Emissive microdisplays for helmet mounted display applications

Modern off-the-visor Helmet Mounted Display Systems (HMDS) present today’s pilots with unprecedented and intuitive access to flight, tactical, and sensor information for advanced situational awareness, precision accuracy, and pilot safety in all lighting conditions, day and night. In particular, integrated night vision sensors provide pilots with enhanced situational awareness under Very Low Light Level (VLLL) conditions. This in turn increases safety and recovery rate during carrier flight operations, especially under the Very Low Light Level conditions encountered on a moonless, overcast night. A recent GAO report identified a technical risk specific to Helmet Mounted Displays when operating under these conditions: light from the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) backlight escapes through gaps between the pixels, creating a “green glow” on the screen, and limiting the pilot’s night adapted vision. This is problematic in particular for night carrier landings under Very Low Light Level background luminance conditions. This presentation will discuss the benefits and challenges associated with emissive microdisplay technologies for Helmet Mounted Display applications, and Organic LED (OLED) microdisplays in particular. Among the primary benefits of emissive display technologies is the potential to resolve the deficiency colloquially known as “green glow.” We discuss the challenges encountered during the development and integration of OLED microdisplays into an off-the-visor Helmet Mounted Display System.