Philips Journal of Research最新文献

An overview is given of the system aspects of the Zeus display principle. To begin with, the static and dynamic resolutions are discussed and this includes aspects such as panel pitch and dot structure, grey-scale resolution, misconvergence and video processing, as well as motion portrayal. After this, the Zeus display system is introduced where the system specifications, both the row and the dot selection systems and, finally, the optimization of the dot selection are considered. The application interface, the system control function and the column modulation method are also examined. The special ICs used in all of these functions are described in the course of this section in some detail. The unique power concept required and implemented for this display is presented along with an analysis of the resulting display luminous efficiency. Finally, a treatment of the special on-screen display and teletext function used in the 17″ Zeus display prototype is given.

Electron transport over insulators sustained by secondary electron emission is studied using Monte Carlo calculations. With the aid of these Monte Carlo calculations, the steady-state potential distribution and the properties of the electron trajectories in various insulating structures are determined. Each of these structures represents a part of the Zeus display and together the results show how electrons, generated by the cathode, enter the transport channels and are transported through the Zeus display until they reach the phosphor screen. In the various cases, the results according to the Monte Carlo calculations agree well with the results of experiments.

The IEEE-1394 is a new standard for a digital high-speed serial interconnect bus. It allows real-time data to be mixed with other data transfers at transmission rates of 100, 200 and 400 Mbit/s. This makes it flexible enough for applications in multimedia environments where multiple video and audio streams have to be transported between several devices simultaneously. One of the most important applications in the consumer electronics world is MPEG-2 data transport between set-top box and digital video recorder. The extremely time-critical nature of MPEG-2 requires some additional processing before it can be sent on an IEEE-1394 bus. This has led to the standardization of the audio/video layer described in this article.

Material aspects of the glass plates of the Zeus panel, a new type of flat and slim display, are described as well as the studied glass machining technologies and options for the individual glass parts. Especially the fabrication of the holes in the very thin selection plates is described. The technology used for this process, powder blasting, has proven to be essential for the Zeus display. Options to produce the channel plate through which the electrons are transported parallel to the front screen will be explained.

This paper gives an overview of the efforts in the United States to build high-speed networks for the delivery of digital video services to the homes of consumers. It details the obstacles that need to be overcome for digital video service to commence and the various network architectures and technologies that have been, and presently are being considered. The applications are described that will be enabled by such an infrastructure, termed the NII, as are two digital video services oriented market trials — one being conducted by a cable operator and the second by a telephone company.

This article describes why and how a research program to realize the ‘picture on the wall’ was started in the Philips Research Laboratories some seven years ago. The objective was to maintain the performance advantages of the cathode ray tube (CRT) while realizing a small depth and a low weight of the display. This is accomplished by using electrons in vacuum impinging at high energy on cathodoluminescent phosphors. Insulating internal supports to withstand the atmospheric pressure are required to make the display thin and light. A radical solution was discovered which led to a display with a thickness of about 1 cm for any display size and which is capable of producing CRT quality TV pictures.

Power considerations lead to the choice of wire cathodes for the supply of current to the channels in a Zeus display panel. Each channel has its own triode, modulated by a separate G₁ grid. Cathodes and other electrodes are in common use. The design of the triode is guided by the need for low modulation voltages, somewhat at the cost of mechanical tolerances and emission stability. The result is an integrated triode section that can supply 200 μA per triode, which is sufficient for a 40″ display, at 15 V modulation voltage. A dynamic control system ensures emission uniformity over all channels.

Philips is aiming to participate actively in the emerging market of video-on-demand. To this effect system integration is instrumental. The Philips Business Unit Digital Videocommunication Systems has positioned itself as system supplier after its start in 1993. Philips Research Eindhoven has supported this entry from the beginning with the definition and joint development of an industrial prototype system and server for video-on-demand trials. Systems are now being installed and sold to operators.

Standardization is essential for successful development of the market for multimedia systems and applications. Due to the novelty of the technologies involved and the fact that the market is as yet very small, but growing fast, the general consensus in industry is that standardization via the formal procedures employed by the existing standards organizations would take too long. The new market opportunities, created by digital audio, video and multimedia systems and applications, have made it possible to organize specification projects in a phase preceding formal standardization. In these specification projects many industry players are taking part with some of their best engineers and managers as delegates. Two clearly visible examples of these projects are the Digital Video Broadcasting project in Europe and the Digital Audio-Visual Council with a global approach. In this article a short description of the projects, the goals and the methods is given.