OK, to be honest, ending the year with a Top 10 List is not very, um, well, innovative. But it’s what’s on our list that’s innovative. And the year 2009 for Micron and Lexar Media can be summarized like this: Bigger. Faster. Better.

So, that’s our Top 10 list for 2009, innovatively reduced to three memorable points.

Still not ready to let go of tradition? Then, on with the Micron and Lexar Top 10 Innovations of 2009 countdown:

1. Maximizing Capacity – Crucial 4GB DDR3-1333MHz Memory Module
Yes, bigger is better. Memory hogs of the world rejoiced when Crucial announced its 4GB DDR3-1333MHz (PC3-10600) non-ECC UDIMM memory module. It allows power users to max out their systems with up to 24GB of computer memory.

2. Color Me Fast – Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB DDR3-1600
Not only do the Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB DDR3-1600 memory modules use Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) for easy overclocking, they also come with stylish red, blue or green heat spreaders and matching LEDs. Now, if only your socks matched.

3. 600X and Be There – Lexar’s 600x Professional CompactFlash cards
With an industry leading 600X (90MB/s) guaranteed minimum sustained write speed and the reliability of Image Rescue software, Lexar remains the professionals’ preferred high-performance memory card.

4. Socially Aware – Lexar High-Speed microSDHC Card
The introduction of Lexar’s High-Speed microSDHC Card kit brought an easier, faster way for mobile-device users to upload photos, videos, music and files from their handhelds to their host computers and share them with friends through social media channels. Named the “Shining Star” in the MobileVillage Mobile Star Award program in the portable storage hardware category, the card and accompanying side-load software ushered in a new market where data can be shared easier than ever before.

5. Is it safe? – Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000/SAFE S300 FIPS
More than ever, security standards were a priority for enterprise organizations and government agencies in 2009 and the Lexar JumpDrive SAFE S3000 and JumpDrive SAFE S3000 FIPS were the first to incorporate smart card-based encryption technology to deliver secure, manageable portability to organizations that must meet strict security regulations.

6. Big Performance, Small Size – Micron 34nm NAND and Lexar memory cards
In June, Lexar announced the inclusion of Micron’s 34nm NAND flash memory across a number of product lines. By including the award-winning 34nm NAND technology in its memory cards and flash drives Lexar is able to offer industry-leading products with high performance at a more cost effective price point—a differentiator the company continues to focus on as it heads into 2010.

7. Serious Endurance – Enterprise NAND
Micron’s MLC Enterprise NAND provides a viable alternative to standard SLC NAND that allows enterprise applications the ability to cost-effectively and reliably double storage capacity (since MLC provides twice the storage space in the same die size as SLC). The new MLC Enterprise NAND chip is able to reach 30,000 write cycles (6x the reliability of standard MLC NAND).

8. The incredible shrinking chip – 3 bit-per-cell
Micron and Intel teamed up through their joint venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), to roll out the industry’s smallest and most cost effective 32Gb 3 bit-per-cell (bpc) NAND chip for flash cards and USB devices. Made on its leading 34nm process technology, the 3bpc product demonstrates the companies’ continued progress in NAND development. Stay tuned for more on Micron and Intel’s next NAND milestone—a new 2Xnm NAND process will be announced in early 2010.

9. Seeing Pico-Projection in a Whole New Light – FLCOS Microdisplays
In 2009 we saw pico projection begin to make significant headway in the consumer electronics space. Micron also got active in this space in 2009, acquiring innovative FLCOS microdisplay technology. Our high-speed FLCOS microdisplays create vibrant, sharp images from a tiny, low-power chip, so they’re perfect for mobile devices. If you want to see FLCOS technology in action, check out the 3M MPro120—one of the year’s best pico-projector offerings.

10. RealSSD C300 – The Industry’s Fastest SSD
The year culminated with Micron unveiling its C300 RealSSD Solid State Drive. This is no ordinary SSD, the C300 took the title of the fastest notebook and desktop SSD in the industry. And don’t just take our word for it, these benchmark videos show the drive in action. In addition, it’s the first SSD to use a SATA 6Gb/s interface, which provides twice the bandwidth of the standard SATA 3Gb/s interface.

Since Daniel regularly writes about what’s best in cutting-edge technology, we knew he’d want to see a pico projector in action. We were eager to show him the technology and get him thinking about what’s possible.

Read the article, “A high-quality projector in your smart phone?“  to learn more about the applications and scenarios where this technology could be used. You may find yourself asking, like Daniel, “When can I get that?”

For more about our microdisplays visit www.displaytech.com.

This new standard will allow next-generation cell phones and mobile devices to receive over-the-air television broadcasts for free, similar to the DVB-H standard is the mobile extension of DVB-T in Europe.  And to help speed adoption with broadcasters, they’ll be able to use their existing license without modification and be able to use their existing 8VSB terrestrial broadcast stream

So where does WQVGA and microdisplays come into play here?  Well, it turns out that the proposed ATSC-M/H standard calls for a single base resolution of 16:9 QVGA … Wide QVGA.

