High performance applications of cathode-ray tubes

Robert Venner, Reginald Daniels, and Darrel G. Hopper

Wright Laboratory Displays Branch

Mailing Address: Bldg 146 Rm 122, 2210 Eighth St Ste 1, Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433-751 1 USA
Telephone: 513/255-8261 Fax: 513/476-4547 e-mail: [email protected]
Area Code: 513 becomes 937 in June 1997

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the use of cathode-ray tube (CRT) display technology in military and other high performance
applications. The history, advantages and problems associated with this technology are reviewed. The limitations, problems
and solutions experienced in the past, and currently, are considered together with the solutions being offered by new CRT
technology. Examples of the demanding applications of CRTs are presented. The CRT-based technology dominates the
installed high performance electronic displays, and may continue to do so for some years.

Keywords: Cathode-ray tube, cockpit display, mission crewstation, trainer & simulator, image generator, flight instrument,
electronic multifunctional displays, head-up and helmet-mounted displays, direct-view and projection displays

1. HISTORY OF CATHODE-RAY TUBES

1.1. Invention and evolution

The answer as to who invented the CRT depends largely on your country of origin. The CRT evolved from 18th century
observations of phenomena and from frantic activity in I 9th century laboratories. Satisfying the demand for television
provided the customer-pull necessary to the point whereby in 1944 more than 2 million CRTs were produced annually in the
USA. By 1987 world-wide production exceeded 100 million per year.'

A need for electronic displays in aircraft for the newly invented radar systems arose in World War II (WW II). Numerous
display systems and representations were developed for land, air, and sea craft to display radar information including the
popular A-Scope. The ubiquitous sweeping-arm image of a Plan Position Indicator (PPI) can still be seen in some
applications. The PPI display format observed by the user is illustrated in Figure 1. The PPI used P7 phosphor to retain
the image long enough between successive sweeps for the operator to interpret the information. These displays are now
obsolescent, having been replaced by modern CRT displays and in a few cases with flat panel display.

1.2. Early avionic displays

Prior to WW lithe use of CRTs in aircraft was rare. The need for aircraft radar displays led to the "ruggedization" of
commercial CRTs. The prevention of high voltage arcing at altitude was a major concern as was the susceptibility of the
CRT to shock and vibration. From the earliest days, low reliability and large volume and weight, together with poor
contrast and resolution in high ambient lighting conditions, were demanding factors for the aircraft designer contemplating
the use of CRTs. Figure 2 illustrates a CRT mounted in an F-86D. The shroud was fitted to reduce reflections and sunlight
on the CRT screen. In the 1960s monochrome CRT assemblies designed specifically for aircraft applications began to
emerge for aerospace applications. These assemblies encapsulated the CRT in a metal and glass shroud that provided
protection.

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 Figure 1. Plan position indication (PPI) display format.

The shroud's screen included filters to reduce reflections and improve contrast. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
screening, which was necessary to prevent the electro-magnetic emissions disturbing other instruments, was also provided
by the shroud. The EMI problem was so difficult with some early displays that it was possible to watch the compass spin at
different rates as the contrast was adjusted. In the 1960s the Grunman A-6A and the Northrop F-5 were the first US tactical
aircraft to use fully ruggedized CRTs mounted in the instrument panel. These successes soon lead to similar displays being
fitted into what was then new and existing aircraft. Early high-performance CRTs had to be replaced frequently due to
"screen-burnout" but advances in circuit design have now reduced the number and severity of failure points that lead to this
condition to the point now where the CRT is not necessarily the weak link in the maintenance chain. Interestingly, the
predominant failure mode for one display currently in service is a mechanical drive gear used to rotate the deflection coils.
The high voltage power supply has been an ubitiquitous failure point for CRT based display systems in cockpits across
many aircraft platforms.

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$

Figure 2. F-86D showing a CRT with a shroud.

