Congress requested the Department of Defense (DoD) to study the acquisition of flat panel displays (FPDs) for military applications with specific attention to tradeoffs made in acquiring 'consumer-grade displays' rather than 'FPD systems that are custom designed to meet military requirements.' The study addresses: life cycle cost and performance tradeoffs, environmental and performance requirements and test data on performance of both custom and consumer-grade FPDs, life cycle cost and support issues such as commonality, supportability, and availability, potential benefits of FPD system interface standards and open systems approaches. The study found that appropriately ruggedized consumer-grade FPDs can meet the environmental and performance requirements for a broad range of military applications, including shipboard, command and control, army ground vehicles, military transport aviation, and soldier-portable computer systems. Currently, ruggedized consumer-grade FPDs cannot meet the specifications for some highly stressful applications, particularly tactical cockpit avionics. Due to lack of comparable and available data, programs have reached different judgments about the environmental tolerance and optical performance of ruggedized consumer-grade FPDs. There appear to be few systematic assessments of display performance impact on mission effectiveness. FPD availability concerns pivot on (1) the potentially rapid obsolescence of commercial FPDs and (2) the economic viability of domestic custom FPD suppliers. Display integrators using commercial FPDs are working to establish long-term supply arrangements with foreign producers of displays, but it is unclear how responsive these relationships will be in the future. Some DoD display integrators using custom FPDs believe that until the FPD market matures and stabilizes, it would be imprudent for DoD to become dependent on foreign, commercial FPD producers. However, many of these integrators are also concerned about the financial health of domestically based custom FPD producers.

The evolution of the commercial flat panel display industry is reviewed from four perspectives. The major markets for displays are identified and the supply/demand balance is discussed. The status of six display technologies is summarized and some of the manufacturing constraints are described. Finally, the impact of the different national programs is assessed.

This paper addresses the number, function and size of principal military displays and establishes a basis to determine the opportunities for technology insertion in the immediate future and into the next millennium. Principal military displays are defined as those occupying appreciable crewstation real-estate and/or those without which the platform could not carry out its intended mission. DoD 'office' applications are excluded from this study. The military displays market is specified by such parameters as active area and footprint size, and other characteristics such as luminance, gray scale, resolution, angle, color, video capability, and night vision imaging system (NVIS) compatibility. Funded, future acquisitions, planned and predicted crewstation modification kits, and form-fit upgrades are taken into account. This paper provides an overview of the DoD niche market, allowing both government and industry a necessary reference by which to meet DoD requirements for military displays in a timely and cost-effective manner. The aggregate DoD market for direct-view and large-area military displays is presently estimated to be in excess of 242,000. Miniature displays are those which must be magnified to be viewed, involve a significantly different manufacturing paradigm and are used in helmet mounted displays and thermal weapon sight applications. Some 114,000 miniature displays are presently included within Service weapon system acquisition plans. For vendor production planning purposes it is noted that foreign military sales could substantially increase these quantities. The vanishing vendor syndrome (VVS) for older display technologies continues to be a growing, pervasive problem throughout DoD, which consequently must leverage the more modern display technologies being developed for civil- commercial markets.

Acquisition reform is based on the notion that DoD must rely on the commercial marketplace insofar as possible rather than solely looking inward to a military marketplace to meet its needs. This reform forces a fundamental change in the way DoD conducts business, including a heavy reliance on private sector models of change. The key to more reliance on the commercial marketplace is the performance specifications (PS). This paper introduces some PS concepts and a PS classification principal to help bring some structure to the analysis of risk (cost, schedule, capability) in weapons system development and the management of opportunities for affordable ownership (maintain/increase capability via technology insertion, reduce cost) in this new paradigm. The DoD shift toward commercial components is nowhere better exemplified than in displays. Displays are the quintessential dual-use technology and are used herein to exemplify these PS concepts and principal. The advent of flat panel displays as a successful technology is setting off an epochal shift in cockpits and other military applications. Displays are installed in every DoD weapon system, and are, thus, representative of a range of technologies where issues and concerns throughout industry and government have been raised regarding the increased DoD reliance on the commercial marketplace. Performance specifications require metrics: the overall metrics of 'information-thrust' with units of Mb/s and 'specific info- thrust' with units of Mb/s/kg are introduced to analyze value of a display to the warfighter and affordability to the taxpayer.

