Qualcomm buys MEMS display specialist
Pixtronix's PerfectLight technology could boost the chip vendor's own Mirasol in mobile display market
Published: 26 January, 2012
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One of the most interesting technologies in the mobile display market recently has been Qualcomm's MEMS-based Mirasol, but despite appearing in an e-reader recently, this has not yet gained mainstream uptake. The chip vendor is not giving up on the space though, and has acquired Pixtronix, a MEMS display start-up from Massachusetts, for a sum reported by sources to be between $175m and $200m.
Pixtronix was founded in 2005 by its CTO, Nesbitt Hagood, and has developed a low cost, low power display technology called PerfectLight. It looks probable that it could be combined with Mirasol.
PerfectLight uses a MEMS-based digital micro shutter, which modulates light from an RGB LED backlight, unlike Mirasol, which harnesses ambient light to keep power ultra-low. A high switching speed makes it suitable for full speed video on tablets or smartphones, as well as the most fertile early market for MEMS displays, e-readers. Pixtronix claims that its product supports viewing angles of over 170 degrees, more than 3,000:1 contrast ratio and 24-bit color depth - all with power consumption of only one-quarter of LCD displays of the same size and resolution.
The screen is pre-commercial but Pixtronix had developed a 5-inch prototype with leading TFT-LCD display maker Chimei Innolux, and was developing another model for Hitachi. The start-up had raised more than $53m in venture capital from backers including Atlas Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, DAG Ventures and GoldHill Capital.
Late last year, Qualcomm announced that the Korean Kyobe e-reader would use a 5.7-inch Mirasol display. Since acquiring the technology when it pay $170m for Iridigm Display in 2004, it has been working to enhance Mirasol to be suitable for larger screens and color applications. Mirasol saves power by doing without a backlight, and is visible in extremely poor light, but that makes it less bright than rivals.
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