On the development of VAN LCOS microdisplays

A number of years ago it was recognized that the research on liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) looked very promising. Right from the start it became clear that the vertically aligned liquid crystal mode yielded the best contrast, so most of the effort was reoriented towards the assembly of vertically aligned LCOS cells. In order to limit the voltage required to drive the VAN LCOS, it was decided to use inorganic alignment layers. The Microsystems lab participated in an ambitious European funded R&D project. The goal of this project was to develop a 5 million pixel - GXGA - microdisplay for high-end monitor applications. In collaboration with the Taiwan company TMDC a 0.9 inch XGA vertically aligned nematic liquid crystal on silicon (VAN LCOS) cells was developed.