Flat panel displays, particularly active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD), are being used increasingly in military and aerospace applications. Because of these demanding environments, designers must often choose between specifying a display custom designed to meet full military ruggedization, or choosing a commercial display that can be ruggedized to meet almost all of the military environmental specs. This latter Modified Off-The-Shelf (MOTS) approach has not only gained much popularity recently, but is now driving how displays are integrated into ruggedized military and aerospace applications. As high volume, commercial display manufacturers improve performance and expand production capacity, they are increasing turning to non-laptop markets for areas of growth. Many of the requirements of these consumer, industrial, medical, transportation and commercial markets have similarities to the needs of military and aerospace display users. As high-volume commercial display manufacturers develop enhanced AMLCD products tailored to meet the higher brightness, wider viewing angles, and higher temperature ranges of these markets, mil-aerospace users will benefit from the performance and cost advances being forged by these non- military users. Displays custom designed to fit specific military applications will become more difficult to justify as the cost and performance of ruggedized MOTS displays becomes the obvious choice for all but the toughest of environments. In this paper, we will discuss the market factors that are expanding the use of rugged displays, performance enhancements that benefit military and aerospace users, and why leveraging this development is the best overall approach to satisfying display needs.

Commercial off the shelf (COTS) liquid crystal displays are attractive as an alternative to LCDs that are custom designed and manufactured for the military environment. Commercial displays require significant modification to accommodate their use. This paper describes specific modifications that create a thermal cocoon around a nominal 3.6 X 4.6-inch commercial industrial/automotive display. The thermal design techniques allow the display to function in the particularly challenging F-16 thermal environment without exceeding the display's operating specification. The work is extended to examine what additional design extensions are required for still larger displays.

The Army Research Laboratory has had an active program in displays for many years since all Amy systems require displays of some type. Historically the program was predominately a 6.2 to 6.3 development work. Over the last few years the emphasis has been changing to more basic work. This paper discusses our current program.

The rapid replacement of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) by active- matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) in cockpit head-down displays introduces a number of new performance issues. This paper discusses some of the technical issues related specifically to the application of AMLCDs to military cockpit displays, generally from a human factors perspective. Brightness, contrast and NVG compatibility are considered in the context of possible updates to MIL-L-85762 and operations in high and low ambient lighting. Other issues include viewing angle limits and FLIR modeling. The discussion aims to encourage both engineering and human factors specialists to consider the new performance issues created by the implementation of AMLCDs and to encourage these two disciplines to resolve these challenges jointly. Although AMLCDs introduce new challenges to display designers they also possess advantages such as being smaller, lighter, requiring less power and being readable in bright sunlight conditions.

Having demonstrated significant technical and marketplace advantages over other modalities for video immersion, Panospheric^TM Imaging (PI) continues to evolve rapidly. This paper reports on progress achieved since AeroSense 97. The first practical field deployment of the technology occurred in June-August 1997 during the NASA-CMU 'Atacama Desert Trek' activity, where the Nomad mobile robot was teleoperated via immersive Panospheric^TM imagery from a distance of several thousand kilometers. Research using teleoperated vehicles at DRES has also verified the exceptional utility of the PI technology for achieving high levels of situational awareness, operator confidence, and mission effectiveness. Important performance enhancements have been achieved with the completion of the 4^th Generation PI DSP-based array processor system. The system is now able to provide dynamic full video-rate generation of spatial and computational transformations, resulting in a programmable and fully interactive immersive video telepresence. A new multi- CCD camera architecture has been created to exploit the bandwidth of this processor, yielding a well-matched PI system with greatly improved resolution. While the initial commercial application for this technology is expected to be video tele- conferencing, it also appears to have excellent potential for application in the 'Immersive Cockpit' concept. Additional progress is reported in the areas of Long Wave Infrared PI Imaging, Stereo PI concepts, PI based Video-Servoing concepts, PI based Video Navigation concepts, and Foveation concepts (to merge localized high-resolution views with immersive views).

Display system requirements for deployment in military vehicles are very demanding. Multilayer ceramic-on-metal circuit board technology is being applied to enable the fabrication of electroluminescent displays with enhanced performance, ruggedness, and functionality. The circuit board is utilized as the display substrate. The metal core of the circuit board provides a highly rugged panel with excellent thermal dissipation. Display packaging is simplified and display system size and weight are reduced by integrating drivers onto the display. This approach enables increases in display brightness by addressing the EL display in multiple segments with conductive vias through the circuit board. System cost is reduced by eliminating flex-cable edge connectors and by simplifying the package. Display functionality can be extended by integrating related electronics onto the display panel. Monochrome display samples have been demonstrated with performance similar to samples fabricated on traditional glass substrates. Current efforts are directed toward demonstrating high-performance color EL, utilizing the ability of the ceramic substrates to accommodate high-temperature phosphor annealing required to fully activate blue phosphors.

Cockpit design is about communication between the aircraft system and the pilot. The information available on-board is very large and increases with on-going development of the systems. New functions for integration and fusion will, together with decision support and automation, set requirements on the displays to transfer information to the pilot. Information overload, mental workload and flight safety are always important areas to put efforts in. The present version of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen aircraft has three monochrome multi-function displays. The displays are fairly large for a small aircraft, 5' X 6', giving a good situation awareness for the pilot. A new version of the Gripen cockpit featuring large color displays is now under development and will be introduced to the Swedish air force and ready for export market in the end of 2001. Display size, resolution, graphics capability and color have great impact on the pilots ability to acquire and understand the presented information. These factors are very important when designing an improved cockpit. By utilizing the most modern flat panel AMLCD techniques we have succeeded in integrating three 6.2' X 8.3' full-color multi-function displays in the Gripen aircraft.

