Research
See an index of DLP® white papers
Introducing BrilliantColor™ Technology
12/29/2005
David C. Hutchison
This white paper will discuss Texas Instruments BrilliantColor™ technology. This technology uses innovations in image processing to improve the optical efficiency of DLP® projection systems while expanding the capability of current RGB color wheels. BrilliantColor™ technology may also be combined with new color wheel designs that can expand beyond traditional 3-color systems, enabling the utilization of wide color gamuts on DLP® display systems. The combined effect is that the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) now has the opportunity to provide a brighter display that utilizes a customized color gamut that is not available on competing technologies.
BrilliantColor_white_paper.pdf (529 Kb)
LED TV: Technology Overview and the DLP® Advantage
12/29/2005
DJ Segler
This white paper will discuss Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology and its impact on television applications. It will highlight the advantages and challenges for these applications and will explore the specific advantages that LED technology has for DLP® product applications.
LED_TV_white_paper.pdf (160 Kb)
Development of the Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) Microsystem
9/7/2005
Michael R. Douglass
The Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) developed by Texas Instruments has made tremendous progress in both performance and reliability since it was first invented in 1987. From the first working concept of a bistable mirror, the DMD™ is now providing high-brightness, high-contrast, and high-reliability in over 5,000,000 projectors using Digital Light Processing™ technology.
In recent years, the DMD™ has achieved the status of being a commercially successful MEMS device. The knowledge we gained through our characterization and testing helped us achieve this success. The performance of our production DMD™ has achieved, and in some cases exceeded, our reliability goals. For every new DMD™ as well as for each major design change, Texas Instruments performs a detailed failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). This process assures the standards achieved for reliability and performance are maintained on all subsequent designs.
This paper discusses some of the metrology developed for the DMD™, accelerated stress testing techniques, environmental testing, unique DMD™ life tests, test equipment development, packaging, modeling and failure analysis. The use of characterization and testing and how they were essential to achieve our reliability goals will be discussed.
Keywords: DLP®, DMD™, MEMS, testing, characterization, reliability, picture reliability
DCMM05_Development_of_the_DMD_Microsystem.pdf (506 Kb)
The State of the Art in Projection Display: An Introduction to the Digital Light Processing Technology
11/29/2004
Lars A. Yoder
This paper presents an overview of Digital Light Processing (DLP®). It describes the advantages of DLP® and the fundamental benefits of a digital display system along with system reliability. The way DLP® works and the advantages of a digital projection system are pieces of information essential to understanding our increasingly digital world.
Intro_Digital_Light_Processing.pdf (255 Kb)
Effects of Operating Conditions on DMD™ Hinge Memory Lifetime
4/10/2003
A.B. Sontheimer and D.J. Mehrl
This paper will show how different operating conditions improve hinge memory lifetime of the Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™).
The correlation of parametric measurements to physical properties will also be developed. Specific operating conditions explored include the effects of (1) on/off duty cycle, (2) relaxation during nonoperation and (3) reversibility on hinge memory lifetime performance.
IRPS2003_DMDHingeMemoryLifetime_Sontheimer_Mehrl_5C3.PDF (208 Kb)
DLP® Switched Blaze Grating; the Heart of Optical Signal Processing
2/6/2003
Walter Duncan,/ Benjamin Lee / Paul Rancuret / Bryce Sawyers / Wes Stalcup /Lynn Endsley and Don Powell
We have developed an approach for processing communication signals in the optical domain using a DLP® digital mirror array driven by a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). In optical communication systems, modulation rates of 10 GB/s and above are common, hence, direct processing of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexed (DWDM) optical signals without undergoing Optical to Electrical conversion has become a key requirement for cost effective deployment of dynamic optical networks. This work will discuss primarily applications of Optical Signal Processing (OSP) to coherent DWDM signals. Optical Signal Processing has also found applications in spectroscopy, microscopy, sensing, optical correlation, and testing.
