Intersil Unveils Industry’s Smallest and Lowest Cost LED Pico Projector System Solution

Developed for low power and cost-sensitive embedded or accessory pico projector applications, Intersil’s Pico-qHD provides a fully integrated reference design that includes a high volume production optical engine, hardware, firmware and customizable design files. The low cost system solution utilizes Micron’s E330 compact 5.5 cubic centimeter qHD optical engine, allowing for easy integration into a wide range of applications, including Micron’s recently announced portable PoP Video™ pico projector mobile device accessory. Built on an inexpensive 1.7 inch by 2 inch PCB, the Pico-qHD is designed to meet the low manufacturing cost requirements of consumer applications such as digital cameras, smartphones, tablets, video players and other handheld products. Driven by such applications, Pacific Media Associates forecasts pico projector sales of 58 million units per year by 2015.

The platform is based on Intersil’s new ISL97901, a fully-integrated buck/boost RGGB LED driver customized for pico projector display applications. The ISL97901 provides industry-leading overall power efficiency, the smallest solution footprint and the ability to drive RGB, RGGB LEDs. The ISL97901 maintains the highest image quality with precise current control. A 2.0mA resolution provides consistent white balance setting, yielding uniformity over production units and throughout the life of projectors. Its electronics system can drive up to 1.5A LED current, making it compatible with a variety of high power LEDs, and enabling pico projector engines with brightness levels exceeding 20 lumens.

The LED LCoS Pico Projector reference design integrates a broad range of Intersil products in addition to the ISL97901 buck-boost LED driver, including the TW8835 LCD video processor, ISL9307 power management IC, ISL9110 buck-boost converter, ISL9230 battery charger and, as an option, the ISL58333 OEIC sensor for automatic, real-time white balance control to maintain image quality and reduce optical calibration cost.

Features
• Optimized solution for field-sequential LED LCoS pico projector systems
o Tiny 5.5cc optical engine with 7mm height enables embedded applications
• Compatible with up to 1080p video inputs with automatic scaling to qHD (960x540) display resolution
o HDMI input video interface provides compatibility with a wide range of HDMI enabled video devices
• Small electronics footprint with low power requirements
o Optical engine requires only 1W
o Total system (optical engine + electronics) power consumption less than 2W
o Electronics footprint is 1.7” x 2” for accessory applications
o Electronics footprint less than 1” x 1.5” for deeply embedded applications
• Video processor with embedded MCU provides graphical On-Screen Display (OSD)
• Battery charger allows simultaneous pico projector use and charging for an improved user experience
• No fan or active cooling required, making it suitable for integration into small form factor devices

Quotes
“The emerging pico projector market will transform social sharing, but cost has been one of the biggest adoption barriers,” said Susan Hardman, Senior Vice President of the Analog & Mixed Signal Products Group at Intersil. “Our pico projector technology offers the lowest solution cost, while easily customizable reference designs provide customers flexibility to adapt pico projectors for their specific needs.”

Micron's partnership with Intersil is a model of efficiency and true viability, said Negin Oliver, Director of Display Marketing at Micron. With Micron’s E330 qHD optical engine and the robust system from Intersil, our companies are poised to succeed in the emerging pico projector industry.”

Pricing and Availability
The Pico-qHD reference system is currently available with prices starting at $13,995 and includes system technical support and a full hardware kit with design files and firmware.