November 21, 2024. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS, in collaboration with HOLOEYE Photonics AG, have developed a compact LCOS microdisplay with high refresh rates that enables improved optical modulation. This innovative microdisplay will be jointly presented for the first time at the 31st International Display Workshops (IDW) 2024 in Sapporo, Japan.
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LCOS microdisplays are characterized by their low power consumption, small size and low weight. They are used in switchable adaptive optics, in particular as phase modulators, and as projection displays in augmented or virtual reality (AR/VR). Phase modulators, also known as spatial light modulators (SLMs), are used in biological imaging and microscopy for wavefront correction and beam shaping, among other things. The aim is, for example, to improve image resolution, minimize distortions caused by biological tissue or protect the samples. The new LCOS microdisplay from HOLOEYE and Fraunhofer IPMS uses an innovative CMOS backplane that enables high-speed light modulation.
Matthias Verworn from HOLOEYE explains: “With the new backplane generation from IPMS, we can realize compact micro-SLMs and specifically address applications with requirements for a small installation space. The very small pixel sizes enable large diffraction angles in diffractive applications, while the fast interface supports high clock rates and offers flexible, application-specific control options.”
The unique properties of the new LCOS microdisplay open up new application possibilities in wearable holographic AR systems, in optogenetics, for example in the structured photostimulation of neurons, as well as in quantum optics and quantum computing.
Philipp Wartenberg, Head of IC and System Design at Fraunhofer IPMS, explains: “The newly developed backplane architecture of our compact LCOS microdisplay significantly expands the possibilities for light modulation and exceeds existing frame rates many times over. This is made possible by the integration of a complete frame buffer as well as a high-speed interface to the pixel matrix, which realizes a data transfer rate of up to 576 Gbit/s to a pixel array with a resolution of 1440 x 1080 pixels and a pixel size of 2.5 µm.” HOLOEYE plans to launch the first products with this LCOS light modulator in early 2026.
These developments were supported by public funding. Fraunhofer IPMS would like to thank the Saxon State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport (SMWA) via the Sächsische Aufbaubank – Förderbank – (SAB) for its support as part of the BACKPLANE project (100392259).
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Photo: HOLOEYE Photonics AG
