The move is part of an initiative to deliver a broader range of products that leverage Micron's experience in semiconductor research and design, according to Abid Ahmad, director of Micron's silicon and systems group.

Micron (Boise, Idaho) rolled out a wide-screen quarter VGA (WQVGA) microdisplay panel that utilizes ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon (FLCOS) technology that was developed by Displaytech over a period of 20 years, according to Ahmad. About 21 million FLCOS QVGA panels have shipped in portable consumer electronic products, Micron said.

Microdisplays are small panels paired with LED light sources and optics. They are integrated into projection engines for applications such as stand-alone pico projection devices and embedded projection capability within cellphones or other handheld consumer devices. Microdisplays are also integrated into modules for "near-to-eye" applications like still and video camera viewfinders, video eyewear and night-vision goggles.

The WQVGA product joins others Displaytech microdisplay panels joins existing VGA, SVGA and WVGA panels that had been offered by DisplayTech and will now be sold by Micron as the company's Displaytech FLCOS microdisplay projection panel line.

Micron is among the world's top memory chip vendors, with offerings that include DRAM and DRAM modules, NAND flash, mobile LPDRAM/NAND flash multichip packages and PSRAM. The company also manufacturers CMOS image sensors used in digital cameras and camera phones and, through its 2006 acquisition of Lexar Media Inc., offers NAND flash memory products including memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers and ATA controller technology.

Ahmad said the move into microdisplays is—similar its push into solid state drives—part of a strategy by the company to look for opportunities where Micron could play more at a system level.

"When we look at microdisplay, at a fundamental system level it leverages our technology and R&D," Ahmad said. "We believe we can produce better quality products than competitors in this market."

This is not Micron's first foray into displays. The company maintained a display division focused on field emission displays (FEDs) until it sold the unit to PixTech Inc. in 1999. 

The Displaytech products integrate a display panel, image processor, memory and LED drivers into a single chip solution.

Micron, like other memory vendors has been hurt by a prolonged downturn in the memory business and has taken steps to shutter some of its manufacturing capacity. But Ahmad said the strategy behind the Displaytech acquisition was not to use Micron manufacturing capacity to produce microdisplays. The devices will continue to be manufactured by a foundry partner, he said. He declined to name the foundry.

FLCOS technology offers switching speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional LCOS technology, according to Micron, important for using field sequential color. While competing micromirror technology requires a multi-chip solution, FLCOS technology allows for a fully integrated microdisplay device, the company said.

The WQVGA panel is an integrated, single-chip solution, incorporating the display panel and control circuitry in a compact package (9.8 x 23.4 x 3.6 mm), according to Micron. The device consumes only 85 milliwatts, according to the firm.

The Displaytech product roadmap calls for future VGA, WVGA, SVGA and WQVGA panels in smaller form factors and, eventually, high-definition devices.

Micron plans to showcase its projection microdisplay panels at the Society for Information Display International's DisplayWeek 2009, set for May 31 through June 5 in San Antonio, Texas.

By: DocMemory
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