Mitsubishi to shrink Projectors with new laser diode
638nm red laser diode has world-record output power of 3W
Mitsubishi Electric has announced the ML562G86
pulse laser diode for projectors, featuring a vibrant 638nm red light, world-record output power of 3.0W under pulse operation and mean
time to failure (MTTF) of over 20,000 hours.
The ML562G86’s high output power and wide
operating temperature range will contribute to enhanced projector luminance and
miniaturisation. Sample sales will begin on January 11, 2019 and volume shipping will begin in April 2019.
Projector light sources are shifting from
mercury lamps to solid-state light sources that offer wall-plug efficiency, a
wide colour gamut, and highly reliable operation. LDs achieve the best wall-plug
efficiency among solid-state light sources, thereby contributing to lower power
consumption, and thus are viewed as the most promising new light source for
projectors. Mitsubishi Electric expects to use laser diodes to develop not only superior
projectors but also advanced laser TVs capable of more vibrant images than liquid-crystal TVs.
In September 2015, Mitsubishi Electric
released its ML562G84 high-power red laser diode, which achieved 2.5W output under pulse
operation as a red laser diode in three RGB light sources for projectors. With
conventional laser diodes, extended operation at 3.0W output power causes the laser’s
light-emitting surface crystals to melt, making it difficult to achieve an MTTF
of 20,000 hours. In response, Mitsubishi Electric has developed the technology
required to suppress degradation of the light-emitting surface even at 3.0W,
leading to the newly announced ML562G86 red laser diode that achieves unprecedented 3.0W
output power.
