A new Hewlett-Packard partnership may lead to crystal-clear computer monitors the size of thumbnails that might one day find a home in head-mounted computer displays.
The computer and electronics giant said Monday it will put its manufacturing and distribution weight behind a unique display technology from Displaytech. The two companies will jointly design, make, and sell the company's "reflective microdisplay" components for consumer electronics products.
Microdisplays are at the core of a young industry driven by a need to squeeze screens onto compact devices without loss of resolution or image quality.
"We see the costs have dropped enough for these components" said Alan Marty, director of Hewlett-Packard's microdisplay products operation. "We're able to get more and more resolution for less and less dollars."
While the "cathode-ray tubes" in computer and TV screens -- as well as the liquid crystal displays in laptops -- generate images at the literal size of the screen, microdisplays start small. Very small.
Displaytech's microdisplay technology, called LightCaster, actually generates an image on the surface of a thumbnail-sized microchip. A tiny, LCD-like panel on the silicon face packs high-resolution imagery and full color into a 10.4-millimeter diagonal image.
Display manufacters can then use a variety of optical techniques to enlarge this fingernail-sized, crisp image. The technology might find a home in full-sized, high-definition TV, or a handheld computer screen that might be seen through a viewing lens.
In either case, the result is a sharp, 1,024 by 768 pixel image with 16.7 million colors.
"The most striking thing is the size," said Displaytech CEO Haviland Wright. "You're talking about high-resolution devices that are extremely small."