Every new generation of fighter aircraft presents new challenges for the various design disciplines that are involved in their development; the current generation of fighters -- Eurofighter, Rafale, and F22 -- are no different in this respect. We look to using new structural materials advanced flight control systems, and even better and more comprehensive sensors to extend the system's overall performance and capability. This paper looks at the area of cockpit design -- the 'how do we keep the pilot in real control of his tasks' part of the total package of the aircraft and weapons system design. I will look at the design requirements for the cockpit, and discuss some potential solutions to the inevitable resulting design problems.

The United States Army's requirement to employ high resolution target acquisition sensors and information warfare to increase its dominance over enemy forces has led to the need to integrate advanced display devices into ground combat vehicle crew stations. The Army's force structure require the integration of advanced displays on both existing and emerging ground combat vehicle systems. The fielding of second generation target acquisition sensors, color digital terrain maps and high volume digital command and control information networks on these platforms define display performance requirements. The greatest challenge facing the system integrator is the development and integration of advanced displays that meet operational, vehicle and human computer interface performance requirements for the ground combat vehicle fleet. The subject of this paper is to address those challenges: operational and vehicle performance, non-soldier centric crew station configurations, display performance limitations related to human computer interfaces and vehicle physical environments, display technology limitations and the Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition reform initiatives. How the ground combat vehicle Program Manager and system integrator are addressing these challenges are discussed through the integration of displays on fielded, current and future close combat vehicle applications.

Birefringent optical compensators containing layers with substantially inclined optic axes can improve not only the contrast but also the gray scale and chromatic stability of 90 degrees twisted nematic LCDs over a large field of view. We present the detailed architecture of such a compensator. It consists of multiple birefringent layers, including one with an in-plane optic axis, one with its optic axis normal to the plane, and two with optic axes inclined at about 40 degrees from the plane. The in-plane and inclined layers are fabricated by photopolymerization of oriented liquid crystal monomers to form anisotropic networks. The precise thicknesses and azimuthal orientations of the various layers are determined by computer optimization. Laboratory measurements of compensated display units show good contrast, gray level, and chromatic stability over a large field of view. The performance is suitable for demanding avionics applications. These compensators are currently being fabricated at the Rockwell Science Center.

Liquid crystal (LC) material properties change with temperature. The goal is to find a material that will have a very wide temperature range (minus 54 degrees to plus 102 degrees Celsius) and maintain good response time and viewing angle performance. We find that LC materials with a high clearing point (greater than +100 degrees Celsius) have too high of a viscosity (approximately 26 mm²/s) at room temperature to meet the response time criteria (less than 25 msec.) if avionics display. Several new LC materials were studied, and critical parametric for avionics are discussed.

Key features of a family of LSI integrated circuits will be explained. These DSP devices are capable of taking digital inputs of either NTSC/PAL/SECAM video in YCrCb 4:2:2 format, or computer graphics data from a PC in RGB 8:8:8 format, de- interlacing the data (if required), then re-sizing the resolution of the image independently in the horizontal and vertical axes to fit arbitrary display resolutions. The devices use patented digital filter techniques to perform zoom-only or both zoom as well as shrink. The devices also include registers that allow for cropping the active input image, and registers to completely control horizontal and vertical timing parameters for LCD displays. Current members of this family work at clock rates of up to 84 MHz, at resolutions of 1024 X 768, and upcoming members of the family will raise both the target resolution and pixel rates. All these parts generate all timing signals required by the display. Typically, no external memory is required for zooming and shrinking. Cockpit display applications that could benefit from this chip include processing and display of video, FLIR, EFIS/EICAS displays, radar, digital terrain maps, ultrasonic/sonar, computer graphics/symbol generators, etc. The devices are members of the gmZx family of scaling chips, first introduced in April '97.

AMLCDs have an inherent problem with accumulation of DC charge as a result of manufacturing variation, AMLCD drive waveforms, and temperature variation. The accumulation of DC charge in an AMLCD results in image sticking or image retention. This paper addresses the root cause of DC charge accumulation, design and manufacturing factors in reducing DC charge, and measurement metrics for determining degree of image retention.

At the Cockpit Displays III & IV conference, diffractive color separation was proposed as a means for improving both the performance and efficiency of liquid crystal displays. This paper discusses that approach in further detail as well as the progress made in attempting to develop the necessary technology. A design for the color separator filter was made based around the use of an analog and binary fabrication technologies. Performance of the two resulting color separation filters will be discussed.

