Hartmut Schneider | Vitrealab: How can laser peak brightness boost LCoS efficiency by up to 35% in color sequential mode?
06:28 - 07:57
Other snippets from this talk
Summary of the clip:
How can laser peak brightness boost LCoS efficiency by up to 35% in color sequential mode?
In LCoS, liquid crystals turn while illuminated in color sequential mode with red, green and blue light. Until crystals reach final good position, reflectivity is lower. With an LED light source, squeezing out all available light for brightness means switching it on for quite a long time in the period. This captures crystals outside right positions, producing crosstalk and less reflectivity.
Laser light changes this because it has high peak brightness. If full brightness is not needed, the duty cycle can be reduced, and the laser can be turned on for a very short time. It can therefore be turned on at the point where reflectivity is highest. That increases the reflectivity of the LCoS by using laser light and its high peak brightness.
Another topic, it's not only about how to make this light engine more efficient. The laser-LCoS mechanism is specific: high peak brightness permits a reduced duty cycle. Short laser pulses can be turned on at maximum reflectivity, avoiding the long LED-on period that includes lower-reflectivity crystal states. This roughly boosts efficiency up to 35%.
In this short video, you can learn:
* In color sequential LCoS, liquid crystals have lower reflectivity until they reach their final position.
* LED illumination must stay on longer to get brightness, causing crosstalk and reduced reflectivity.
* High laser peak brightness allows a shorter duty cycle, turning on at highest reflectivity and boosting efficiency up to 35%.
π **Clip Abstract** Laser light can improve LCoS efficiency in color sequential mode by allowing a reduced duty cycle. Because high peak brightness means the laser can be turned on only when liquid crystals reach maximum reflectivity, the approach can boost efficiency up to 35%.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Hartmut Schneider
* Company: Vitrealab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#LaserLCoS, #ColorSequentialMode, #LiquidCrystalReflectivity, #PeakBrightnessDutyCycle, #ARDisplays, #LightEngines
This is a highlight of the presentation:
Laser-LCoS β The Solution to AR Smart Glasses Challenges
More Highlights from the same talk.
00:54 - 02:20
Why are big companies betting on LCoS light engines in smart glasses, and what does swapping LED for laser illumination add?
Why are big companies betting on LCoS light engines in smart glasses, and what does swapping LED for laser illumination add?
LCoS is a mature light engine choice: very good color gamut, very good image quality, high reliability and cost-effectiveness. That is why large companies put it into smart glasses. The presenter argues LCoS will remain for a long time β probably much longer than you think β because significant improvement is still available from the current stage toward the future. The proposed route is laser light instead of LED illumination.
The implementation replaces the traditional LED illumination of the LCoS with what the company calls a QuantumLight chip. That chip creates an array of laser beams, and this array illuminates the LCoS in what is described as kind of the perfect way. Because the illumination can be tuned in many ways, the light engine can be made very efficient, very bright and very small β three benefits pushed into LCoS simultaneously.
So the answer to why LCoS stays is headroom. Laser illumination is not a replacement of the light engine, but an upgrade inside it: the LED illumination goes out, the QuantumLight chip goes in. The result is an array of laser beams tuned for the LCoS, delivering efficiency, brightness and a small footprint. That keeps a mature, reliable, cost-effective display architecture competitive for longer than expected.
In this short video, you can learn:
* LCoS already offers very good color gamut, very good image quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness, which is why large companies use it in smart glasses.
* The claimed improvement path is laser illumination: the traditional LED illumination is removed and a QuantumLight chip inserted, creating an array of laser beams.
* Because that laser array can be tuned many ways, the LCoS light engine can become very efficient, very bright and very small.
π **Clip Abstract** The clip explains why large companies put LCoS light engines into smart glasses β maturity, color gamut, image quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness β and why the presenter expects LCoS to persist much longer than expected. The improvement route is laser illumination: a QuantumLight chip replaces the traditional LED illumination and creates a tunable array of laser beams for the LCoS, enabling efficiency, brightness and small size.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Hartmut Schneider
* Company: Vitrealab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#QuantumLightChip, #LaserBeamArray, #LCoSLightEngine, #LEDtoLaserSwap, #ARSmartGlasses, #NearEyeDisplays
09:13 - 10:21
What are the specs of the first 0.5cc laser LCoS light engine engineering sample?