This aspect ratio not only is a good fit for the designs of newer cell phone screens, but it’s also a great fit for our latest microdisplay panel that we announced last month–our first WQVGA product.  Our WQVGA panel is an integrated solution, incorporating the display panel and control circuitry in a compact all-in-one package. Consuming only 85mW, it’s ideal for applications where portability and battery life is most critical–like a cell phone.

So next time you’re sitting at the airport waiting for a delayed flight, imagine being able to pop out your cell phone to watch some live TV…and projecting it up on the terminal wall to share with your fellow passengers (or an anxious toddler).  That might help make that delay a bit more exciting

Visitors were impressed to see working displays on the show floor

We’re here in San Antonio at Display Week and have seen some great traffic in our booth–also had some meetings there as well.  The table’s a bit small, but is a perfect size for using an iPhone together with one of our demo projectors to give a presentation.

Most seem quite surprised that we’re willing to use our demo projector out in the open under the bright lights of the convention center, but the projector performed incredibly well in this environment.  The iPhone or iPod touch turns out to be an ideal platform to present from–just export your presentation slides to JPEG and sync with your device.  Pair that with one of our demo projectors and you have an incredibly portable presentation platform–VGA resolution at about 10 lumens using only 1.6 watts. The low power requirements means the battery easily makes it through an 1+ hour long meeting and the light output is excellent, even in a bright room. The high resolution made the text very readable.

The setup seems to have impressed just about everyone that has seen it–especially since we’re not using any covers, hoods and aren’t in a darkened room.  If you’re here at the show, stop by and see us–if not, take a look at the pictures.

Great display--even in a bright room

]]> http://www.micronblogs.com/2009/06/under-the-bright-lights-at-sid/feed/ 0 http://www.micronblogs.com/2009/05/will-microdisplays-change-how-you-interact-with-the-world/ http://www.micronblogs.com/2009/05/will-microdisplays-change-how-you-interact-with-the-world/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 15:00:17 +0000 Micron Technology http://www.micronblogs.com/?p=438 By now you should know that Micron is in the business of microdisplays. It’s exciting stuff.

Researchers and engineers are on the cusp of discovering entirely new applications for microdisplay technology– far beyond simply displaying pictures and movies on a screen. Remember that Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report? Well, the ability to project information onto a surface and manually interact with it, to overlay real-time meta-data on a real-world object is not just for the movies anymore. Really smart people are designing products that can do just these kinds of things—with technology that exists today.

Once you combine microdisplays with other semiconductor technologies – such as accelerometers, image sensors, and wireless network connections– the possibilities are limitless. To get just an inkling of what’s coming, watch this presentation given at TED by Patti Maes – head of MIT’s media lab.

WQVGA microdisplay panels

Today we announced a new microdisplay panel that uses the latest of our Displaytech FLCOS technology. This WQVGA panel provides 392 x 224 resolution in an ultra-small package. It’s an ideal solution for the smallest display and projection applications, like head-mounted displays and embedded cell phone projectors.

Like all our displays, the WQVGA provides bright, saturated colors and crisp images. But what’s most compelling is the WQVGA does it while drawing just 85mW, and it integrates the necessary companion chips—DRAM, LED drivers, and image processing—on the display. Those two key features—size and power use—really separate our WQVGA from other solutions. LCOS competitors can’t match our image quality, and micromirror competitors are stuck with bulky multi-chip solutions that draw far more power (MEMS laser-based displays are far too expensive to even be considered competitors in this segment).

Applications are really beginning to open up, and we’re excited about what our microdisplays can do to drive wide-scale adoption.

View the WQVGA press release

Learn more about our microdisplays at microdisplays.micron.com

Basically, many of our LCOS competitors simulate color by filtering light through closely-placed RGB pixels; we build individual color pixels by quickly pulsing RGB light in place–a technique called sequential color.

Sequential color is a simple concept, but a bit difficult to grasp in text. We’ve put together a quick video to help explain how it works.

Take a look:

Put simply, our Displaytech FLCOS can switch pixels on and off very, very quickly. So fast, in fact, that we can create color by combining red, green, and blue hues within a single pixel, rather than using separate RGB pixels placed close together (the way most LCOS displays work).

The differences are obvious in the photo below. It’s a real-life comparison of our Displaytech panel’s output side-by-side with an LCOS competitor’s display of the same image. You can distinctly see separate RGB pixels on the LCOS display, as well as how much brighter our pixels are. The end result is a photo-like displayed image with truer colors and crisp edges (which makes our panels great for displaying text—handy if you’re projecting documents or web pages).

Throw in our small

FLCOS sequential color vs. spatial color LCOS

footprint, ultra-low power use, and the ability to work well across a range of temperatures, and you’ve got a top-class product. In fact, the quality of Displaytech FLCOS technology is well established—it’s already shipped millions FLCOS microdisplays—but a small company could only take it so far.

Now that we can leverage Micron’s great reputation and strong, worldwide sales channels into the microdisplay market, the competition will really have to stretch to keep up.