Sony develops smallest-pixel-pitch, highest-resolution 0.5 in. microdisplay

The ECX339A 0.5-type (half-inch or 12.6 mm diagonal length) organic light-emitting display (OLED)-based microdisplay from Sony Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) is now the highest-resolution microdisplay on the market, with ultra-extended graphics display (UXGA; 1600 × 1200 pixels) resolution—1.6X higher than the previous quarter video graphics array (QVGA; 1280 × 960) module. While improving OLED microdisplay resolution through decreased pixel pitch usually means inferior viewing angles and reduced image quality, this device uses the industry’s smallest pixel pitch—6.3 μm—in conjunction with an improved transistor layout and a modified OLED layer stack. Specifically, a modified color filter array is deposited directly on the silicon substrate, reducing its distance from the light-emitting layer and enabling higher viewing angle with higher resolution.

A new peripheral drive-circuit design enables the microdisplay to operate on half the voltage of the previous QVGA model. In addition, the circuit supports a 240 frames/s frame rate—double that of the previous model. Suited for augmented-reality (AR) and virtual-reality (VR) head-mounted displays, the higher frame rate reduces image-delay issues associated with images superimposed on real-world AR vision glasses, avoiding motion sickness. Power consumption is 310 mW, luminance reaches 1000 cd/m2, and contrast is 100,000:1 or higher. Samples are currently available at a price of around $450. Reference: https://goo.gl/8ZkFhi.