Bistable reflective cholesteric liquid crystal displays (Ch- LCDs) can be modified for compatibility with various classes of NVGs (Night Vision Goggles). Stacking near-infrared reflecting displays and visible reflecting displays can produce a novel dual use display module. Due to the optical clarity of the visible display in NVIS mode, the two displays are stacked on top of each other without any visual compromise. This module has high reflectivity and contrast in both the visible, and NVIS cases. The display is also bistable, enabling a low power device. This paper describes variations in this configuration including a single cholesteric layer for both viewing conditions. Various methods of contrast optimization, and multiple color capability are also discussed. Military applications of this unique display device for cockpits and handheld devices with night vision requirements are discussed.

Flat panel displays can exhibit undesirable visual effects previously unseen with other display devices. One such effect is the presence of bright bands, or multiple images, surrounding the mirror image of a small, intense light source, like the sun. These bands and multiple images have been identified as diffraction patterns caused by the display pixels. With some displays, the diffraction patterns are obvious, while others exhibit minimal diffraction. The appearance of a pattern varies considerably between display designs, while remaining consistent between displays of similar design and construction. Specific display design features and materials are responsible for many pattern characteristics. If the pattern is very bright, information presented by the display may be obscured. This presents obvious problems when the display must be read accurately and quickly, as in avionics or vehicle applications. In order to use flat panel displays effectively in these environments, a means must be found to control or eliminate the bands. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the characteristics, causes, measurements, and strategies for prevention of diffraction bands on display devices.

The theme of the Cockpit Displays V Conference of 'Custom versus Consumer -- Grade Displays in Defense Applications' reflects the Raytheon Systems Company field emission display (FED) development effort. Raytheon chose to license commercial FED technology and subsequently participate in a commercial industry 'FED Alliance' to insert this technology into commercial and avionics defense applications. The unaffordability of custom military displays makes them an unfeasible choice to build a business upon. The major differences between consumer FEDs and those adapted for military/avionics installations are: (1) high brightness for sunlight visibility; (2) extended environmental range; (3) high resolution; (4) wider dimming range for sunlight to NVIS operation; (5) extended gray scales; (6) lifetime product support well beyond two year consumer market life. The transition to defense applications is further being accomplished via industry/government partnerships as the DARPA Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP) and BAA 97-31. FEDs combine cathode ray tube (CRT) and matrix addressed flat panel display technology, parts, manufacturing, and test equipment, plus open systems interfaces into a new display.

Successful technology insertion programs must satisfy many system constraints in order to incorporate new capabilities into aging avionics systems while meeting program cost requirements. Such constraints frequently include form, fit, and functional replacement specifications, as well as power and electrical performance restrictions. This paper describes a technology insertion program undertaken by engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. The program goal was to replace the 30-year-old azimuth indicator display of a radar warning receiver system. This necessitated the use of electroluminescent (EL) display technology to replace the analog cathode ray tube display currently used in the system. Because of the prohibitively high cost of aircraft wiring modifications, the replacement display was required to be completely form, fit, and functionally equivalent to its replacement. The form, fit, and, functional equivalency requirement imposed the following system constraints: (1) power consumption of less than 10 Watts, (2) the need to maintain the same stroke-deflection current electrical interface, and (3) the need to meet the maintenance and repair budget of the existing display unit. Additional requirements included night-vision compatibility and full sunlight readability. The display was also required to be MIL-STD-1553 Remote Terminal communication capable. All of these requirements posed a challenging technology insertion problem to program personnel. The case study described in this paper illustrates the approach to meeting the particular requirements of this technology insertion program.

We review recent progress in small molecule, stacked organic light emitting devices (SOLEDs) with emphasis on their potential application to lightweight, full-color displays. In a full-color SOLED pixel, the red, green and blue light emitting devices are vertically stacked to provide a simple fabrication process, minimum pixel size, and maximum fill factor. This architecture is uniquely applicable to organic semiconductors due to the lack of lattice matching requirements at the many materials interfaces. We discuss the effects of microcavity effects on the output color of the SOLED, and demonstrate an optimized three color pixel with good color saturation. Various drive schemes for stacked pixel architectures are introduced.

This work discusses the features of a low temperature polysilicon thin film transistor (TFT) technology suitable for application in the new Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) displays. The most important facet of this work is the preparation of polysilicon films by the method of solid phase crystallization of amorphous silicon films using rapid thermal processing (RTP). It is shown that amorphous silicon films can be crystallized by RTP at temperatures compatible with glass substrates yielding polysilicon TFT performance suitable for AMOLED. The use of transition metals for achieving aluminum lines with no hillock and low contact resistance to indium tin oxide, two important features for AMOLED displays is discussed.

