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The information explosion has created a need for large, flat hang-on-the-wall displays to display the ever increasing quantity of information. Rapid advances in computing power and communication technology are outpacing the advances in display technology. Typical monitors have progressed from VGA with 0.3 M pixels, to SXGA with 1.3 M pixels. Top of the line displays are pushing 4 M pixels. Costs of displays with increased number of pixels have risen exponentially with pixel count. Display technology is limiting the exploitation of advances in information and communications technologies. A revolutionary new display technology is needed to enable practical use of the information and communications revolutions. The Sarnoff Corporation and Cambridge Display Technology Ltd. are developing a modular display approach for thin hang-on-the- wall displays that has a cost structure that is linear with pixel count. This approach is based on three display technology advances: smart block matrix addressing, light emitting polymers (LEP), and integrated packaging. Smart block matrix addressing enables the use of low cost addressing while at the same time decoupling the display performance from display size. LEP materials enable low manufacturing cost for bright emissive thin display modules. Integrated packaging enables the mass production of low cost display modules that can be assembled into large area, seamless displays. Together, these three technologies produce for the first time a thin scaleable display. The displays made using this technology have been named 'Array Displays.' Array Display size and shape are determined at assembly, not by the manufacturing line, Pixel densities of about one million pixels per square meter are possible with this low cost manufacturing approach. Array Displays provide the pathway to low cost scaleable displays to meet the needs for the information age.
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