Laser Projector is Next Big Step for Digital Theaters
Engineers from the Academy of Opto-Electronics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Phoebus Vision Opto-Electronics, in Beijing, have developed what they believe is the next step for digital theaters. The team has developed the first big screen laser projector by combining several lasers with the MEMS technology used in digital projectors today. The projector replaces the white light and color filters that are found in today’s digital projectors with several red, green, and blue lasers. The lasers illuminate a digital micro-mirror device, or MEMS chip, which was developed by Texas Instruments. The chip has microscopic mirrors that each correspond to a pixel on the screen. By tilting the mirror, the chip is able to turn the pixels on or off. In addition, the laser projector is expected to be more energy efficient and eco-friendly. The major downside to this new development is that the laser technology is too costly for mass production.
[via IEEE Spectrum]
October 16th, 2008 at 1:40 am
I have read the information concerning the cost of the laser
technology and I am at a loss about it. Why is it so expensive
when today we have laser pens that contain a ferocious light
that can damage the human eye. Why can’t the laser technology be
based on that principle, then incorporated into a projector?
It seems so simple to me and the pen laser technology is very cheap
because you can buy one for so very little money and the power requirement
is absolutely minimal. The only challenge is the light color. Please
give me a response on this idea and explain why not.