted microdisplay.
“We are technically driven and continue to drive improvements,” Ridley said. “One of our key advantages is that we have developed long-standing relationships with our suppliers, and they bring their new developments to us. Our resolution (8.1 microns) is the highest density pixel pitch, and there’s no real limit to how small you can make OLED pixels.”
The company’s success has led to eMagin adding new capacity to its manufacturing facility in Fishkill, NY. Ridley anticipates the company will see the same success in the commercial side of the business in the coming years.
“We are gearing up for large-scale production using our evaporative process,” Ridley concluded. “We are doing well in the military market, and we see a role for us in the high-end performance market.”