DLP_opticalnetworking_2003.pdf (366 Kb)
DMD™ reliability: a MEMS success story
2/5/2003
Michael R. Douglass
The Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) developed by Texas Instruments (TI) has made tremendous progress in both performance and reliability since it was first invented in 1987. From the first working concept of a bistable mirror, the DMD™ is now providing high-brightness, high-contrast, and high-reliability in over 2,000,000 projectors using Digital Light Processing™ technology. In early 2000, TI introduced the first DMD™ chip with a smaller mirror (14-micron pitch versus 17-micron pitch). This allowed a greater number of high-resolution DMD™ chips per wafer, thus providing an increased output capacity as well as the flexibility to use existing package designs. By using existing package designs, subsequent DMDs™ cost less as well as met our customers' demand for faster time to market.
In recent years, the DMD™ achieved the status of being a commercially successful MEMS device. It reached this status by the efforts of hundreds of individuals working toward a common goal over many years. Neither textbooks nor design guidelines existed at the time. There was little infrastructure in place to support such a large endeavor. The knowledge we gained through our characterization and testing was all we had available to us through the first few years of
development. Reliability was only a goal in 1992 when production development activity started; a goal that many throughout the industry and even within Texas Instruments doubted the DMD™ could achieve. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that we succeeded by exceeding the reliability goals.
Reliability_paper.pdf (265 Kb)
Emerging Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) Applications
2/5/2003
Dana Dudley / Walter Duncan / John Slaughter
For the past six years, Digital Light Processing™ technology from Texas Instruments has made significant inroads in the projection display market. With products enabling the world’s smallest data and video projectors, HDTVs, and digital cinema, DLP® technology is extremely powerful and flexible. At the heart of these display solutions is Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™), a semiconductor-based “light switch” array of thousands of individually addressable, tiltable, mirror-pixels. With success of the DMD™ as a spatial light modulator for projector applications, dozens of new applications are now being enabled by general-use DMD™ products that are recently available to developers. The same light switching speed and “on-off” (contrast) ratio that have resulted in superior projector performance, along with the capability of operation outside the visible spectrum, make the DMD™ very attractive for many applications, including volumetric display, holographic data storage, lithography, scientific instrumentation, and medical imaging. This paper presents an overview of past and future DMD™ performance in the context of new DMD™ applications, cites several examples of emerging products, and describes the DMD™ components and tools now available to developers.
NewApps_paper_copyright.pdf (343 Kb)
DMD™ Hinge Memory Lifetime
4/1/2002
Andrew B. Sontheimer
The Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) continues to make significant improvements in high temperature operating lifetime. This paper will briefly describe the DMD™, the hinge memory failure mode and parametrics important to characterize hinge memory, provide lifetime estimates and compare results to practical experience. The methods employed to develop an understanding of DMD™ lifetime are very similar to those used throughout the semiconductor industry to model reliability. While the failure modes and mechanisms may be quite different, the approach of identifying failure modes, accelerating the failures and applying acceleration to estimate lifetime is the same.
Hinge_Memory_Paper_IRPS2002.pdf (353 Kb)
Interfacing to the Digital Micromirror Device™ for Home Entertainment Applications
7/8/2001
Travis W. Migl
The Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) is a reflective light modulating MEMS device used as the heart for high quality digital projection systems. Traditionally, DMDs™ have been used for conference room projectors, video walls, and large venue applications including digital cinema. In transitioning DMD™ based products into the home theater market, a key challenge has been ensuring a reliable system interface to the DMD™ for the life of the product, typically a minimum of 10 years. There are three primary interfaces to the DMD™ in any projection display system: electrical, opto-mechanical, and thermal. Due to the optical nature and functionality of the DMD™, there are very unique design constraints that must be taken into account when developing solutions for these interfaces. An overview of the designs incorporated for each of the key interfaces in a home theater application is provided. The primary issues associated with these solutions as related to DMD™ packaging and reliability are then identified. Finally, a discussion of the assessment testing performed for each of these cases is presented.
