Solid-State Continuous-Wave Laser Light Sources

One of the foremost design goals of the E&S Laser Projector was to solve the problem of expensive light sources which degrade over time and require constant periodic replacement. CRT tubes, Xenon arc lamps, and other conventional projector light sources all have limited life spans, and all exhibit the undesirable property of gradually diminishing output intensity as the lamp ages.

The Grating Light Valve Modulator (GLV)

One of the fundamental breakthroughs for this new projector is a tiny linear array of movable mirrors, known as the GLV. The GLV is a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), in that it is a silicon microchip that happens to have physically movable parts onboard. In this case, the movable parts are tiny mirrors controlled by on-chip electronics. By moving these mirrors, the GLV is able to modulate light and form the basis for a projected display.

Column-Scanned Architecture

The Laser Projector derives its enormous resolution advantage from the fact that it emits a moving column of light, as opposed to a single-pixel beam, or point light source. This also turns out to be an advantage in terms of safety, since the light output is similarly less concentrated.

Gap-free Pixels

One of most important advantages of the E&S Laser Projector is the characteristic of a "Gap-free" pixel. Most forms of video display technology have visible breaks, or gaps between neighboring pixels. As you can see in the illustration, CRTs have gaps between the raster scan lines. LCD and DLP-based projectors have gaps in both the vertical and horizontal directions. While they have always been a fact of life, these gaps contribute to aliasing, or unpleasant distortions of the image.

Safety Mechanisms

The Laser Projector is inherently safe, and it has been designed to certify as an IEC Class 3R device, the same class that applies to consumer laser pointers. In the worst-case scenario (eye in front of exit aperture), assuming a 15-W power output ESLP, the power density delivered to the eye would be less than 50 mW/cm2, and approximately the same as that of the common 5 mW laser pointer directed into one's eye.