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Information about Lcos

Liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS or LCoS) is a "micro-projection" or "micro-display" technology typically applied in projection televisions. It is a reflective technology similar to DLP projectors; however, it uses liquid crystals instead of individual mirrors. By way of comparison, LCD projectors use transmissive LCD chips, allowing light to pass through the liquid crystal. In LCoS, liquid crystals are applied directly to the surface of a silicon chip coated with an aluminized layer, with some type of passivation layer, which is highly reflective.

LCoS technology can produce much higher resolution images using highly advanced silicon technology than liquid crystal display and plasma display technologies, which makes it less expensive to implement in such devices as televisions.

At the 2004 CES, Intel announced plans for the large scale production of inexpensive LCoS chips for use in flat panel displays. These plans were cancelled in October 2004. Sony has made it to market (December 2005) with the Sony-VPL-VW100 or "Ruby" projector, using SXRD, 3 LCoS chips each with a native resolution of 1080p (1920 × 1080), with a stated contrast ratio of 15,000 using a dynamic iris.

History and implementations

LCoS technology has the potential to enable the manufacture of big-screen high-definition televisions with very high picture quality at relatively low cost. LCoS, while conceptually straightforward, can be a difficult technology to master; a number of companies have dropped out of the LCoS business in recent years. Nonetheless, as of June 2006, proprietary methods for mass-producing LCoS developed, and at least four manufacturers now produce LCoS-based rear-projection televisions for the consumer market.

Commercial implementations of LCoS technology include Sony's SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective Display), Syntax-Brillian's Gen II LCoS, JVC's D-ILA (Digital Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier), and MicroDisplay Corporation's Liquid Fidelity. Nearly every company which produces and markets rear-projection televisions uses three-panel LCoS technology, with the exception of MicroDisplay Corporation, which uses a single LCoS panel capable of producing true 1080p resolution with two million pixels on a single chip. Sony and JVC also produce and market front-projection displays that use three LCoS panels. Another provider of third-party LCoS chips is a Novato-based firm, Spatialight. Direct-view LCoS devices such as the single-panel LED-illuminated devices made by Displaytech are also used as electronic viewfinders for digital cameras. These devices are made using ferroelectric liquid crystals, which are inherently faster than other types of liquid crystals.

Display system architectures

There are two broad categories of LCoS displays: three-panel and single-panel. In three-panel designs, there is one display chip per color, and the images are combined optically. In single-panel designs, one display chip shows the red, green, and blue components in succession with the observer's eyes relied upon to combine the color stream. As each color is presented, a color wheel (or an RGB LED array) illuminates the display with only red, green or blue light. If the frequency of the color fields is lower than about 540 Hz, an effect called color breakup is seen, where false colors are briefly perceived when either the image or the observer's eye is in motion. While less expensive, single-panel projectors require higher-speed display elements to process all three colors during a single frame time, and the need to avoid color breakup makes further demands on the speed of the display technology.

Three-panel designs

In a DLP device the light is separated into three components and then combined back: Two beam splitters are needed. In LCoS devices the light is additionally polarized and then analyzed; four beam splitters are needed. In most DLP sets a color wheel separates colors from a lamp, using one chip for all three colors; SXRD sets use three separate chips, one for each color.

One-panel designs

There were two single-panel LCoS displays in production. One by Philips, and one by Microdisplay Corporation. MicroDisplay Corp's display products were used in HDTVs produced by Uneed Systems of South Korea from 2004–2006, and are currently an integral component of all Liquid Fidelity HDTVs...

See also

External links

 •  • [ e]
Display technology
Non-videoElectronic paper | Flip-dot display | Split-flap display | Incandescent matrix display
VideoCathode ray tube | DLP | Field emission display | Laser TV | LED | LCD | OLED | Plasma display | Surface-conduction electron-emitter display | Vacuum fluorescent display
3D displayStereoscopic, s.a. Autostereoscopic | Volumetric, s.a. Laser beam
Static mediaHologram | Movie projector | Neon sign | Slide projector
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Television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V., or more recently, tv; sometimes called telly, the tube, boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures
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Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a technology used in projectors and video projectors. It was originally developed at Texas Instruments, in 1987 by Dr. Larry Hornbeck.
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An LCD projector is a type of video projector for displaying video, images or computer data on a screen or other flat surface. It is the modern equivalent of the slide projector or overhead projector.
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liquid crystal display (commonly abbreviated LCD) is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector.
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Passivation is the process of making a material "passive" in relation to another material prior to using the materials together. For example, prior to storing hydrogen peroxide in an aluminium container, the container can be passivated by rinsing it with a dilute solution of nitric
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liquid crystal display (commonly abbreviated LCD) is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector.
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plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display now commonly used for large TV displays (typically above 37-inch or 940 mm). Many tiny cells located between two panels of glass hold an inert mixture of noble gases (neon and xenon).
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cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost.
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Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy.

