(Credit: TI) - Imagine an aftermarket head-up display (HUD) clipped to your automobile visor projecting driving directions onto your windshield. Envision a tablet with a built-in pico projector, allowing you to share big screen content with others, anytime and virtually anywhere. Visualize near-eye display eyewear that displays information such as navigation and social media updates right in front of your eyes. These are just a few examples of innovative applications that are possible with recent advancement in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based projection display technology.
The heart of MEMS-based TI DLP® Pico™ projection display technology is an array of highly reflective aluminum micromirrors called a digital micromirror device (DMD). A DMD can contain millions of individually controlled micromirrors, each built on top of an associated complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) memory cell. Along with an illumination source, a DMD acts as an electrical input-optical output device that lets developers perform high speed, efficient and reliable spatial light modulation to create a projected image.
Advancements in MEMS technology
The continued innovation in MEMS-based DMDs is giving developers more opportunities to incorporate projection-based display technology across a variety of applications for industrial, personal electronics, wearables, digital signage and enterprise markets.
One of the latest innovations is the reduction in size of the MEMS-based aluminum micromirror – a critical component of the DMD. This reduction has enabled full-HD 1080p resolution in a small MEMS package for use in microdisplay applications. Simply scaling down the size of the micromirrors can reduce diffraction efficiency and system brightness and contrast if no other mirror or system parameters are changed to account for it. However, increasing mirror tilt angle to enable faster system collection optics has offset the potential loss in diffraction efficiency and maintains system brightness. Advancements in manufacturing processes have minimized impacts to system contrast. Pico projection technology continues to get smaller, brighter and more power efficient, enabling innovative high-definition projection display applications from small form-factor products.
Innovative display applications using MEMS technology
Advances in MEMS for use in projection are paving the way for new applications. From laptops to smartphones to tablets, personal computing devices can now be equipped with MEMS display technology. Beyond typical, personal computing tasks, these devices can now transform virtually any surface into a home theater or a display for a business presentation.
These plug-and-play products offer extreme portability, HD resolution, low-power and are ideal for numerous enterprise and consumer uses. Such versatile devices address a wide range of consumer needs, from road warriors who want to deliver memorable presentations to clients around the world to parents who are hosting a neighborhood movie night in their backyard.
When MEMS technology is combined with motion sensing capabilities, the display becomes interactive, giving users the ability to manipulate and interact with the display.
Beyond turning walls and other flat surfaces into usable screens, the small size, high resolution, low latency and low power consumption capability of this new generation of MEMS devices is also ideal for augmented and virtual reality near-eye display applications. MEMS technology can enable wearable computing experiences for consumer applications, such as hyper-realistic video game systems and 3D movies -- or industrial applications, such as warehouse inventory management and training simulators.
As the demand for smaller, brighter and more efficient HD display solutions continues, MEMS technology continues to evolve to the point where it can be incorporated into small form factor devices that would not have been possible just a few years ago. It will be exciting to see the innovative new uses for this extremely flexible and versatile display technology in the future.
- Anshul Jain -