Sony Details New RGB Laser Light Source Module For Projectors

Sony has detailed a laser light source RGB module suitable for digital cinema projectors and other large screen alternatives. The module incorporates high power lasers of the three primary colors: Red, Green and Blue (RGB) with a combined output power of 21W (equivalent to 5,000 lumens), in a relatively tiny single package.

And here’s the kicker – the biggest benefit of laser-based light source is that it delivers a lifespan of over 10,000 hours (between 3 to 20 times longer than xenon lamps). Imagine not having to buy costly bulbs and so forth anymore. But what about the actual display? Well, it has higher brightness, higher contrast, a wider color gamut. I will say that I have seen a demonstration of a laser projector, and it was sensational. The projector was displaying about 150% of the color gamut and the reds were so crisp I can only compare it to the glow of a new streetlight. Read our informative “The Science Of The Laser Projector” post.

The newly developed RGB laser module uses semiconductor diodes for the red and blue lasers, and a compact, high power solid-state SHG laser for the green. Both the red and green lasers were developed internally by Sony. The three lasers generate output power of 10W for red, 6W for green, and 5W for blue, resulting in a total of 21W. Furthermore, energy conversion ratios for the lasers range from 15 to 22% (18% on average), representing extremely high efficiency for power visible lasers. This results in lower power consumption.

As a result of these developments, low power consumption of 110W at 5,000 lumen output has been achieved. Furthermore, the reduction in heat emissions resulting from this high efficiency enable the cooling mechanisms required for the operation of the lasers to be simplified and reduced.

This module can be used as the light source for a range of projectors, from 1,000 lumen home theater projectors to 10,000 lumen large screen projectors, and even digital cinema projectors. This is due to the scalability of the module design, which outputs collimated light beams for each of the three colors, enabling multiple modules to be stacked.

Sony expects to ship sample shipments in the second half of 2010.