Time Multiplexed Optical Shutter Displays

Abstract

Time Multiplexed Optical Shutter (“TMOS”) describes the operational principle of the patented Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR) display systems invented by Uni-Pixel Displays, Inc. (Selbrede, US Patent 5,319,491). The fundamental principle of FTIR displays is that light, edge-injected into one edge of a thin planar transparent waveguide, that is reflectively mirrored at the non-insertion edges, remains bound within the waveguide in the same way light is trapped inside fiber optic cables. The violation (“frustration”) of total internal reflection (TIR) causes the light to emerge from the waveguide in the area where the violation occurs. TMOS achieves Frustration of TIR (FTIR) by moving a transparent material or membrane of equal or slightly higher refractive index into contact (or near-contact) with the waveguide. The light inside the waveguide is then “coupled” from the waveguide into the membrane where it encounters surface features on the membrane that redirect the light toward the observer. The ultra-fast response speed of TMOS pixel actuation enables the use of field sequential color generation (FSC) with pulse width modulated gray scale generation at video-capable frame rates. The typical motional or color break-up artifacts associated with other FSC systems are resolved at their source by deconstructing the primary color image subframes into even smaller time segments and then rearranging the sequence in which they are presented to the viewer.