Novalux Delivers 1.5-Watt Red Laser Arrays To Consumer Electronics Partners

Sunnyvale, CA — Novalux, Inc., developer of Necsel™ laser technology, announced recently that it has delivered red 1.5-watt Necsel laser prototypes to key consumer electronics partners. 1.5-watt output is twice the power of previous red Necsel devices and puts Novalux on track to produce RGB (red, green, blue) Necsel lasers for integration into high-definition (HD) projection TVs.

"Reaching 1.5 watts with our red Necsel arrays is a significant step toward our goal of shipping RGB lasers that produce three watts per color for our initial product," said Greg Niven, Novalux vice president of marketing. "We reached three-watt power output with green and blue some time ago and we've been able to apply what we learned with that product development to our red technology. We are on track to deliver all-Necsel RGB sources to our consumer electronics partners for integration into HD laser TVs for Christmas 2007."

Necsel-based laser TV offers consumers many advantages over competing display technologies, such as plasma and UHP lamp-based projection TV. Said Niven, "Right now plasma especially has momentum in the over-50-inch big-screen marketplace, but Necsel laser TVs offer twice the color gamut with one quarter the power consumption. Plasma TVs consume about a kilowatt of power, so a U.S. consumer could save around $300 per year in electricity cost alone by buying a laser TV."

Prototype laser RPTVs show a dramatically expanded color gamut, higher brightness and striking image contrast over competing display technologies. Ultimately, Necsel technology could enable home theater systems that marry over 200% of NTSC color coverage, high-brightness, high-resolution images, a thin, wide viewing angle architecture, and unsurpassed light source lifetime—all at an affordable cost.

All-Necsel RGB sources benefit TV manufacturers over other types of lasers because they provide desirable output wavelengths, increase display performance, and allow lower overall system cost. Specifically, red Necsel arrays can produce light in the 615- to 625-nm range—a wavelength that matches existing TV-screen phosphors. Competing red edge-emitter laser technology can only go as low as 635 nm and has poor lifetime. And since in a Necsel system the same type of laser emits each of the three colors, they share the same device parameters. This uniformity results in simpler, cost-efficient laser integration from drive electronics to imaging optics.

Novalux will demonstrate its Necsel technology in public and private demos during the Consumer Electronics Show 2007 (CES) January 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Niven, "We'll be showing completely new laser product usages, including prototype laser TVs, a laser cinema projector, and portable laser projectors. The demo is an excellent opportunity to see the enabling performance laser technology brings to these applications."

SOURCE: Novalux