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Copyright © 1999 Adams Business Media, Inc. Would You Like A Reprint of
this Article?
Copyright © 1999 Adams Business Media, Inc. Would You Like A Reprint of
this Article? |
|
Copyright © 1999 Adams Business Media, Inc. Would You Like A Reprint of
this Article?
Copyright © 1999 Adams Business Media, Inc. Would You Like A Reprint of
this Article? |
The engineers at Displaytech, Inc.,
Longmont, CO, are producing what they say will be the next generation in data display
devices. The new heir, following the history of CRTs, LCDs and plasma displays, could be
the LightCaster Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (FLC) display panel. The unit is comprised of
a 1 micron thick layer of binary FLC material layered over reflective metal atop a memory
chip. Signals from the memory cells control the polarization state of incident light,
creating light and dark pixels. These microdisplays form pixels that are 7 microns in
size, as opposed to the 25 micron pixel of current LCD displays, resulting in greater
resolution. Further enhancing image quality is the very thin FLC layer, which virtually
eliminates edge diffusion of the pixels that would occur with light passing through
thicker materials. Capable of operating in a wide temperature range, the FLC material also
switches extremely fast, moving to "on" and "off" states at the same
speed, preventing blurring of moving images. Building the display on the back of a chip
makes them cheaper to produce. The image brightness allows them to be built into
projection devices, such as monitors and large screen televisions, and their small size
makes FLC panels directly applicable to personal and heads-up displays. Circle 400.
The need for ultra-high vacuum
motors is growing in devices such as SEM, TEM and E-Beam writers, but conventional motors
pose vacuum compatibility problems due to winding surface area, bearings, brushes and heat
dissipation. The use of conventional motors is even more problematic when electromagnetic
or electrostatic interference is prohibited. The engineers at Nanomotion Ltd., Yokneam,
Israel, manufacture motors of piezoceramic material that use the reverse piezoelectric
effect, for a high resolution device that solves most of these design problems. When a
quartz crystal is compressed, it produces an output voltage. Conversely, when a voltage is
applied to the crystal, movement is created (compression). Applying out-of-phase voltages
to the sides of the piezoceramic material in the Nanomotion motor creates movement through
direct contact with a linear or rotary slide. These motors offer velocities from 1µm/sec
to 250mm/sec, with current load ratings from 15mA to 1A, and are offered in two vacuum
grades * high vacuum compatibility down to 10-7 Torr and ultra-high vacuum
compatibility down to 10-10 Torr. Unlimited travel, 5nm resolution, small size
and no magnetic field sensitivity allow for a broad range of applications. Circle 401.