What are the specs of the first 0.5cc laser LCoS light engine engineering sample?
The latest laser LCoS light engine engineering sample is built on the Aramtec P13 LCoS panel, an 800 by 800 pixel device. It combines that panel with the quantum light chip shown earlier. The result is a 0.5cc laser LCoS light engine, called a very great achievement. The speaker moves from a paper's claimed headroom to what has been achieved today.
Brightness from the engineering sample reaches three and a half lumens, which the speaker frames as high brightness from a very, very small LCOS light engine. Output is still in green color only. Full color is stated as the next step for the 0.5cc laser LCoS engine. The panel remains the 800 by 800 pixel Aramtec P13.
The engineering sample is being presented at the booth of Instrument Systems, the Munich-based partner that kindly gave table space. Visitors can look at the light engine for themselves and judge the 0.5cc build. The speaker also invites reading the paper to see the high potential laser LCoS has. No further specifications beyond panel size, volume, color state and lumen output are given in this clip.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The 0.5cc laser LCoS light engine engineering sample pairs an 800 by 800 pixel Aramtec P13 LCoS panel with a quantum light chip.
* It produces three and a half lumens in green, with full color as the next step.
* The sample is displayed at the Instrument Systems booth for visitors to inspect.
π **Clip Abstract** A 0.5cc laser LCoS light engine engineering sample has been built from an 800 by 800 pixel Aramtec P13 LCoS panel and a quantum light chip. It delivers three and a half lumens in green only, with full color as the next step, and is on show at the Instrument Systems booth.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Hartmut Schneider
* Company: Vitrealab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#LaserLCoS, #QuantumLightChip, #AramtecP13Panel, #GreenOnlyOutput, #ARSmartGlasses, #NearEyeDisplays
03:10 - 05:20
How does a photonic integrated circuit in display glass create a tunable laser beam matrix for LCoS?
How does a photonic integrated circuit in display glass create a tunable laser beam matrix for LCoS?
The QuantumLight chip is a photonic integrated circuit: small light engines are fabricated into a piece of transparent display glass. Light channels guide laser light from single-mode laser diodes attached and coupled in at the edge, creating a laser beam matrix. The beam distance, divergence angle and chief ray angle are tunable, enabling telecentric or non-telecentric illumination of the LCoS. This lets the design produce the perfect light source for the LCoS, cost-effectively in a mass-producible process.
Fabrication uses direct laser writing: a six-inch wafer of standard display glass is inscribed by a femtosecond laser, changing the refractive index at a very small point inside the glass. This creates a three-dimensional network of light channels. Light can be routed independently for each color, with a separate light channel path per color, and routed to any point inside the glass to form the laser beam matrix.
A milestone has been reached: two fabrication setups have produced around 190 photonic chips on a single wafer. A nanoimprint is added on top to guide the light out. The fabrication process stays cost-effective and mass producible, positioning the photonic integrated circuit as a compact, tunable light engine for LCoS-based AR smart glasses.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The QuantumLight chip is a photonic integrated circuit that guides laser light through channels inscribed in display glass to form a laser beam matrix.
* Beam distance, divergence angle and chief ray angle can be tuned to provide telecentric or non-telecentric illumination of the LCoS.
* Direct laser writing with a femtosecond laser creates a three-dimensional network of light channels, with separate paths per color, and a nanoimprint outcouples the light.
π **Clip Abstract** The QuantumLight chip uses a photonic integrated circuit in display glass to route laser light from single-mode laser diodes into a tunable laser beam matrix for LCoS illumination. Fabricated by femtosecond-laser direct writing on six-inch wafers, with around 190 chips per wafer and a nanoimprint outcoupler, it offers a cost-effective, mass-producible light engine for AR smart glasses.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Hartmut Schneider
* Company: Vitrealab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#LCoS, #PhotonicIntegratedCircuit, #FemtosecondLaser, #Nanoimprint, #ARDisplays, #LaserDisplays