A new technology that basically uses a fan-shaped array of modulated laser beams to rapidly activate red, green, and blue phosphor elements in a rigid glass or polymer structure may be the lowest-cost and lowest-power-consumption laser display yet. The surface-emissive laser phosphor display (LPD) from Prysm (San Jose, CA) is scheduled for release in a 25 in. diagonal format in June. It has a viewing angle of nearly 180° and power consumption equivalent to a standard incandescent light bulb (less than 100 W/m² or 75% less than liquid-crystal displays).

The rapidly and precisely modulated laser beams in the diode array bounce off a rotating mirror, illuminating the necessary phosphor colors to produce a high-quality video image. The 25 in. display consists of 320 horizontal lines. Because the phosphor pixels have no electrical connections, Prysm says they do not experience mechanical or electrical failure and operate through the entire display lifetime. And, unlike conventional liquid-crystal or projection displays, the lasers are turned off for dark pixels of an image (rather than requiring filtering or modulating of an always-on backlight), increasing LPD system efficiency and lifetime. Contact Christine Morris at cmorris@prysm.com.

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