Backlight display using photoluminescent material tuned to improve NVIS compatibility

1. A night vision imaging system (NVIS)-compatible backlight assembly for an LCD display comprising a short-wavelength light source positioned in a first layer and a photoluminescent layer positioned in a second layer for transforming blue monochrome emission from the short wavelength light source into tri-color light for use as a full-color light source, while minimizing radiance in NVIS-sensitive regions.

2. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the short wavelength light source comprises an array of blue LEDs.

3. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the spectral emission in the NVIS regions is substantially minimized.

4. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the spectral profile emitted by the photoluminescent layer is substantially independent of angle of incidence.

5. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spectral output from the photoluminescent layer is NVIS-compatible without the need for supplemental display filtering.

6. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 further comprising supplemental NVIS radiance filtering.

7. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the photoluminescent layer is configured with scattering elements to minimize or avoid the need for a supplemental diffusion layer.

8. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the peak outputs from the photoluminescent layer are tuned to match the LCD's color filters, providing greater efficiency.

9. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the narrow profiles of the emission peaks create more distinct and saturated display colors.

10. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spectral output from the photoluminescent layer allows for desirable color gamut.

11. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the photoluminescent layer is supplemented with standard NVIS filtering schemes to further improve NVIS performance and pass stricter NVIS requirement levels.

12. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the photoluminescent layer is configured to operate as a filter, lens or other optical component.

13. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the tri-color light output from the photoluminescent layer have Gaussian emission profiles and wherein the long-wavelength emission peak is tuned to enhance NVIS compatibility.

14. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the array of LED elements comprises an array of blue LEDs.

15. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the photoluminescent layer comprises a plurality of quantum dots.

16. A night vision imaging system (NVIS)-compatible backlight assembly for an LCD display comprising a short-wavelength (blue) LED light source positioned in a first layer and a photoluminescent layer positioned adjacent the first layer for transforming blue monochrome emission from the blue light source into tri-color light for use as an full-color light source, while minimizing radiance in NVIS-sensitive regions.

17. A night vision imaging system (NVIS)-compatible backlight assembly comprising a higher or equivalent energy/lower wavelength source positioned in a first layer and a photoluminescent layer positioned adjacent the first to create emissions that achieve full-color and monochrome NVIS compatibility.

18. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the short wavelength light source comprises a single wavelength blue LED.

19. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the short wavelength light source comprises multiple blue LEDs emitting at a single wavelength or multiple wavelengths.

20. A NVIS-compatible backlight assembly as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a light guide configured to channel blue light from the short wavelength light source to a photoluminescent lens included in the photoluminescent layer.