IPACK2001_15712.pdf (376 Kb)
Sequential Color Recapture and Dynamic Filtering: A Method of Scrolling Color
6/26/2001
D. Scott Dewald
Steven M. Penn
Michael Davis
Scrolling color has long been a goal of the projector industry, as it enables the most efficient use of light in a single panel display. Current methods of implementing scrolling color use the techniques of splitting the light into primary colors, and manipulating that light on the modulator. The authors present the techniques of dynamic filtering and sequential color recapture (SCR) to achieve the same result with no moving components other than a color wheel, showing that the efficiency of 3-modulator systems can be approached with one modulator. Analysis of the technique applied to DLP® projection displays, and results of prototype projection systems using the techniques, will be presented.
seq_dyn_filter.pdf (161 Kb)
Thermal Design Considerations for Portable DLP® Projectors
4/1/2001
Scott P. Overmann
Portable DLP® (Digital Light Processing™) projectors continue to lead the projector industry in terms of lumens/in3 and lumens/pound. Recently announced products break the 1.4 kg (3 lb.) barrier with brightness exceeding 1000 lumens. While the weight and volume of these products has decreased dramatically over the past several years, the power dissipation has remained unchanged or, at best, decreased only slightly. Trends in projector size and power are explored and compared to other types of portable equipment such as the laptop computer. Critical thermal design considerations are discussed including DMD™ (Digital Micromirror Device™) cooling, lamp cooling, touch temperature requirements, fan selection, fan temperature, vent design, and acoustic challenges. Testing and analysis methods used in the design process for the system and subsystem levels are also discussed.
Reprint from IMAPS HD International Conference Proceedings, Santa Clara CA, April 2001, with permission from IMAPS.
Thermal_Design.pdf (87 Kb)
DLP® and Digital Display Interfaces: The Complete Digital Solution
6/10/1999
Marc Pyne
Lars Yoder
The world is going digital, and video technology is following that trend. Along with the benefits of digital technology, this paper discusses the current status of digital interface standards between PCs, flat panel monitors, and digital projectors. Advantages of a digital interface over the legacy analog interface, comparisons of underlying digital interface technologies, a review of the major digital interface standards, and an outlook for the future of digital connectivity and DLP® is also presented.
dvidlp.pdf (305 Kb)
Application of DLP® Technology to Digital Electronic Cinema — Progress Report
10/12/1998
William B. Werner and D. Scott Dewald
Texas Instruments is studying the possible application of DLP® technology to electronic cinema. This effort has involved a close working relationship with the motion picture industry to assess DLP® performance from technical and artistic perspectives. Knowledge gained from this process has led to improvements in DLP® technology that may someday lead to a DLP®-based cinema application. This paper addresses some of the advances in image quality made in the quest to achieve the ultimate cinematic experience.
cinemaprog.pdf (125 Kb)
Current Status and Future Applications for DMD™-Based Projection Displays
9/30/1998
Larry J. Hornbeck
The Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) is a reflective array of fast, digital light switches that are monolithically integrated onto a silicon address chip. Digital Light Processing™ (DLP®) projection display systems based on the DMD™ provide high-quality, seamless, all-digital images that have exceptional stability and freedom from image lag. This paper gives an update of current applications and manufacturing techniques and addresses potential projection display and other applications of the future.
idw98.pdf (317 Kb)
From cathode rays to digital micromirrors: A history of electronic projection display technology
9/17/1998
Dr. Larry J. Hornbeck
Abstract: In the late 1800s it was called “distant electric
vision” or the “electric telescope,” words to describe
mankind’s dream to see instantaneously beyond the horizon with electric technology. Today we use the word television.
The early window for seeing beyond the horizon was
the cathode ray tube or CRT, first demonstrated in crude form in 1897 and developed as a “practical” window in 1929. In the late 1940s following World War II, motion picture studios in concert with the fledgling television industry sought to bring live programming to the movie theater audience. This was the birth of “big-screen” electronic projection display technology. Projection CRTs led the way, but soon, the forerunner of the modern laser display as well as the first spatial light modulator or “light valve” made their commercial debuts.
