Under the $2.2 million program partially funded by the BIRD Foundation, Kopin and ExPlay are developing a matchbox-size projection engine with target optical efficiencies nearly 10 times higher than those currently available. The ultra-compact, highly-efficient projection engine is targeted for portable, hand-held devices such as cellular phones, PDAs, and PMP devices.

"A key requirement for a nano projector is high brightness at low-power consumption," stated Dr. Bor-Yeu Tsaur, Kopin's executive vice president of Display Operations. "We have engineered the display pixel technology to increase the effective optical aperture and transmission, which significantly increases optical efficiency. We believe our proprietary compact, highly transmissive microdisplay combined with an unique optical engine technology from ExPlay should enable an ultra-compact nano projector."

"A tight combination of a high-transmission microdisplay and a specially designed optical engine in an easy-to-integrate package is the key to the success of this application," said Golan Manor, ExPlay's vice president of Technical Marketing.

"ExPlay's nano-projector engines are built with ExPlay's unique laser-based diffractive optical technology and provide a complete projector engine solution including optics and electronics for easy integration into third party products."

Consumer demands for large, high-resolution images, while compact enough to be portable, are increasing due in large part to the vast amount of mobile video and multimedia content available wirelessly and in the newer generation of handheld portable devices. This technology expands Kopin's offerings in personal displays for mobile devices to include small-form-factor projectors for sharing information in addition to the near-eye display such as video eyewear for private viewing.

"Kopin's high-density, high-optical-efficiency display is essential to the success of our proprietary optical engine," said Daniel Oleiski, ExPlay's chief executive officer. "We have been working closely with Kopin for two years, and we are excited that Kopin's display technology allows the thinnest and smallest optical systems. We are pleased with our progress and plan to introduce the projection engine in the first half of this year."

Dr. John C. C. Fan, Kopin's president and chief executive officer stated, "With burgeoning markets in mobile video, portable gaming and hand-held devices such as PDAs and video cellular phones, there will be a significant demand for high-resolution microdisplay systems to compliment these products. We believe a cost-effective, high-performance nano projector will be a reality in the near future."

Built with Kopin-patented nanotechnologies, Kopin's CyberDisplay products are the world's lowest power, highest resolution transmissive AMLCDs for their size, which ranges from 0.16-inch to 1-inch diagonal. These transmissive displays, available in monochrome and full color, are ideal for a wide range of consumer mobile electronics applications as well as military and homeland security applications that call for high-resolution, high-speed video in a compact, power-efficient package.

These applications include camcorders, digital still cameras, and video eyewear for PMPs, gaming equipment, PDAs and wireless handsets as well as thermal imaging systems and surveillance equipment.

Related Links
BIRD Foundation
ExPlay
Kopin
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