Digital Light Processing

Contributor : Nitin S. Madhu

Digital Light Processing, a technology that led to miniaturisation of projectors, has a potential to replace the ageing film-based projection of movies in theatres.
Although initially developed for projection processes , and over the years, has spawned a new category of small, ultra-portable mobile projectors .It is based around a specialised optical semiconductor chip-Digital Micro mirror Device (DMD)

Being mirror-based, DLP systems use light very efficiently. That helps DLP images achieve outstanding brightness, contrast ratio and black levels. DLP images are also known for their crisp detail, smooth motion, and excellent color accuracy and consistency. Also, DLP-based TVs are probably the most resistant to screen burn-in.

The DLP chip is probably the world's most sophisticated light switch. It contains a rectangular array of up to 2 million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors; each of these micro mirrors measures less than one-fifth the width of a human hair. The 3-chip system found in DLP Cinema projection systems is capable of producing no fewer than 35 trillion colours.

Although initially developed for projection processes, DLP is now used in telecommunications, scientific instrumentation, volumetric displays, holographic data storages, lithography and medical imaging.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Light_Processing

http://www.answers.com/topic/dlp?cat=technology