Speaker: Mark W. Miles, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Iridigm Display Corp
Title: Reflective Displays Using MEMS Based Interferometric Modulators
Abstract: The demand for portable electronic products such as PDA’s, cell phones, and other handhelds is exploding as the desire to be mobile becomes a need, and wireless networks proliferate and increase bandwidth. Such products are particularly challenging applications for displays for a variety of reasons. These include the need for high brightness and contrast, viewability under a wide range of lighting conditions, and very low power consumption. Reflective LCDs and LCD variants are the dominant solution for these applications. They are however, inadequate for a number of reasons and are faced with ever increasing demands for performance as the target products increase in sophistication. The pressure for manufacturers to develop an alternative is very high as the display currently represents the last performance “bottleneck” in portable products.
Iridigm is developing a MEMS based technology which promises to meet and exceed the display requirements in these and other display-centric products. The core devices are called Interferometric Modulators (IMods) and comprise arrays of micromachined optical cavities fabricated on glass substrates. IMods exploit the attributes of MEMS and thin films by using optical interference to produce displays which are bright, fast, and consume very little power. All of the fundamental attributes of this technology have been demonstrated and prototypes of increasing complexity are being fabricated. The talk will briefly discuss the issues surrounding reflective displays and introduce and discuss the status of the technology. Strategies for manufacturing and business development will also be discussed. Both static and active prototypes will be available for viewing.
Speaker Background: Co-founder and Chief Technical Office of Iridigm Display Corporation. Mr. Miles has ten years of experience in the development of MEMS devices and processes and has been principal investigator for over ten MEMS related R&D efforts. These projects have been sponsored by both private organizations and government agencies including NSF, DARPA, BMDO, and AFOSR. Mr. Miles is the inventor of the Interferometric Modulator (iMoD). His research has centered around the design and fabrication of novel MOEMS for use in both display, telecom, and other applications requiring high speed, versatile optical modulators. Most recently his work has focused on the development of IMoDs and large area fabrication processes for use in direct view display applications. He received his BSEE from MIT in 1984, has five publications, and holds four patents.
Post-Seminar Dinner: The seminar is free. Please join our speaker for dinner ($10-20) afterwards. Directions to the restaurant will be handed out at the seminar.
Directions to Seminar Location: Apple Town Hall Auditorium, 4 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014
This is just off of De Anza Blvd. just south of 280 and a few miles north of 85. Head east on Mariani Ave. and take a left at the end of Mariani Ave. Entrance to Infinite Loop 4 is on the east side of Apple campus.
For additional information contact Mark Flynn @ 408-734-9200 x777 or mflynn@inviso.com