Pico Projectors & Light Engines 2008: MEMS and SSL Sources for Displays and Scanning

June 19, 2008 – Yole Développement, of Lyon, France and Mahwah, NJ, and Chip-works 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. TIs R&D department has been working hard to stay competitive.”

According to Yole Développements reverse cost analysis, the new WLP approach by TI would reduce the cost by 50% (from about $400 to $200). “This is not to dis-courage newcomers from investing in this market!” says Dr. Eric Mounier, chief Edi-tor Micronews, Yole Développement. “Companies like Microvision or 3M are compet-ing 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 demon-strated 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.

About Chipworks

Chipworks is the recognized leader in reverse engineering and patent infringement analysis of semiconductors and electronic systems. The companys ability to analyze the circuitry and physical composition of these systems makes them a key partner in the success of the worlds largest semiconductor and microelectronics companies. These companies depend on Chipworks to secure, defend, and grow market share, and to save millions of dollars in royalty payments and product design costs, allowing them to earn millions by licensing patents, designing superior products, and launching new products faster. Intellectual property groups and their legal counsel trust Chipworks for success in patent licensing and litigation. Research & Development and Product Management rely on Chipworks for success in new product design and launch. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Chipworks maintains offices in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Israel, and Poland.

About Chipworks reports

You can learn more about the Chipworks reverse engineering reports on Texas In-struments digital micromirror devices by visiting our report library at www.chipworks.com.

About Yole Développement

Yole Développement is a market research and strategy consulting company, specialised in the MEMS fields. Yole Développement offers various kinds of services:

• Custom market research and technology/strategy analysis

• Marketing and communication services through MicroNews

• Market reports

Founded in 1998, Yole Développement is the world leader in the analysis of the mi-crotechnologies and compound semiconductors markets. Each day, Yoles team of 18 consultants is in worldwide contact with key industrial companies, R&D institutes and investors in order to help them to understand the market and technology trends. Yole consultants take into account the complete value chain including materials and equipment suppliers, device & system manufacturers.

Yole Développements report: