I
IsaacKuo
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
I have this idea for creating a large flat panel display, and wonder
if it's feasible.
The basic idea is for the panel to be a thin slab chamber of
water or gel. The edges are coated with a reflective mirror
surface, so total light reflection keeps light inside the panel.
One side is perforated with tiny holes, so the water's surface
tension keeps it flat.
Three stroboscope LEDs feed red, green, and blue light
in turn into the edge of the slab. These need to be able to
provide extremely short duration flashes at precisely
60hz (or greater).
The display is shaped using a row of ultrasonic transducers
along one edge of the display. These act as a phased array,
concentrating sound waves onto individual pixels. The
computer electronics sum up the waveforms of every displayed
pixel. As a result, when the strobe flashes, the "active" pixels
are places where the sound is concentrated. In these places,
water pressure causes the water surface at the perforations
to be bumpy. These bumps spoil total internal reflection,
and as a result light can escape at the active pixels.
Note that these sound waves only concentrate onto the desired
pixels momentarily. This is why a strobe is required. The
light "captures" the image at the precise point in time when
the sound waves are concentrated as desired. The rest of
the time, these sound waves interfere in arbitrary ways. If
light were applied continuously, imaging may still be vaguely
possible but it will be extremely blurry--each active pixel
would have an hourglass shaped halo around it.
The duration of the strobe pulses need to be maybe one
microsecond or less, but the brightness needs to be able to
illumate the entire panel, if necessary (for a pure white image).
Is that feasible? Would multiple LEDs be necessary or better?
I'm not sure what requirements are for the linear transducer
array. Assuming a pixel size of around 1mm, the transducers
need to operate at at most a 1mm wavelength and need to
be at most 1mm wide.
I think this concept could be suitable for inexpensive flat
panel displays. Most of the display is simply a water
chamber surrounded by bulk glass or plastic. One
edge has the ultrasonic transducer array, which I
imagine would be the most expensive component. Is
there a way to make this component less expensive?
The display itself is naturally transparent. For use as a
TV or computer display, you'd want it to be backed by
a black coating, of course. For an artistic display, the
transparency may be considered a feature rather than
a flaw. This panel may be cut to any convex shape
(as long as the transducer array has an unobstructed
view to all pixels in the active display area).
Ideas? Criticisms?
Isaac Kuo
if it's feasible.
The basic idea is for the panel to be a thin slab chamber of
water or gel. The edges are coated with a reflective mirror
surface, so total light reflection keeps light inside the panel.
One side is perforated with tiny holes, so the water's surface
tension keeps it flat.
Three stroboscope LEDs feed red, green, and blue light
in turn into the edge of the slab. These need to be able to
provide extremely short duration flashes at precisely
60hz (or greater).
The display is shaped using a row of ultrasonic transducers
along one edge of the display. These act as a phased array,
concentrating sound waves onto individual pixels. The
computer electronics sum up the waveforms of every displayed
pixel. As a result, when the strobe flashes, the "active" pixels
are places where the sound is concentrated. In these places,
water pressure causes the water surface at the perforations
to be bumpy. These bumps spoil total internal reflection,
and as a result light can escape at the active pixels.
Note that these sound waves only concentrate onto the desired
pixels momentarily. This is why a strobe is required. The
light "captures" the image at the precise point in time when
the sound waves are concentrated as desired. The rest of
the time, these sound waves interfere in arbitrary ways. If
light were applied continuously, imaging may still be vaguely
possible but it will be extremely blurry--each active pixel
would have an hourglass shaped halo around it.
The duration of the strobe pulses need to be maybe one
microsecond or less, but the brightness needs to be able to
illumate the entire panel, if necessary (for a pure white image).
Is that feasible? Would multiple LEDs be necessary or better?
I'm not sure what requirements are for the linear transducer
array. Assuming a pixel size of around 1mm, the transducers
need to operate at at most a 1mm wavelength and need to
be at most 1mm wide.
I think this concept could be suitable for inexpensive flat
panel displays. Most of the display is simply a water
chamber surrounded by bulk glass or plastic. One
edge has the ultrasonic transducer array, which I
imagine would be the most expensive component. Is
there a way to make this component less expensive?
The display itself is naturally transparent. For use as a
TV or computer display, you'd want it to be backed by
a black coating, of course. For an artistic display, the
transparency may be considered a feature rather than
a flaw. This panel may be cut to any convex shape
(as long as the transducer array has an unobstructed
view to all pixels in the active display area).
Ideas? Criticisms?
Isaac Kuo