A report expands on the proposal described in “Low-Absorption Color Filters for Flat Panel Display Devices” (NPO-20435) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 12 (December 1999), page 34. To recapitulate: The dye pixel color filters in a conventional liquid-crystal or other display device would be replaced with interference filters, which are less absorptive, and optics would be configured so that light reflected from the filters would be reused as illumination. The overall effect would be to increase brightness and efficiency. The present report adds specificity by proposing that the interference filters be of the type described in “Metal/Dielectric-Film Interference Color Filters” (NPO-20217), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 2 (February 1999), page 70: Each filter would be made of three thin metal films interspersed with two thin dielectric films. In comparison with conventional multilayer all-dielectric filters, the proposed filters would contain fewer layers, and therefore could be fabricated more easily and at lower cost.
This work was done by Yu Wang of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. To obtain a copy of the report, “Metal Film Interference Filter for Liquid Crystal Display Device,” access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.nasatech.com/tsp under the Physical Sciences category.
In accordance with Public Law 96-517, the contractor has elected to retain title to this invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its commercial use should be addressed to
Intellectual Property group
JPL Mail Stop 202-233 4800
Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
(818) 354-2240
Refer to NPO-20479, volume and number of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the page number.