The Polyplanar Optical Display (POD) is a unique display screen which can be used with any projection source. The prototype ten-inch display is two inches thick and has a matte black face which allows for high contrast images. The prototype being developed is a form, fit and functional replacement display for the B-52 aircraft which uses a monochrome ten-inch display. In order to achieve a long lifetime, the new display uses a new 200 mW green solid-state laser (10,000 hr. life) at 532 nm as its light source. To produce real-time video, the laser light is being modulated by a Digital Light Processing (DLP^TM) chip manufactured by Texas Instruments (TI). In order to use the solid-state laser as the light source and also fit within the constraints of the B-52 display, the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD^TM) chip is operated remotely from the Texas Instruments circuit board. In order to achieve increased brightness a monochrome digitizing interface was investigated. The operation of the DMD^TM divorced from the light engine and the interfacing of the DMD^TM board with the RS-170 video format specific to the B-52 aircraft will be discussed, including the increased brightness of the monochrome digitizing interface. A brief description of the electronics required to drive the new 200 mW laser is also presented.

The 1210 Digital Ruggedized Display (1210 DRD) was designed and built for a harsh military environment. The 1210 DRD uses a single 1280 X 1024 Digital Micromirror Device (DMD^TM) as a reflective image source. Through the use of Highly Accelerated Life Testing we have verified and validated the 1210 DRD through rigorous thermal, vibration, and combined environment testing. The results prove the DMD-based 1210 DRD to be a very rugged display that can meet and exceed the requirements of displays used in military applications.

Aircraft reconnaissance operators need to access increasing amounts of information to perform their job effectively. Unfortunately, there is no excess weight, space or power capacity in most airborne platforms for the installation of additional display surfaces. Head mounted workstation displays solve these weight, space and power problems and mitigate information overload by providing a user-friendly interface to displayed information. Savings can be tremendous for large platforms. Over 18 kW of power and over 5,000 pounds could be saved on each Rivet Joint or AWACS platform. Even small platforms such as the E-2C or UAV ground control stations benefit from removal of large, heavy CRT or LCD displays. In addition, head mounted workstation displays provide an increased capability for collaborative mission planning and reduce motion-induced nausea. Kaiser Electronics has already designed and demonstrated a prototype system, VIEW^TM, that addresses the needs of the airborne workstation operator. This system is easily reconfigured for multiple tasks and can be designed as a portable workstation for use anywhere within the aircraft (especially for maintenance or supervisory roles). We have validated the VIEW^TM design with hundreds of user trials within the airborne reconnaissance community. Adopting such a display system in reconnaissance aircraft will gain significant benefits such as longer on-station time, increased operational altitude and improved operator performance.

This paper reviews critical aspects of AMLCD design, concentrating on those areas that are particularly important for military applications. The impact of a range of design choices, particularly those associated with the active matrix and L.C. cell, on overall optical performance is described along with the trade-offs that must be made in order to meet the most demanding military and commercial specifications. The use of a common technology foundation to build displays for a range of high performance military and commercial uses is discussed.

Battelle is under contract with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center to design a Common Large Area Display Set (CLADS) for use in multiple Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C⁴I) applications that currently use 19- inch Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs). Battelle engineers have built and fully tested pre-production prototypes of the CLADS design for AWACS, and are completing pre-production prototype displays for three other platforms simultaneously. With the CLADS design, any display technology that can be packaged to meet the form, fit, and function requirements defined by the Common Large Area Display Head Assembly (CLADHA) performance specification is a candidate for CLADS applications. This technology independent feature reduced the risk of CLADS development, permits life long technology insertion upgrades without unnecessary redesign, and addresses many of the obsolescence problems associated with COTS technology-based acquisition. Performance and environmental testing were performed on the AWACS CLADS and continues on other platforms as a part of the performance specification validation process. A simulator assessment and flight assessment were successfully completed for the AWACS CLADS, and lessons learned from these assessments are being incorporated into the performance specifications. Draft CLADS specifications were released to potential display integrators and manufacturers for review in 1997, and the final version of the performance specifications are scheduled to be released to display integrators and manufacturers in May, 1998. Initial USAF applications include replacements for the E-3 AWACS color monitor assembly, E-8 Joint STARS graphics display unit, and ABCCC airborne color display. Initial U.S. Navy applications include the E-2C ACIS display. For these applications, reliability and maintainability are key objectives. The common design will reduce the cost of operation and maintenance by an estimated $3.3M per year on E-3 AWACS alone. It is realistic to anticipate savings of over $30M per year as CLADS is implemented widely across DoD applications. As commonality and open systems interfaces begin to surface in DoD applications, the CLADS architecture can easily and cost effectively absorb the changes, and avoid COTS obsolescence issues.

An all electronic process for the capture, storage and display of holograms is discussed. Utilizing this process, live, real time holograms with images projected in front of the display have been achieved. Also using this process, a 20 second animated hologram captured from a real object was created and viewed with an accompanying music soundtrack. The process also has the ability to create content from real objects or convert from other technologies. Additionally the display portion of the process was engineered into a portable unit.

