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Future smart phones will project images on the wall
09.02.2012
New laser light source has a global market in consumer electronics
Mobile phones currently on the market are capable of showing high quality images and video, but the phones' small size sets insurmountable limits on screen size, and thus the viewing experience. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, EpiCrystals Oy and the Aalto University are developing a better laser light source for projectors that will be integrated into mobile phones, which will enable accurate and efficient projection of, for example, photographs and movies on any surface. Mobile phones equipped with the laser light source can be within the ordinary consumer's reach already in a few years time.
Small-size laser projectors 1-2 centimetres in length can be integrated into
many kinds of electronic appliances, such as digital or video cameras, gaming
devices and mobile phones. Integrated micro projectors could, in practice,
project images the size of an A3 sheet of paper on a wall.
The
challenge is to develop a small, energy-efficient and luminous three-colour
(RGB) light source, whose manufacturing costs can be kept low, for use in the
projectors. Solutions for these challenges are sought in a project combining
Finnish know-how, whose parties are VTT, EpiCrystals Inc. and the Aalto
University.
"The project has successfully combined
multi-technological know-how from VTT and its partners in the project, from
manufacturing materials and the accurate focusing of laser chips all the way
to production line design. The project was launched last autumn, and we are
now entering the stage where we can move from brainstorming and design to
building prototypes. It is our goal to prove by next summer that large
quantities of the new laser light sources can be manufactured quickly and
economically ", says Principal Scientist Timo Aalto from VTT.
EpiCrystals
Inc. aims straight for the global market with its product, and it is the
company's goal to be the technology and market leader in laser light sources
for micro projectors by 2015.
"We are developing an entirely
new technology that is currently not in use anywhere else in the world. At the
moment, there are stand-alone projectors on the market that can be connected
to electronic appliances and early stage integrated projectors, but their
quality and price are not competitive enough. Large electronics manufacturers
are extremely interested in integrated projectors, and market research shows
that demand for these micro projectors will increase strongly in the coming
years. Soon, around two billion mobile phones per year will be sold in the
world, and if even a couple of per cent of those contain a projector, we are
talking about tens of millions of copies, and the hundred million mark is not
far either", says Vice President of Business Development Tomi Jouhti of
EpiCrystals Oy.
EpiCrystals’ laser modules will be
mass-produced in Asia, but the research and development will remain in
Finland also in the future. The VTT, EpiCrystals and Aalto University project
has received funding from the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and
Innovation Tekes, among others.
EpiCrystals Inc. develops innovative laser light sources for
next-generation projectors. The products patented by the company enable the
manufacturing of more economical and compact projectors with superior image
quality. EpiCrystals employs 24 people and its product development has been
funded by Tekes and investment funds managed by VNT Management Oy and Suomen
Teollisuussijoitus Oy (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd), among others.
www.epicrystals.com
Aalto University Department of Automation and Systems Technology
Additional information
Timo Aalto
Principal Scientist, VTT
+358 20 7226694
Tomi Jouhti
Vice President of Business Development, EpiCrystals Oy
+358 3 3170 532
Quan Zhou
Adjunct Professor, Aalto University
+358 9 470 25241