Honeywell militarized color liquid crystal displays for the F-16

摘要

A fully militarized color multifunction display for the F-16 has been completed and is in the first months of production. This high performance display is a tightly integrated ensemble of optical, electronic, mechanical, and thermal designs, Many of the elements are critically interdependent, requiring fine-tuning to achieve the exceptional performance required by the F-16 environment. With no cooling air available on the F-16, the thermal requirements, both specified and implicit, dominated the design process. The high luminance requirements, in combination with a high resolution display, concentrated a great deal of heat in the display module. As a result, thermal efficiency and management were paramount. Temperature stability and performance of the liquid crystal material itself, stability of the polarizers, optical and electronic efficiency and heat extraction design required intense scrutiny.