Video systems in military platforms are typically used to display sensor video and imagery for sensors such as forward looking infrared (FLIR), low light level television (LLLTV), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and laser radar (LADAR), in addition to graphics and alphanumerics. The performance of these systems may need to be characterized during initial testing or in support a potential upgrade to the sensor. To be able to sense and deliver the best quality of video to the warfighter, it is critical that the system designer have a well-characterized video system, so he or she can make the appropriate performance, cost and schedule tradeoffs. Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is one of several metrics that can be measured when characterizing a monochrome video system and can be very useful in optimizing the system for either initial design or for an upgrade. The use of MTF in determining resolution throughout a video system, including the application of useful metrics such as MTF area (MTFA) and square root integral (SQRI), is presented in this paper. Issues regarding hybrid video systems, which incorporate both analog and digital components in the video chain, are addressed. Practical methods for MTF testing of both displays and electrical components in the video chain are also presented. The paper discusses the practical application of video test patterns to perform an efficient component evaluation. The use of photometric testing of displays is touched on briefly. And lastly, the final topic to be addressed in this paper is the use of the time domain reflectometer in testing cables in the video chain for impedance mismatches.

High-resolution display technologies are being developed to meet the ever-increasing demand for realistic detail. The requirement for evermore visual information exceeds the capacity of fielded aerospace display interfaces. In this paper we begin an exploration of display interfaces and evolving aerospace requirements. Current and evolving standards for avionics, commercial, and flat panel displays are summarized and compared to near term goals for military and aerospace applications. Aerospace and military applications prior to 2005 up to UXGA and digital HDTV resolution can be met by using commercial interface standard developments. Advanced aerospace requirements require yet higher resolutions (2560 X 2048 color pixels, 5120 X 4096 color pixels at 85 Hz, etc.) and necessitate the initiation of discussion herein of an 'ultra digital interface standard (UDIS)' which includes 'smart interface' features such as large memory and blazingly fast resizing microcomputer. Interface capacity, I_T, increased about 10⁵ from 1973 to 1998; 10² more is needed for UDIS.

Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCDs) used in avionics applications require high luminance, high efficacy, and long-life backlights. Currently, fluorescent lamps are the favored light sources for these high performance avionics backlights. Their spectral characteristics and high electrical efficiency are well suited to illuminating AMLCDs used in avionics applications. Fluorescent lamps, however, suffer gradual reduction in luminance output caused by various degradation mechanisms. Korry Electronics Co. recently developed a mathematical model for predicting fluorescent lamp life. The model's basis is the well characterized exponential decay of the phosphor output. The primary luminance degradation mechanism of a fluorescent lamp is related to the arc discharge. Consequently, phosphor depreciation is proportional to the discharge arc power divided by the phosphor surface area. This 'wall loading' is a parameter in the computer model developed to extrapolate long-term luminance performance. Our model predicts a rapidly increasing decay rate of the lamp output as the input power is increased to sustain constant luminance. Eventually, a run-away condition occurs -- lamp arc power must be increased by unrealistically large factors (greater than 5x) to maintain the required luminance output. This condition represents the end of the useful lamp life. The lamp life model requires the definition of several key parameters in order to accurately predict the useful lamp life of an avionics backlight. These important factors include the construction of the lamp, lamp arc power, a decay constant based on the phosphor loading, and the operational profile. Based on the above-mentioned factors, our model approximates the useful lamp life of an avionics backlight using fluorescent lamp technology. Comparisons between calculated and experimental lamp depreciation are presented.

Display systems usually have the maximum and minimum luminance and minimum uniformity specified. The System Engineer then takes the figures and allocates them to the subsystems, such as the Lamp, Lamp Drive, Diffuser, Optical Cavity and Liquid Crystal Display Addressed Cell Assembly (ACA). Assumptions are made in the allocations that are occasionally incorrect, leading to the inability of the system to meet all the requirements. This paper investigates the issues related to luminance range and uniformity, and puts forth equations to use in the subsystem design that will allow the designer to achieve full system performance in luminance range issues and to make the measured uniformity more meaningful.

Physical Optics Corporation has developed an advanced 3-D virtual reality system for use with simulation tools for training technical and military personnel. This system avoids such drawbacks of other virtual reality (VR) systems as eye fatigue, headaches, and alignment for each viewer, all of which are due to the need to wear special VR goggles. The new system is based on direct viewing of an interactive environment. This innovative holographic multiplexed screen technology makes it unnecessary for the viewer to wear special goggles.