Over the following 50 years, the display industry has
searched for the ultimate big-screen technology, not only for the theater, but also for the trade show, classroom, boardroom and living room. An ingenious and sometimes bewildering array of projection technologies has been developed, with the goal of producing brighter, higher fidelity images with displays having lower weight and cost. This article describes those technologies as they evolved, beginning with the early ones based on the CRT and e-beam addressed oil films and continuing to the present day technologies of improved CRTs, scanned laser beams, the liquid crystal display (LCD), and culminating with the all-digital technology Digital Light Processing™
(DLP®) based on the Digital Micromirror Device™
(DMD™).
History_Electronic_Proj_Tech_Hornbeck.pdf (868 Kb)
Lifetime Estimates and Unique Failure Mechanisms of the Digital Micromirror Device™
2/4/1998
M.R. Douglass
This paper discusses Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) reliability development activities; failure modes investigated (e.g., hinge fatigue, hinge memory, stuck mirrors, and environmental robustness); various acceleration techniques (e.g., temperature and duty cycle); corrective actions implemented; and the resulting evidence that the DMD™ is exceeding original reliability goals.
ieeeir.pdf (116 Kb)
Why is the Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device™ so reliable?
10/30/1997
Michael R. Douglass/ Ian S. McMurray
For many people, it is difficult to believe that the Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) is sufficiently reliable for use in today's demanding commercial products. This paper looks at how the DMD™ 'breaks the rules', and how it attains a level of reliability that enables TI to project that it will have a lifetime in a typical commercial application of greater than twenty-five years.
Myth.pdf (252 Kb)
The Digital Display Technology of the Future
6/7/1997
Lars Yoder
When we compare DLP® to today's display technologies, it's easy to see why DLP® has a promising future. Because the technology is digital, DLP® is able to reproduce life-like color images with precision accuracy. Seamless picture reproduction, high brightness, inherent reliability, the ability to show PC graphics and TV video, and other DLP® advantages are discussed below.
yoder.pdf (579 Kb)
Video Processing for DLP® Display Systems
3/13/1997
Vishal Markandey
Todd Clatanoff
Greg Pettitt
Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing™ (DLP®) technology provides all-digital projection displays that offer superior picture quality in terms of resolution, brightness, contrast, and color fidelity. This paper provides an overview of the digital video processing solutions that have been developed by Texas Instruments for the all-digital display. The video processing solutions include: progressive scan conversion, digital video resampling, picture enhancements, color processing, and gamma processing. The real-time implementation of the digital video processing is also discussed, highlighting the use of the Scanline Video Processor (SVP) and the development of custom ASIC solutions.
vproc.pdf (88 Kb)
Digital Light Processing™ for High-Brightness, High-Resolution Applications
2/12/1997
Larry J. Hornbeck
This paper describes the design, operation, performance, and advantages of DLP®-based projection systems for high-brightness, high-resolution applications. It also presents the current status of high-brightness products that will soon be on the market.
hornbeck.pdf (249 Kb)
Digital Light Processing™ and MEMS: Timely Convergence for a Bright Future
9/1/1995
Larry J. Hornbeck
Projection displays and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have evolved independently, occasionally crossing paths as early as the 1960s. But the commercially viable use of MEMS for projection displays was elusive until the recent invention of Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing™ (DLP®) technology. DLP® technology is based on the Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD™) microchip, a MEMS technology that is an array of semiconductor-based digital light switches that precisely control a light source for projection display and hardcopy applications. DLP® technology enables digital, high-resolution, color projection displays that have high contrast, are bright, are seamless, and have the accuracy of color and gray scale that only digital control can achieve.
Digital_Light_Processing_MEMS_Timely_Convergence.pdf (1,453 Kb)
Digital Light Processing™: A New MEMS-Based Display Technology
Larry J. Hornbeck
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has long relied on surface micromachining techniques to batch fabricate sensors and microactuators and to integrate them with microelectronic circuits on silicon wafers. But the application of surface micromachining techniques to display technology has been commercially limited until the recent introduction of Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing™ (DLP) technology. DLP technology is based on the Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD), a MEMS array of semiconductor-based digital light switches that precisely control a light source for projection display and digital printing applications. This paper will present an overview of DLP technology. The architecture, projection operation, and fabrication of the DMD are presented. Features of DMD technology which distinguish it from conventional MEMS technology will be explored. Finally, the paper provides a view of DLP Business Opportunities.