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1.3. Naval use

At sea there was a similar need to display radar information as soon as radar became available. However, nautical
applications presented their own problems. In addition to the harsh marine clime, the magnetic field of a ship and its
systems were and remain today a hostile place for a CRT and a demanding one in which to present a quality picture.
Various types of projection tubes have been, and still are, used in shipboard consoles and combat information centers.
Liquid crystal light valves (LCLV) have also been used as an alternative to CRTs as the image generation source in
shipboard command and control displays.2 Many of the display requirements in modern military naval vessels can be met
with CRTs as there is little call for sunlight readability. However, there is now a real need for large-area displays especially
at command and control stations and even ship designers are troubled by the weight and volume of very large CRTs. A
conceptual control room for a future new submarine (NSSN) is illustrated in Figure 3. A typical individual crew station is
shown in Figure 4.

Vertical Large
Screen
Sonar Displays

Combat
- - t ro I
Horizontal
Plotter
Command
Workstation

Figure 3. Concept for basic NSSN new submarine command and control center arrangement.

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 Figure 4. Typical submarine computer workstation.

2. TRAINING SYSTEMS

Ground based training system designers continue to use high performance CRTs as the visual displays in flight simulator
and land-air interactive battle trainers. The flight simulator displays are capable of providing a full field of view day and
night visual scenes. The images projected by the simulator visual system are updated in real time.1 The visual system is
correlated with aural cues and the motion base system.2 The video imagery, the simulator motions, the aural system and the
cockpit (displays, yoke, altimeter etc.) all have to perform within the narrow tolerance of the response time of the actual
aircraft equipment and events. Failure of any of these systems to respond within real time may cause many negative training
problems including motion sickness, incorrect response to a training task, or inability to recognize and react to the visual,
motion and aural cues that are part of the flying process. The definition for real time is a relative term. In a training
arrangement real time is the time the student needs to perceive an event, input a response into the simulator system, and
have the simulator output a response into the student's senses. The simulator is useful as a motor skill training environment
when the simulator is capable of processing student inputs without perceptual time lags between the inputs and the
simulator response. The reference for comparison in this definition is the time response performance of the actual aircraft.

The ground based training system for the B-2 shown in Figure 5 has an aural, visual, and motion subsystems. The visual
system is the most demanding of the subsystems because the student is most sensitive to abnormalities in the visual
system. Flight simulator visual systems may be as large as the bubble canopy of a fighter cockpit. In other cases the
image must cover a large area with odd geometric shapes such as a full dome simulator image. When very large surface
areas are required to be illuminated the images may be tiled together in order to achieve a high quality large area visual
scene.

When a high performance CRT projector is used for a full field of view daylight scenes the projectors may be require to
produce a high average lumen output. The high average lumen output is measured at some location that is a certain
distance from the front screen or rear screen direct view projector. The contrast and the luminosity measurements are all
measured at the projected point which is not necessarily at the face of the CRTs. Other technologies may be able to
provide the high lumen output, but trade offs are made in other image quality attributes. The CRTs also are capable of
providing a large dynamic range of luminosity, compared to other competing technologies for such visual display
systems. Projectors based on CRT technology also have a good gray scale when compared to presently available

1
Real time is defined as thirty frames per second for the image updates. Some computational tasks may be required to run
several times within a frame. The update rate required in a tactical cockpit is 60-72 frames per second due to the head
motions caused by movement in the real aircraft.
2
The simulator's computational system contains a simulator math model. The simulator math model receives input from
the cockpit (displays and controls). The math model after receiving the cockpit (displays and control information)
generates a unique output that is sent to the cockpit's aural system, the motion system and the visual system.

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alternative high luminosity technologies. This situation will likely change in 1996 with the introduction of projection
systems based on digital micromirror device (DMD) and field emission device (FED) flat panel technologies.

Another image quality attribute that a high performance CRT projectors provide at a favorable price is error correction and
adjustment to the image. Since the images are not projected onto a flat surface in most cases, error correction is performed
on the image being projected. Error correction is necessary in order to maintain realism and visual fidelity. Some image
error correction may be performed in the visual system image generator, but higher resolution error correction is possible by
controlling the addressable regions of the CRT's scan. Image error correction at a video rate is a market niche in which CRT
projector manufacturing are a strong contender.

A flight simulator is a very demanding, real time, virtual reality training environment. The subsystem that has to process
and transfer the most data is the visual system. The student is most sensitive to abnormalities in the visual system. High
performance CRT projectors are a very capable device in visual systems that require high lumen output. Other major
advantages of the CRT based visual system is the addressability of the raster scan for error correction ability. All of the
previously mentioned tasks have to be performed at a rate of thirty frames per second and at a high lumen level.3

Figure 5. B-2 Aircrew Training Device.

