High Power Red Laser Diode for Video Projection

CST Proposes to develop a high power red laser diode for digital cinema projector
manufacturers as part of the projector’s RGB light source. This Proof of Market project will assess the commercial viability for CST to develop such laser diodes. The project will involve market research, competitor analysis, intellectual property assessment and planning the laser development to full commercialisation.
Laser based cinema projectors offer significant advantages over current largely Xenon bulb based equipment. Xenon bulbs are power inefficient and have short bulb lifetime. Laser based cinema projectors offer high efficiency, long lifetime and a much wider colour space, which delivers significantly deeper colours and higher brightness.
A laser based cinema projector requires red, green and blue lasers, each producing from 50 to 200 Watts. For the red laser this could be satisfied by combining the output of a number of red laser diode bars. The total worldwide market for red laser diodes in entertainment display was $32M in 2010, is forecasted to grow at 20% per year and reach $50M to $100M in the next 5 to 7 years.
There are more than 115,000 cinemas worldwide and it seems likely that most of these will convert from Xenon bulb to laser based over the next 10 years. Thus there is a significant commercial opportunity if the required laser diode can be developed.
As prices reduce, lower cost and higher volume projectors will start to use laser diodes for their light sources, including projectors for conference centres, conference rooms, domestic projection TVs and eventually mini-projectors on consumer mobile devices. It is anticipated that other applications for high power red laser diodes will also emerge.