TriLite adds TDK as MEMS partner for the world’s smallest projection display

TDK, a global specialist in electronic solutions for the smart society, will provide tiny MEMS mirrors for TriLite’s Trixel 3 laser beam scanner (LBS), the world’s smallest projection display. 

With its revolutionary combination of compactness, lightweight, and a bright and accurate display, the award-winning Trixel 3 LBS enables augmented reality (AR) solutions for a wide range of consumer applications and makes smart glasses more readily available for the mass market.

TriLite's design philosophy is to maximise standard components and equipment use in its manufacturing ecosystem. TriLite uses customised standard components and fully qualified state-of-the-art high-volume production equipment, and its production flow is optimised for mass manufacturing.

“The TDK MEMS mirror is a key component that ensures that Trixel 3 meets class-leading specifications in terms of brightness and size,” said Peter Weigand, CEO at TriLite. “We’ve set up our manufacturing services to meet our customer requirements for high-volume production.”

“Thanks to our miniaturised MEMS mirror, Trixel 3 provides bright and clear images from a light and tiny projector,” said Markus Puff, Head R&D of Piezo and Protection Devices at TDK in Austria. “We are happy to bring our many years of research in materials and processes, as well as our MEMS competence and mass manufacturing capabilities to this partnership.”

The Trixel 3 optical display engine combines TriLite's miniature and lightweight LBS, a single 2D MEMS mirror, all optical components, and the Trajectory Control Module (TCM) that shifts light module complexity from hardware to software. The LBS module weighs less than 1.5 g and has a volume of less than 1cm3.

As well as being ultra-compact and lightweight, the Trixel 3 is designed for mass manufacture. It provides a bright display that’s easy to read in direct sunlight, and its optimised optical path requires no relay optics, further saving space and weight. Its low system latency ensures AR images integrate naturally with a wearer’s surroundings and spatial movements enabling OEMs to deliver products that meet and exceed consumers’ expectations of AR.”