High lumen levels for these CRT type projectors is a range from 200 to 1000 L.

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 3. AIRCRAFT DISPLAYS

3.1. Color displays in aircraft

Color shadow-mask CRTs started to appear in commercial aircraft in the early 1980's and continue to be widely used. The
military, however, has continued to use predominately monochrome displays due to their fidelity with sensors and their cost.
Color CRTs for aerospace applications are similar to ordinary television tubes except for important differences in shadow-
mask pitch, strengthening and anti-vibration measures. Not only can vibration affect the CRT's structure and fitments, but it
can also affect internal components such as the shadow-mask resulting in a seriously degraded picture.

The vibration problem is low in airliners, significant in fighters and a major concern in AV-8B Harrier aircraft and
helicopters. Even the changing affect of the magnetic field of the earth can have a detrimental effect on color display
fidelity as the aircraft moves into another hemisphere. Some equipment is fitted with color sequential displays. This
technology uses an LCD with colored filters mounted in front of, and synchronized with, a monochrome CRT to produce a
color image which is satisfactory for many applications. A modern glass cockpit implemented using CRTs is illustrated in
Figure 6.

Figure 6. C-17 cockpit.

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3.2. Other methods and technologies

Several novel ideas have been used, including "rear-ported" CRTs which allow an image, perhaps from film, to be projected
through the rear as well as the front of the tube, enabling both to be viewed simultaneously or seperately. Beam index
CRTs, which use an indexing stripe to synchronize the beam's position and have no shadow-mask, appeared to be an
elegant solution to some of the problems inherent in shadow-mask designs. However, tight manufacturing tolerances and
the need for accurate high-bandwidth electron guns have hindered the commercial development of these displays thus far.
Penetration CRTs utilize layers of phosphor and the color excited depends on the EHT voltage applied. This display show
promise for displaying some forms of symbology but are unlikely to find application in aircraft. TrinitronTM and similar
designs are also unlikely to find military applications as vibration greatly degrades the picture.

3.3 Sunlight readability requirement

Sunlight readability is important for many applications. While "bubble canopies" pose the greatest problem even a main
battle tank needs displays that can be viewed when the hatch is open. Military transports have similar requirements to civil
transports and CRTs can be used to good effect in well shaded areas. Rear crew stations in the back of large aircraft and
helicopters offer environments which are significantly less demanding than cockpit crewstation. The sunlight readability
problem is made worse by the increasing requirement for raster mode displays. Increasing the luminance and contrast
normally reduce the life of the CRT. The principle reason CRTs have failed to achieve this ultimate goal is the fact that
phosphor is itself an excellent reflector. However, advances in narrow-band phosphors, anti-reflective coatings and neutral
density filters have enabled CRTs to perform adequately in numerous applications. The current drive for bigger displays to
increase situation awareness further erodes the choice of the CRT as the size, weight, power and susceptibility to vibration
increase.

3.4. Projection applications

Miniature CRTs are employed as the image source in projection application from head-up displays (HUD) to helmet
mounted displays (HMD) to home theater systems. Designers of CRTs continue the familiar quest for smaller or bigger,
brighter displays with ever higher resolution and lower cost. The tiny high-resolution tubes used in HMD bear witness to
these efforts, although few have become standard equipment on aircraft.

One of the most demanding aircraft applications remains the HUD, which is illustrated in Figure 7. A HUD is an electro-
optical device used to present data to aircrew in a way so that it appears to be overlaid on the scene observed through the
clear cockpit canopy or window. This effect is achieved by focusing the image at virtual infinity (several meters away from
the pilots eyes). As a result aircrew do not have to re-focus their eyesight to read data or see information presented on the
HUD. The HUD enable a pilot to get all the data needed without looking down into the cockpit or cabin and is being used
increasingly in transports, airliners and ground vechiles. The CRT needs to generate luminance of around 108,000 lx
(10,000 fc) and yet be capable of producing images at night at 50 nt (15 fL). Improving sensor technology has lead to the
need in some applications to view raster drawn images by day and night. The resulting HUD, capable of both stroke and
raster, demands the highest performance of the CRT and the optical chain. One example HUD specification shows that
stroke imaging generates 2400 fL at 1.35 contrast ratio against a 108,000 lx (10,000 fc) ambient measured at the combiner.
For raster scan this becomes 250 fL at 1.9 contrast ratio. This performance requires a CRT capable of 12,000 fL. The need
for very high luminance levels results in high demand on the phosphor with a corresponding reduction in life. The P43
phospher remains the most popular due to its very narrow spectral output bandwidth and relatively long life.

