From early 1900’s scientists have been experimenting with creating light from various materials.  In the 1950’s the LED (Light Emitting Diode) was discovered. Significant improvements in the production of certain chemical structures have allowed for improved brightness in green and blue specifically. Additional colors such as amber and cyan are also being developed at a rapid pace.

These improvements enable system designs that can produce better color fidelity at near equivalent brightness to common lamp-based technologies with longer lifetimes. Additional performance enhancements include system level features like instant on, no mercury, no color refresh artifacts, dynamically adjustable brightness, and improved color gamuts.

The rapid switching capabilities of LED technology match perfectly with the fast switching properties of DLP technology. By taking advantage of the high speed capabilities of the DMD and LEDs, it is now possible to utilize color refresh rates that are much higher than what exists with today’s designs. It is also possible to randomize the color order. Ultimately, images can be created with higher bit depth, better motion fidelity, and higher brightness. By increasing the switching frequency of the LEDs, it is possible to drive them with increased power while minimizing the thermal loading of the PN junction.

These fast switching capabilities of DLP technology take advantage of the new LED colors that are becoming available, providing much more flexibility for multiple color configurations using a single DMD device. With a DLP system, the LEDs do not require polarization, reflecting the light precisely off of the DMD mirror surface. The light is used efficiently, only when it is needed. This maximizes brightness and system efficiency while reducing heat. The net result is a lower system cost with higher brightness and larger color gamuts that far exceed those possible by traditional systems utilizing other common illumination sources.

As LED technology developments continue to improve brightness and reliability, LED illumination may become more of a mainstream light source for many future applications. Future developments will be able to take further advantage of the fast LED switching time to improve video performance, enhance contrast without opto-mechanical components, and create adjustable color gamuts that far exceed the possibilities of traditional illumination sources. New products will soon benefit from these fundamental capabilities providing new, unique designs that offer instant on, better colors, and overall better picture using the speed of DLP micromirror arrays. With the advantages of LED and DLP technologies working together, it is expected that DLP HDTVs will provide even better performance with better reliability far exceeding any existing DLP HDTV product.

Reference:

http://www.eetchina.com/ARTICLES/2006AUG/PDF/167_LED_TV_white_paper.pdf?SOURCES=DOWNLOAD

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