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Performance of Second 50 Completed ATP Projects — Status Report Number 3 NIST Special Publication 950-3 (January 2006)
Inventing a New Light Source is a Long-Term Project Historically, overhead lighting, flashlights, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), projection displays, and even movie screens have been inefficient. Conventional frosted glass or plastic light diffusers scatter light equally in all directions, instead of directing light where it is needed. Physical Optics Corporation tried to correct the They also produce strong backscattering, so much of the light energy is scattered backward and is essentially lost. Over the years, plastics companies have attempted to create new and improved diffusers; however, on the whole, the new diffusers have remained inefficient and costly. Physical Optics Corporation (POC) tried to correct the problem of nondirectional light by developing new light-diffusion devices, but the company lacked the funds to complete the necessary research and development (R&D). Traditional sources of capital were not interested in a high-risk project that would involve years of R&D before showing a profit. ATP and POC's Partnership Changes Lighting
"None of this would have ever happened without ATP," said Rick Shie of POC. Mr. Shie was referring to POC's opportunity to pursue its idea that although the development of holographic technology was important, incorporating the improvements into useful devices was key. With ATP funding, POC honed the exacting science of holographic diffusers and made it reliable. Holographic diffusers can increase the brightness of any traditional light source and greatly enhance the brightness and contrast of optical images. This effect is accomplished by using proprietary holographic technology to produce screens and filters that sculpt beams of light by distributing most of the light into the desired direction. Beam shaping controls the vertical and horizontal intensity distributions of the beam, leading to directed light intensities. Holographic diffusers also can "homogenize" light beams, which can be described as restructuring light beams into a uniformly diffused beam without internal structure or "hot spots," regardless of the source (e.g., filament, lamp, and LCD backlighting. With ATP funding, POC honed the exactingscience of holographic diffusers POC also developed high-resolution screens in a variety of sizes, shapes, and properties for a range of applications. The company developed projection (or reflection) screens capable of providing intense and directed light beams onto a surface and transmission screens that greatly enhance what was once a dull image. POC Ensures Mass Production and Opens New Markets Early versions of holographic diffusers were difficult to mass-produce because they were small and were based on volume scattering. Epoxy diffuser replicas were durable, but delicate and hard to mass-produce. Even with proper handling, cleaning, and storage in a clean environment, only a limited number of diffusers could be made from a single master. POC's innovation has spawned new markets. POC's surface-relief holographic scatterers, however, eliminated the painstaking process of producing optical holograms one by one, making mass-production possible. Being able to translate theory into practice was the next challenging step. POC persevered and developed two processes that would ensure mass-production capabilities:
As a result, POC's innovation has spawned new markets, such as flashlights for aircraft inspections, enhanced blood analyzers, heat-resistant directed lighting, automotive dashboard display panels, semiconductor mask homogenizers, credit card security products, and data-storage technology. Holographic Technology Doubles Diffuser Efficiency Successful development of a new type of diffuser screen with holographic technology resulted in an intense, evenly distributed beam of light. This innovation has allowed POC to develop light diffusers that are more than twice as efficient as previous diffusers. In addition, the diffusers can lower the power consumption of a computer display by up to 10 times, compared with typical cathode ray tube displays that use approximately 110 watts of energy. POC has expanded its initial business strategy. It has formed alliances with various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and has agreed to license its technology to specific application providers. POC also established a dedicated production facility for holographic diffusers that currently produces 100,000 parts per month. Conclusion In May 1996, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) created a subsidiary, Farlight Inc. (which was sold to Farlight LLC in 2000), to commercialize the holographic diffuser technology for industrial and residential lighting applications. POC is actively pursuing potential new applications for the technology, such as the next generation of display screens (reflection and transmission), large screens for high-definition television, computer displays in a variety of sizes, cockpit and car dashboard screens, and ATM displays. During the course of the ATP project, POC evolved from a low-revenue research and development business into a manufacturing and marketing company with $20 million in annual revenues. Through contracts with large automotive companies, such as Ford Motor, as well as with computer component providers, POC will continue to improve the efficiency of lighting sources.
Research and data for Status Report 93-01-0205 were collected during October - December 2001 and January - March 2002. Return to Table of Contents or go to next section of Status Report No. 3. Date created: April 4, 2006 |
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ATP website comments: webmaster-atp@nist.gov / Technical ATP inquiries: InfoCoord.ATP@nist.gov. NIST is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department |
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