Digital_Light_Processing_MEMS_display_technology.pdf (1,314 Kb)
Digital Micromirror Array for Projection TV
Michael A. Mignardi
A light modulator for high-definition projection television systems has been constructed using an array of micro mirrors. Thin-film and surface micromachining technology provide the primary means of fabrication for the array, which is built up over conventional CMOS SRAM address circuitry. This article provides details of the manufacturing process.
Reprint from the July 1994 edition of SOLID STATE TECHNOLOGY
Digital_Micromirror_Array_Projection_TV.pdf (303 Kb)
High Definition Display System Based on Digital Micromirror Device
Robert J. Gove
Vishal Markandey
Stephen W. Marshall
Donald B. Doherty
Gary Sextro
Mary DuVal
This paper describes a high definition display system based on the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), a spatial light modulator developed at Texas Instruments. The system was designed to provide a rapid prototyping environment for the development and evaluation of system technology for DMD-based high-definition displays. The system design was based on the Scan-Line Video Processor (SVP), a programmable video processor developed at Texas Instruments. A multiple SVP parallel processing architecture was designed to handle the computational requirements of high definition video processing algorithms. Algorithms that were developed and implemented on this system include progressive scan conversion, scaling, degamma, picture controls, and image bit plane modulation for digital display.
High_Definition_Display_DMD.pdf (1,005 Kb)
Digital Light Processing™ and MEMS: An Overview
Larry J. Hornbeck
Sights and sounds in our world are analog, yet when we electronically acquire, store, and communicate these analog phenomena, there are significant advantages in using digital technology. This was first evident with audio as it was transformed from a technology of analog tape and vinyl records to digital audio CDs.
DLP_MEMS_Overview.pdf (70 Kb)
Motion Adaptive Deinterlacer for DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) Based Digital Television
Vishal Markandey, Todd Clatanoff, Robert Gove, Kazuhiro Ohara
This paper describes a deinterlacer developed for use in display systems based on the DMD (Digital Micromirror Device), a new digital display technology. The deinterlace algorithm performs motion adaptive interpolation, using median filtered inter-frame differences to generate the motion signal. The interpolation process is edge adaptive using five different edge orientations computed from the original interlace picture. Progressive scan-rate individual bit plane level digital data is then used to drive the DMD display using a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technique. Real-time implementation is realized using the Scan-line Video Processor (SVP).
Motion_Adaptive_Deinterlacer_DMD.pdf (165 Kb)
DMD Display Systems: The Impact of an All-Digital Display
Dr. Robert J. Gove
While many advantages and the market potential of digital micromirror device (DMD) technology have been described we intend to focus on the impact of a fully digital video display system. Redefining the architecture of an entire video system can dramatically decrease costs and increase performance from current display technologies (CRT and LCD). With recent disclosure of promising results relating to Texas Instruments DMD technology, the impact of that technology on the entire video system is presented.
DMD_Display_Systems.pdf (146 Kb)
An Overview of the Performance Envelope of Digital Micromirror Device™ (DMD) Based Projection Display Systems
Dr. Jeffrey B. Sampsell
Digital projection display systems based on the DMD utilize its silicon addressing circuitry and monolithic aluminum mirrors to achieve unique addressing modes, bit resolutions, pixel resolutions, aperture ratios, and color spaces in both three-chip and single chip configurations. This paper explores the range and implementation of each of these features.
Overview_DMD_Based_Projection_Display_Systems.pdf (147 Kb)
Analysis of Electronic Cinema Projection with the Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device™ Display System
Gregory Hewlett and William Werner
As audio and video applications make the transition from analog to digital signal representation, anticipation grows toward the age of the digital cinema, when motion pictures are recorded, distributed, and displayed as bits and pixels rather than as film. Electronic cinema will be digital cinema — and the Digital Micromirror Device(DMD) is well-suited to provide the motion picture experience to the digital cinema customer.
Electronic_Cinema_Projection_DMD.pdf (3,889 Kb)