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 Figure 7. Head Up Display (HUD).

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3.5. New directions

Despite the comparative success of CRT and of aircraft designers to overcome the problems inherent with this technology,
the march towards flat panel displays (FPDs) continues. It is now fair to say that in the majority of new aerospace
applications FPDs will provide a better overall solution than the CRT, but at a price. Affordability and the proven merits of
displaying information clearly on large area displays in all ambient lighting conditions drives the designer towards FPD
solutions. Relative immunity to ambient illumination is the single most important performance advantage of active matrix
liquid crystal display (AMLCD) technologies over CRTs. Nevertheless, CRTs continue to improve and will, therefore,
continue to offer a price advantage for many years to come for applications in which sunlight readability is not a
requirement, such as in workstations and C41. For example, projection systems used in combat information centers (CIC)
on aircraft carriers are now being updated from a Hughes LCLV rear screen projector to a ruggedized version of a civil
commercial projector that uses three small CRTs to generate the color image. This ruggedized commercial-off-the-shelf
(COTS) CRT projection system has been placed in a general services adminstration (GSA) schedule, and can be purchased
for any high performance C41 application.4

3.6. Retrofit programs

Cockpits have offered fertile ground for the retrofit market for many years. With the increasing cost of development the
market for new aircraft is dwindling making the retrofit of older aircraft a viable market. We have seen the drive for
replacing electro-mechanical instruments with CRT based glass screens now give way to the drive for FPDs. The
replacement of CRTs by AMLCDs has not provided a panacea. Whilst almost every aspect has been improved (power,
weight, size, reliability etc.) the problem of temperature has not been fully resolved. In addition, as specifications show,
CRTs can operate happily from below -54 to +71 °C (-65 to +160 °F) and beyond, giving full operational performance in
less than one minute. Furthermore, the heat generated by several AMLCDs and electroluminesent (EL) flat panel displays
at full brightness on an aircraft instrument panel can be very significant.

Replacement of existing CRTs with flat-panels is not always as easy as it first appears due to the use of many unique display
interfaces. Much progress has been made to standardize electrical interfaces and other such issues.5.

4. SUMMARY

The cathode-ray tube has been successfully utilized in military applications since its introduction during WW II. Many
variations and designs have been used to good effect but the basic problems of sunlight readability, volume and weight
remain despite much innovative improvement. Great advances have been made to improve reliability and picture quality.
Although monochrome displays have been used extensively in military applications the need for color presented new
challenges which, in turn, have also been met. Apart from specialist applications, such as HUDs, the CRT is likely to
become obsolete as the drive for affordable, large, high reliability, and sunlight readable displays continues.

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Messrs. Daniel Desjardins, Thomas Kelly, Dr. John Reising, Ivan E. Armstrong, Paul J. Kubiak, Eric Chaum,
Ronald Ewart, Timothy Dwyer, and Robert Blanton for their assistance in providing photos and reference information.

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 6. REFERENCES

1. Peter A. Keller, The Cathode-Ray Tube - Technology, History and Applications (Palisades Press, New York, 1991).

2. F.M. Meyer, E.A. Harpold, R.B. Blanton, and D.G.Hopper, "High performance applications of light valve device
displays" in Cockpit Displays III, Proc. SPIE 2734, (Intl. Society for Optical Engineering, Bellingham WA, 1996).

3. Eric Chaum Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, Code 2212, Bldg. 1171-1 Newport, RI 02841.

4. A.D. Gomez, Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center (NCCOSC), RDT&E Division (NRaD), San
Diego CA 92152-5000.

5. D.G. Hopper, W.K. Dolezal, K. Schur, and J.W. Liccione "Draft Standard for Color Active Matrix Liquid Crystal
Displays (AMLCD) in U.S. Military Aircraft" WL-TR-93-1977 (June 1994), Available from NTIS, Springfield VA.

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