Modeling the bidirectional reflectance of emissive displays

The reflection properties of a display device influence the available contrast and affect the perception of subtle detail. The display reflection characteristics of flat-panel displays (FPDs) are appropriately described by a six-dimensional bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). I describe a Monte Carlo method for modeling the bidirectional reflectance of multilayer emissive structures used in electronic display devices. I estimate the complete BRDF using a one-dimensional angular distribution function of the luminance. I apply the method to model typical high-performance cathode-ray tube and FPD structures. I find that, for the BRDF signatures of cathode-ray tubes characterized by a specular and a quasi-Lambertian components, the estimated values for the specular and diffuse reflection coefficients agree well with low-resolution experimental measurements conducted with a rotation arm and a collimated probe. I show that emissive FPDs with thin-film organic layers on reflective substrates can exhibit a predominant specular peak broadened by short-range light scattering. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.