Digital Light Processing and MEMS: an overview

A new projection display technology called Digital Light Processing/sup TM/ (DLP/sup TM/) accepts digital video and transmits to the eye a burst of digital light pulses that the eye interprets as a color analog image. DLP is based on a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device known as the Digital Micromirror Device/sup TM/ (DMD/sup TM/). Invented in 1987 at Texas Instruments, the DMD is a fast, reflective digital light switch. It can be combined with image processing, memory, a light source, and optics to form a DLP system capable of projecting large, bright, seamless, high-contrast color images with better color fidelity and consistency than current displays.