Dutch laser chip finds ways to Austrian AR light engine

Dutch laser chip firm Brilliance and Austrian photonics startup Vitrealab have announced a partnership to create more compact, efficient and high-performance light engines for the next generation of AR smart glasses and related applications. The collaboration will include joint R&D, prototype demonstrations and coordinated commercialization efforts.

Vitrealab focuses on so-called liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) technology, a type of display technology that uses a layer of liquid crystals on top of a reflective silicon surface. By controlling how the liquid crystals affect light, LCOS can create high-resolution images with good brightness and contrast. It’s often used in projectors, head-mounted displays and augmented reality systems.

Vitrealab is working on a photonic integrated circuit that controls laser light on the micro-scale, the Quantum Light Chip (QLC). Each chip contains hundreds of precisely fabricated low-loss optical waveguides interfaced with nano-imprinted micro-optics and multiple RGB laser diodes to create a uniform and collimated light source, which in turn illuminates the LCOS panel.

The companies plan to integrate Brilliance’ RGB laser diode chip with Vitrealab’s QLC. The Dutch laser diode technology efficiently injects coherent light into the miniature optical systems inside the QLC. By combining these technologies, light polarization can be preserved, which is essential for optimal LCOS modulation.

The result is a laser illumination source that addresses one of the key bottlenecks in AR optics, the partners claim: achieving a wide field of view, high brightness and low power consumption in a form factor small enough to fit into lightweight smart glasses. The approach is inherently scalable, as both laser diodes and photonic integrated circuits can be manufactured in volume.

While the primary focus is on AR smart glasses, the technology has further relevance in applications like automotive head-up displays, portable projection and other compact optical applications.