Display engineering / NVIS and daylight
Dual-mode NVIS and sunlight-readable displays.
Requirements, development and testing for LCD displays and custom assemblies that must work from bright daylight to NVIS operation in simulation and avionics.
Discuss your NVIS requirementsDefine both operating modes together.
A useful daylight display needs contrast in its installed environment. An NVIS-compatible display needs controlled emissions and usable low-light performance for the specified night vision equipment. Brightness, filtering, the optical stack and controls must work together.
Daylight mode
Address reflected light with optical bonding and a suitable front-surface anti-reflective coating, then balance backlight output, power and heat.
Sunlight-readability support →NVIS mode
Define the applicable goggle configuration, viewing arrangement, emission requirements, dimming range, color and uniformity before selecting a display architecture.
Read the specification checklist →Develop the display around its requirements.
- Requirements and feasibility: review the display, operating modes, installation, interfaces and acceptance evidence.
- Optical and backlight development: evaluate filtering, bonding, cover substrates, AR coatings and day/night illumination.
- Integration: coordinate mode selection, dimming, electronics, mechanical fit and thermal constraints.
- Custom builds and supply: develop assemblies using existing LCD cell glass, resized glass where suitable, custom TABs, TCON, backlight and housing. Custom glass can be considered when required.
IR-attenuating glass for spectral control.
Consider SCHOTT BG38, BG40, BG39 and S8612 as absorbing filter-glass candidates. Their published spectra and calculated thickness overlays show the tradeoff between useful visible/red transmission and near-infrared attenuation through 1100 nm.
Explore glass grades and products
SCHOTT BG38 · SCHOTT BG40 · SCHOTT BG39 · SCHOTT S8612
0.7, 1.1 and 1.6 mm requested finished thicknesses, with uncoated and one-surface BBAR / AR selections. Review each product’s spectrum and wavelength-specific transmission table.
Compare IR-cut glass and spectraA nominal cutoff or glass grade does not establish NVIS compatibility. Match the LED spectrum, filter thickness, daylight color, dimming and stray-light control, then evaluate the completed display against its specified NVIS requirements. Absorbed light creates heat; AR treatment addresses surface reflections rather than infrared blocking.
Coatings, absorbing materials and filter formats → · Glass and front-stack integration →
Compare IR glass at 1 mm.
BG38, BG40, BG39 and S8612 overlaid at their published 1.00 mm reference thickness.
Internal transmission excludes surface reflections and BBAR / AR coating effects. The curves show published material reference data; finished-component performance depends on thickness, coatings and the complete optical stack. Below-limit values are plotted at their reported upper bounds.
Development experience, with a defined test plan.
FPD.DEV draws on Diggy Breiling’s experience developing and testing display devices. We help turn the application into a practical development scope, identify the evidence needed and coordinate the path from prototype evaluation to the agreed acceptance tests.
Where MIL-STD-3009 is required, establish the applicable provisions and test configuration at the start. The standard addresses NVIS-specific aircraft lighting and display emissions; a component selection alone does not establish compliance of a completed installation.
Use with goggles worn and direct viewing through the goggle optics are different requirements. Tell us which arrangement your operators need, so the design and evaluation address the actual task.
Solving difficult requirements, including DO-160.
Our expertise includes finding practical solutions when standard display approaches fall short. We work through the interacting optical, electrical, thermal and mechanical constraints to develop a path toward the required performance.
For avionics applications, define the applicable RTCA DO-160 sections, categories and document issue alongside MIL-STD-3009 Type/Class requirements. Environmental qualification, daylight readability and NVIS compatibility each need appropriate evidence for the finished configuration.
We support requirements review, design changes and test planning toward the agreed DO-160 requirements. Compliance evidence should identify the tested configuration, applicable categories and results.
How to specify environmental qualification and compliance evidence →
Starting with a COTS display?
If a commercial off-the-shelf display is the starting point, we can assess its gaps against the agreed requirements. Optical, backlight, filtering or control enhancements may provide a practical path; the modified assembly still needs evaluation against its daylight, NVIS and environmental requirements.
Start with what you know.
Send the application, display model or size, daytime conditions, night vision equipment, required MIL-STD-3009 Type/Class and any DO-160 categories. An existing specification is helpful, but you do not need a complete requirements document to begin.
Related reading: NVIS display compatibility fundamentals. Standards reference: MIL-STD-3009 official record.