Laser-powered phosphor display (LPD) is a large-format
display technology similar to the
cathode-ray tube (CRT). Prysm, Inc., a video wall designer and manufacturer in Silicon Valley, California, invented and patented
the LPD technology.
["Fortune India: Boss, I shrunk the office"](_blank)
''Fortune India'', 2017-06-30[Siegler, M]
"LPD: Prysm's New Acronym Promises Huge Screens, 75% Less Power Consumption"
''TechCrunch'', 2010-01-12 The key components of the LPD technology are its TD2 tiles, its image processor, and its backing frame that supports LPD tile arrays.
The company unveiled the LPD in January 2010.
Operation principles
LPD uses a set of movable mirrors to direct several beams of light from several ultra-violet lasers onto a screen made of a plastic-glass hybrid material coated with color phosphor stripes. The laser draws an image onto the screen by scanning line by line from top to bottom. The energy from the lasers' light activates the phosphors, which emit photons, producing an image.
[Greene, Kate]
"A New Breed of Laser TV"
''MIT Technology Review'', 2010-01-20[Ayala, David]
"LPD HDTVs: Are they the future or late to the party?"
''PC World'', 2010-01-15["Laser Phosphor Display - How It Works"](_blank)
''Prysm''
''Phys.org'', 2010-01-19
The building blocks of every Prysm video wall are the Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) tiles called the TD2. Video walls are implemented using this new generation LPD TD2 tile, a virtually seamless, bezel-free building block. TD2, launched at InfoComm 2013, features increased resolution, brightness and enhanced uniformity. A variable number of TD2 tiles can be arranged in arbitrary configurations to form
videowalls in various sizes and shapes.
[TD1 Tile Product Specification Sheet](_blank)
''Prysm''[Prysm to exhibit Cascade collaboration solutions and 4K UHD capabilities at InfoComm](_blank)
''AV Magazine'', 2014-04-06
Advantages
The main difference between LPD and
Cathode Ray Tube
A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms on an oscilloscope, a ...
technology is that the first excites the phosphor (that emits light to produce the images) with a scanning
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...
beam deflected by a moving mirror, whereas the second uses an electron beam deflected by a magnetic or electrostatic field. Whereas an electron beam must be projected through a vacuum—because in a gas, liquid, or solid medium the electrons would collide with atoms of the medium and combine with them to form ions—a laser beam can pass through air, so unlike a CRT, an LPD does not require a heavy airtight vacuum envelope (typically of glass) around the space between the beam source and the phosphor screen. Also, the collisions of the laser photons with the phosphor screen do not produce x-rays as a side effect, whereas electrons colliding with a screen in a vacuum do produce x-rays, requiring radiation shielding in a CRT (said shielding taking the form of leaded glass in most CRTs produced since the early 1980s) but not in a LPD. The absence of x-ray risk in LPD devices also eliminates the need for the safety circuits required in CRT monitors to shut down the display if it malfunctions so as to emit increased and unsafe levels of x-rays (which can happen if the high voltage applied to the tube increases beyond the design limit of the display).
Another competitor,
plasma display technology, consists of small cells of ionized gases that emit light–a process that requires a relatively large amount of power. And a conventional laser television, such as the LaserVue, made by Mitsubishi, uses red, blue, and green lasers and a micromirror device that combines and directs the light. This is essentially a
rear-projection display that wasn't popular due to cost.
[Clancy, Heather]
"Roger Hajjar's Prysm Wants to Bring Eco-Friendly, Life-Size Video To Your Home"
''Forbes (magazine)'', 2013-12-04
LPD requires less electricity than competing technologies including LCD and
light-emitting diode (LED).
[Roush, Wade]
"At American Eagle, Prysm's Laser Displays Banish the Bezel; Startup to Present at Tonight's 5×5 Event"
''Xconomy'', 2010-12-08 IAC reported a 70% reduction in power by switching to LPD, and Prysm says LPD uses up to 75 percent less power than most other display technologies on the market.
An LPD device differs significantly from LCD in that more than 90 percent of the original light is lost in the latter process.
The TD2, building block of a video wall, does not suffer the problem of low brightness, contains no toxic component, has no consumables, and generates little heat. Its displays are highly configurable and can be stacked seamlessly to create supersized high-resolution video walls of almost any size or shape.
According to Prysm, the LPD technology has other advantages including great black levels, a wide 180-degree viewing angle, a 65,000-hour panel life with no burn-in issues, completely recyclable components, and their production process is mercury free.
LPD competes with
liquid crystal display (LCD),
plasma display panel (PDP),
surface electron display (SED) and other large-format display technologies.
One disadvantage of LPD is that the displays are deeper than some competing technologies, each TD1 Tile including all peripherals measures almost 17 inches deep.
Depending on the frame type, the total installed depth varies between 24 and 30 inches.
Applications
The TD1 tile was launched in June 2010,
[Hall, Christopher]
"InfoComm: Prysm showcases 'ecovative' thinking with TD1 displays"
''DigitalSignageToday.com'', 2010-06-21 and was the earliest embodiment of this technology. Prysm began shipping TD1 tiles in February 2011.
LPD powered by the Prysm ''digital workplace platform'' software, is used as a giant
touchscreen
A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...
display, a digital
signage
Signage is the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message. Signage also means signs ''collectively'' or being considered as a group. The term ''signage'' is documented to have been popularized in 1975 to 1980.
Signs are any ki ...
and in
customer experience centers.
["Laser Phosphor Display (LPD) television - it's all done with mirrors"](_blank)
''Phys.org'', 2010-06-01["Prysm Displays"](_blank)
''Prysm'' The first LPD retail installation went on display at
American Eagle Outfitters in New York in late 2010. Other LPD deployments include a 120 feet long by 10 feet tall videowall at media company
InterActiveCorp (IAC)'s headquarters building in New York in New York City,
[Clancy, Heather]
"Is This The World's Greenest Video Wall?"
''Forbes (magazine)'', 2013-12-19 a 40-foot, 180-degree, interactive videowall at
General Electric’s (GE) Customer Experience Center in Toronto
and television studios,
and several videowalls for venues including
Dubai TV and
Sprint. Prysm digital workplace platform is a shared cloud workspace where multiple users can upload and view videos, documents, presentations and other media.
[Lawson, Stephen]
"Cisco faces a tougher collaboration rival in updated Prysm"
''PC World'', 2017-02-07
Patents
* 2-D straight-scan on imaging surface with a raster polygon. By Hanxiang Bai, Roger A. Hajjar. Juin 13, 2017.
* Local dimming on light-emitting screens for improved image uniformity in scanning beam display systems. By Roger A. Hajjar. December 22, 2015.
* Composite and other phosphor materials for emitting visible light and applications in generation of visible light including light-emitting screens. By Roger A. Hajjar, David Kent, Phillip Malyak. July 31, 2012.
* Laser displays using phosphor screens emitting visible colored light. By Bukesov; Sergey A. April 4, 2013.
See also
*
Comparison of display technology
*
History of display technology
*
Surface-conduction electron-emitter display
*
Field-emission display
References
External links
Prysm (inventor of LPD) official website Evaluation of the Prysm Visual Workplace Solution* How LPD Works �
Prysm Inc.(2016) – YouTube
{{emerging technologies, displays=yes
Display technology
Electronic display devices
User interfaces