Competition is getting ready!

In the projector market, TI challengers have never been so close

Yole Développement, of Lyon, France and Mahwah, NJ, and Chipworks of Ottawa, ON, jointly announce the publication of a series of reports on light engines and pico projector markets, and the Texas Instruments™ (TI) new DLP device technology. A second report from Chipworks analyzes the differences between the previous and present generations of DLP devices, highlighting the progress TI has made in wafer level packaging and pixel size.

TI is by far dominating the market of MEMS based display devices, with estimated sales of above $800 million. Sales for TI were mostly driven by the projector market, while devices for the RPTV (rear projection TV) application are struggling against LCD and PDP technologies.

“The TI DLP technology has the potential to create a whole new market space with pico projectors. To enable this, the technology must move towards lower cost and more compact wafer level packaging,” says Gary Tomkins, VP Chipworks Technical Intelligence. “They have achieved package cost reductions by moving away from a ceramic package, and die reductions through shrinking the physical size of the tiny micromirrors. TI’s R&D department has been working hard to stay competitive.”

According to Yole Développement’s reverse cost analysis, the new WLP approach by TI would reduce the cost by 50% (from about $400 to $200). “This is not to discourage newcomers from investing in this market!” says Dr. Eric Mounier, chief Editor Micronews, Yole Développement. “Companies like Microvision or 3M are competing with single or dual mirror architectures or LOCS technologies. These solutions are promising lower costs and more compact devices to target the pico projector market.”

A tiny colour display projector, suitable for use in a mobile phone, has been demonstrated by the US firm Microvision at the Globalpress Electronics Summit in San Francisco, April 2008. Microvision is targeting a market introduction in Q4 2008 with a price target of $400 (price for a standalone pico projector), and $100 in five years. Pico projector modules to be integrated into cell phones and laptops are also under development, with a price target well below $100.

Compact optical devices require innovative optical technologies to shrink the light management module at the heart of many new applications. Mixing micro-optical-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) technology with solid state lighting (LEDs, HBLEDs, and/or laser diodes) is a new, unique solution in achieving low cost and compact light engines. Production and integration of solid state lighting sources at the right price point are still challenging tasks, and a system engineering approach is thus required.

The new Yole report, “Light Engines and Pico Projector Markets,” gives a market and industrial chain description for every application requiring a mixed approach with MEMS and solid state lighting: RPTV, pico projectors, HUDs, HMDs, barcode readers, and micro spectrometers. Current strategies for mixing solid state lighting and MOEMS are described in the report. Open technical issues to be solved regarding packaging, thermal management, cost/performance ratio, green laser lifetime, and market access are also discussed.