The Polyplanar Optical Display (POD) is a high contrast display screen being developed for cockpit applications. This display screen is 2 inches thick and has a matte black face which allows for high contrast images. The prototype being developed is a form, fit and functional replacement display for the B-52 aircraft which uses a monochrome ten-inch display. The new display uses a long lifetime, (10,000 hour), 200 mW green solid-state laser (532 nm) as its optical source. In order to produce real-time video, the laser light is being modulated by a Digital Light Processing (DLP^TM) chip manufactured by Texas Instruments, Inc. A variable astigmatic focusing system is used to produce a stigmatic image on the viewing face of the POD. In addition to the optical design and speckle reduction, we discuss the electronic interfacing to the DLP^TM chip, the opto-mechanical design and viewing angle characteristics.

Current flight simulators and trainers do not provide acceptable levels of visual display performance (performance that would allow ground based trainers to economically replace aircraft flying training) for many air-to-air and air-to- ground training scenarios. Ground training for pilots could be made significantly more realistic, allowing the ground-based curricula to be enlarged. The enhanced ground based training could then more readily augment actual aircraft flying (training) time. This paper presents the technology need and opportunity to create a new class of immersive simulator- trainer systems having some 210 million pixels characterized especially by a 20-20 visual acuity synthetic vision system having some 150 million pixels. The same new display technology base is needed for planned crew stations for uninhabited combat air vehicles (UCAV), advanced aircraft cockpits and mission crewstations, and for the space plane.

Flat panel display (FPD) technologies have emerged with smaller depth, size, and power than the cathode ray tube technology that now dominates the display market. Liquid crystal displays in general and active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD), in particular, are the FPD technology of choice. The AMLCD technology is well established has undergone dramatic improvements in the past few years, a trend which is likely to continue. In recent years some potential or want-to- be ('wanabe') alternate technologies, such as field emission displays (FED), high gain emissive displays and vacuum fluorescent displays (VFD), have received substantial investments. For example, the VFD knowledge level has reached technology status as segmented displays in automotive and instrumentation applications. Much work has been done to improve FED technology status, resulting in many attempts to build production quality prototypes. However, no FED has actually gone into production. The question still remains: how close to production are these nascent technologies? This paper will examine how fast field emission displays are progressing towards technology status, which is defined as a display technology that is incorporated in products accepted by the market. This paper will provide a status update of where FED companies are and where they may be heading. Current development programs, recent demonstrations, and possible future product offerings will be discussed.

A display is an electronic component or subsystem used to convert electrical signals into visual imagery in real time suitable for direct interpretation by a human observer. Until recently, the cathode ray tube (CRT) has been the main source of displays. During the last twenty years, it has been determined that alternatives to CRT displays need to found. One of the alternatives was the introduction of flat-panel displays. The term 'flat-panel display' is more of a concept than a specific entity. It is a display which is flat and light and may not require a great deal of power. A flat-panel display is often defined in terms of the ideal display, that being: thin form, low volume, even surface, having high resolution, high contrast, sunlight readable, color, low power, and being solid-state, light weight, and low cost. This is easy to conceive but difficult to deliver. The objective is to develop displays with as many desirable characteristics as possible. Flat-panel displays are basically of two types: the light valve type (that needs an external source of light such as a backlight or arc-lamp) and the emissive type (that generate light at the display surface). The light emitting diode (LED) display is of the emissive type. Inorganic LED and electroluminescent (EL) displays have been in use for more than 25 years in one form or the other because of their 'inherent' ruggedness and operation over extremely wide temperature ranges. Because of certain limitations of inorganic materials (such as cost, power, and color), LED displays do not dominate the high information content flat- panel display market. A recent discovery of polymer and other organic materials has changed LED prospects. It may now be possible to make organic LED displays that are inexpensive, low-power, and at the same time provide high resolution and full color. If present research objectives are met, organic LEDs may revolutionize the flat-panel display market. This paper addresses the various aspects of organic LED technology with particular reference to its useful characteristics, and the technology challenges. The pace of research accomplishments indicate that it will be some years yet before OLEDs succeed in the market place as product components.

Major technological advances have occurred in the form of AMLCDs and electronics facilitating the design of the ultimate set of primary cockpit displays. Increased display design flexibility has led to a divergence, as evidenced in several new primary flight display designs. A set of twelve laws are proposed. The application of these laws will result in more cost-effective, reliable, and universal cockpit displays.

Designing cockpits for effective placement of its displays can be accomplished more quickly and economically with an immersive virtual environment (IVE) prototyping and simulation system designed to facilitate the iterative construction and modification of crewstation prototypes during operator-in-the- loop exercises. This paper describes different characteristics of design tasks and VE systems, and a preliminary study of performance comparisons using a desktop and IVE system. The IVE design system included image generator, head-mounted display, 3D spatialized sound, spatial trackers on head and hands, instrumented gloves, synthesized speech, and simulated speech recognition systems. Expert users of a popular desktop 3D graphics application performed identical modeling and simulation tasks to modify display function and layout while using both desktop and IVE tools. The results from the pilot study indicated that even though the study participants had far less experience using the IVE (three to six hours) than the desktop applications (two to five years), they completed the tasks to criteria in less time with the IVE than when they used the desktop applications. The results showed that IVE technology could be used to create modeling and simulation tools that were easy to learn and use and that were more effective than traditional desktop tools.

