DLP® technology has been around for nearly 25 years. In the past six years, the technology has been refined for mass-market projection applications such as televisions and projectors. Currently, DLP® is the most widely adopted reflective spatial light modulator technology with nearly 18 million* systems shipped since 1996, servicing visible, UV, and IR applications.

This widespread adoption has incubated DLP® and its many uses beyond simple consumer projection. The DLP® Discovery™ series of control boards are designed precisely for those individuals looking to harness the incredible power of DLP® technology for applications that stretch beyond the obvious consumer projector uses into territories such as PCB, solar, semiconductor, and bio-synthesis. To meet ever-changing requirements,the DLP® Discovery™ control boards use a flexible controller that allows developers to define their own data formats and mirror timing. The results, while impressive, have acted as the catalyst to propel DLP® technology into a number of different industries. One of the areas where DLP® has made the most significant contribution is direct imaging "maskless" lithography.

Lithography

DLP® technology provides the ability to quickly expose large areas by reflecting a pre-determined mirror pattern onto photosensitive material. The mirror pattern represents a dynamic mask. The direct imaging process eliminates the need for quartz, stainless steel, or Mylar masks, and the costly necessities that accompany them. Without the requirement of a physical mask, direct imaging negates the need for mask storage, inspection, inventory, and obsolescence while enabling digital transferability. Direct imaging lithography has proven successful in the screen print, prepress, and PCB markets. This is due to the reduction of steps required to complete a lithographic process such as removing the pattern to film step (CtF) in the prepress and screen print industries and replacing it with a lower cost computer-to-plate (CtP) process. This time saving methodology can be transferred to various other types of exposure processes.

Dynamic Scene Projection

Near Infrared (NIR) and Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) projection has become critical to Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) testing and validation from both a cost and repeatability perspective. DLP® has and will continue to revolutionize validation processes for applications such as night vision goggles (NVG), thermal imaging firefighter cameras, thermal seekers, and other military and municipal related hardware that functions in the NIR/SWIR space. DLP® technology allows for accurate digital simulation of these environments which, in turn, enables companies and their end users to reduce ongoing expenditures associated with Hardware-in-the-Loop testing.

Virtual Gauges for Glass Cockpits and Beyond

DLP® Discovery has had a strong influence in the simulator market by providing a low cost alternative to the mechanical gauges that are typically used. "Glass Cockpits" enabled by DLP® technology are the wave of the future due to decreased cost, lack of obsolescence, and dwindling mechanical gauge availability. A virtual gauge utilizing DLP® is color accurate when compared to its mechanical gauge counterpart and is considerably easier to use. Additionally, DLP® technology is more cost effective when creating custom screen sizes as it is scalable and there is no need to develop custom masks and tooling with new product evolutions.

Other key industries include:

Heads-Up Display (HUD)	Adaptive Optics
Holography	Spectroscopy
Microscopy	Augmented Reality
Medical Visualization Systems	Hyper Spectral Imaging
Machine Vision	Structured Lighting
Telecom	Rapid Prototyping
*DLP.com
Emerging Digital Micromirror Device Applications