In computer science, an implementation is a realization of a technical specification or algorithm as a program, software
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Device may refer to:

Computing and electronics

  • Computer hardware
  • Peripheral device, any device attached to a computer that expands its functionality
  • Device file, an interface for a device driver

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The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association. At the show, many previews of products are introduced, or new products are announced.
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Intel Corporation

Public (NASDAQ:  INTC , SEHK: 4335 )
Founded 1968 1
Headquarters Santa Clara, California
 United States

Key people Paul S.
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Sony Corporation
ソニー株式会?

Public (TYO: 6758 ; NYSE:  SNE )
Founded May 7 1946 (adopted current name in 1958) by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita[1]
Headquarters Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan[1]
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native resolution of a LCD, LCoS or other flat panel display refers to its single fixed resolution. As an LCD display consists of a fixed raster, it cannot change resolution to match the signal being displayed as a CRT monitor can, meaning that optimal display quality can be
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1080p is the shorthand name for a category of display resolutions. The number "1080" represents 1,080 lines of vertical resolution,[1] while the letter p stands for progressive scan (meaning the image is not interlaced). 1080p is considered an HDTV video mode.
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The contrast ratio is a measure of a display system, defined as the ratio of the luminosity of the brightest color (white) to that of the darkest color (black) that the system is capable of producing.
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Victor Company of Japan, Limited
日本ビクター株式会社

Corporation TYO: 6792
Founded Yokohama, Japan (1927)
Headquarters Yokohama, Japan

Key people Masahiko Terada, President
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light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor diode that emits incoherent narrow-spectrum light when electrically biased in the forward direction of the p-n junction. This effect is a form of electroluminescence.
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For , see .


Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a technology used in projectors and video projectors. It was originally developed at Texas Instruments, in 1987 by Dr. Larry Hornbeck.
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beam splitter is an optical device that splits a beam of light in two. It is the crucial part of most interferometers.

In its most common form, a cube, it is made from two triangular glass prisms which are glued together at their base using Canada balsam.
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polarization (Brit., polarisation) is the property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the direction of the transverse electric field. More generally, the polarization of a transverse wave describes the direction of oscillation in the plane
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Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics)

Public (Euronext: PHIA , NYSE:  PHG )
Founded 1891 Eindhoven
Headquarters Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Key people Gerard Kleisterlee, CEO
Industry Electronics
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Motto
홍익인간(弘益人間) 널리 인간을 이롭게 하?
Anthem
Aegukga (애국가; 愛國歌)
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Liquid Fidelity is a "microdisplay" technology applied in high-definition televisions. It incorporates Liquid Crystal on Silicon technology capable of producing true 1080p resolution with two million pixels on a single display chip.
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This is a comparison of various properties of different display technologies.

General characteristics


Shape of Screen
Highest known
diagonal screen size
Typical Use Usable in bright room
(in) (cm)
Eidophor Front Projection Flat

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Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a technology used in projectors and video projectors. It was originally developed at Texas Instruments, in 1987 by Dr. Larry Hornbeck.
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Sony SXRD models
year size series
A2xxx A3xxx XBR Qualia
2004 projection -- -- -- 004
70" -- -- -- 006
2005 50" -- -- KDS-R50XBR1 --
70" -- -- KDS-R60XBR1 --
2006 50" KDS-50A2000 -- -- --
55" KDS-55A2000 -- -- --
60" KDS-60A2000 -- KDS-R60XBR2 --
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Electronic paper, also called e-paper, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is
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flip-disc display (or flip-dot display) is a display technology used for large outdoor signs, normally those that will be exposed to direct sunlight. Flip-disc displays were common in the 1980s and 90s, but have since become rare with the introduction of high-intensity LEDs.
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