The military Precision Lightweight Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver or 'PLGR' hand-held product eliminated many technical barriers to bring a low cost 'commercial' transflective display to be a standard military issue. This low cost display, combined with silicone keypad, provides a human interface that has been extremely successful at a current rate of 190 units built per day. With the PLGR and more recent PLGR-II success in meeting the challenges of the military GPS market with a low-cost display, the PLGR is now a platform to provide affordable military-commercial display solutions for the future. The paper will provide technical background on the display provided for the initial GPS hand- held award and the technology changes that were based on the voice of the customer. The display performance in the areas of contrast, Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatibility, backlighting, and off axis viewability will be presented. Current and future challenges in hand-held and vehicular GPS products will also be presented with possible applications of new display technologies.

Seven operator displays are being integrated into the United States Navy Multi-Mission Helicopter, SH-60R, which has a planned initial operating capability date of 2001. These displays incorporate commercial off-the-shelf Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCDs). This paper presents the general approach taken to select, develop, evaluate, integrate, test, and support the three Common Avionic Multi- Function Displays (CAMFDs) in the avionics system.

To outline some of the necessary steps involved in the efforts to design, develop and manufacture a display module assembly utilizing an off the shelf commercially manufactured active matrix liquid crystal display to replace a CRT display in an airborne military platform.

With the advancement of technology and the information explosion, integration of the two into performance aiding systems can have a significant impact on operational and maintenance environments. The Department of Defense and commercial industry have made great strides in digitizing and automating technical manuals and data to be presented on performance aiding systems. These performance aides are computerized interactive systems that provide procedures on how to operate and maintain fielded systems. The idea is to provide the end-user a system which is compatible with their work environment. The purpose of this paper is to show, historically, the progression of wearable computer aiding systems for maintenance environments, and then highlight the work accomplished in the design and development of glasses- mounted displays (GMD). The paper reviews work performed over the last seven years, then highlights, through review of a usability study, the advances made with GMDs. The use of portable computing systems, such as laptop and notebook, computers, does not necessarily increase the accessibility of the displayed information while accomplishing a given task in a hands-busy, mobile work environment. The use of a GMD increases accessibility of the information by placing it in eye sight of the user without obstructing the surrounding environment. Although the potential utility for this type of display is great, hardware and human integration must be refined. Results from the usability study show the usefulness and usability of the GMD in a mobile, hands-free environment.

Field emission displays are currently making the transition from R&D into prototypes and early production. Device reliability is a critical issue in realization of successful field emission displays that are able to compete with other established technologies like active matrix liquid crystal displays and thin film electroluminescent displays. In this paper, we review the fundamental issues affecting the reliability and operational life of field emission display systems.

There is significant debate concerning the use of ruggedized consumer or commercial off the shelf (COTS) displays in avionics and ground vehicle applications. The environmental, life cycle, and optical performance data comparing ruggedized and custom displays is limited. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss which product design aspects and components must be considered when implementing active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) technology in avionics and vetronics applications. The focus will be on which aspects of the AMLCD design can and cannot be ruggedized or modified to improve environmental or optical performance. In addition, preliminary environmental data will be presented comparing consumer, ruggedized consumer, and custom displays. Finally, a test plan for complete environmental and optical data comparison of ruggedized versus custom will be discussed. This paper will not address physical characteristics, full optical performance, or life cycle cost issues with ruggedized AMLCDs.

The resolution, cost and physical volume of modern imaging sensors has made their use as part of an airborne Autonomous Landing Guidance System (ALGS) a practical enterprise. This paper describes a latest generation Head Up Display (HUD) that is currently undergoing certification in the United States for Air Transport applications. The modes of operation of the HUD are described. The technical capabilities of the system are illustrated by video footage of its performance on flight test in actual low visibility conditions.

The market for military avionics head down displays for which Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCD) has been specified is both well established and substantial. Typical major programs such as F-22, V-22 and Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) amount to over 15,000 displays. Nevertheless there is an insecurity about the situation because of the dependency upon Japanese and Korean manufacturers and the vagaries of the commercial market. The U.S. has only 7% of the world's manufacturing capability in AMLCD and is seeking alternative technologies to regain a hold in this lucrative business. The U.S. military manufacturers of AMLCD are capable, but can never achieve the benefits of scale that Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) equipment can offer. In addition to the commercial and political concerns, there are still performance issues related to AMLCD and there is a view that emissive displays in particular can offer advantages over AMLCD. However, it is beneficial to be able to tailor display sizes and there are doubts about the ability of current flat panel technologies to achieve custom, or indeed large area panels either economically, or reliably. It is in this arena that projection displays may be the optimum solution.