How do you choose a smaller DLP® projection solution when you are integrating projection display technology into a new generation of home appliances, smart robots or augmented reality (AR) glasses, or when you are designing a smartphone accessory that projects health parameters and sleep status indices on a nightstand? How does the design of the DLP digital micromirror device (DMD) affect the size of the projection module? Can an ultra-small projection device still deliver a bright and clear image? This article answers these questions and provides insight into the design thinking behind the introduction of the 0.16-inch DLP160CP DMD.
Let’s first understand the DMD and then focus on its effect on the projection module size.
The previous generation 0.2-inch version of the DMD, the 0.2-inch nHD resolution DLP2000, had an array of 640 × 360 micromirrors with a 7.6µm spacing between them, while today’s new DMD uses an updated 5.4µm tilt-and-roll pixel (TRP) technology that reduces the diagonal length of the micromirror array by 20% to 0.16 inches. The length of the micromirror array has been reduced by 20%, i.e. to 0.16 inches. This in fact reduces the total area of the micromirror array by 49%, which significantly reduces the size of the optical module that is the core module of the DLP PICO display device. See Figure 1.
Figure 1: Example of optical module
To achieve the size reduction, it was necessary to evaluate the impact of the DMD design on the optical module architecture. Based on the requirements of the marketing team, our optical design team designed a smaller optical module based on the following objectives.
A comparison of the DLP160CP dimensions is shown in Figure 2
Side projection form optics
Good match for existing LEDs
Higher brightness and efficiency than the DLP2000 series
Figure 2: 0.16-inch DLP160CP DMD
Optical component design and architecture principles
The light source projection direction of a DMD can have a significant impact on the overall size of the system. By designing the 0.16-inch DLP160CP DMD to project sideways, the size of the optics can be significantly reduced. Compared to the corner-projected 0.2-inch DLP2000 DMD optics that must be used in a U-shaped optical path, a side-projected optical path design can greatly reduce the height and width of the optical machine structure.
In addition, our marketing and optics teams actively work with LED suppliers, including OSRAM and Luminus, to select the LEDs that best match the light spread (the physical quantity that defines the integral between area and divergence angle in light energy transmission) for the design of the DLP160CP system. A highly matched light spread optimizes the brightness and energy efficiency of the optical machine and enables a more compact module size. A variety of LEDs are currently available that are well matched to the DLP160CP DMD.
The resulting 0.16-inch nHD DMD-based optical module is designed to be 80% smaller than the ultra-small 0.2-inch DLP2000-based optical module and 50% smaller than the 0.2-inch DLP2010-based optical module (as shown in Figure 3). This greatly facilitates the integration of projection modules into ultra-small products or systems with limited space. the DLP160CP supports the integration of efficient projection modules into extremely small spaces without compromising the shape and size of the final product.
Figure 3: Comparison of optical modules
Applications
The DLP160CP DMD significantly reduces the size of the optical module while ensuring a bright, crisp and stable image. the DLP160CP has up to 100 lumens of brightness and enough brightness variation to allow you to easily integrate pico-projection capabilities into products such as smart information displays, home appliances, toys, AR glasses and ultra-compact PICO projection devices, as shown in Figure 4. .
Figure 4: Example Application
Conclusion
The new 0.16-inch DLP160CP DMD is ideally suited for application scenarios that require ultra-compact projection modules to project bright, crisp video or picture information on all types of surfaces. Now you can seamlessly integrate projection display technology into your next generation of IoT devices, smart robots or AR glasses.
