Manufacturing of high performance, low cost dual mirror lamp reflector modules

The Lamp Reflector Module (LRM) is a key component in every micro display projection system, which has played a dominant role in the large-screen display market today.; The goal of this research is to (1) improve the Dual Mirror prototype's light output performance, (2) investigate the underlying principles of its slow output deterioration so as to help develop effective and efficient LRM thermal management for maximized lifetime performance, and (3) improve/enable low cost mass LRM manufacturing for the projection display market.; The first part of this research addresses the prototype's low output problem. More sophisticated 3D Optical Ray Tracing (ORT) models were generated to provide the output prediction depending on the arc gap, system collection etendue, etc. It was concluded that upgrading the manufacturing processes, particularly the reflector shape, surface and cold mirror coating, could effectively improve the output performance. Additionally, these theoretical models are shown to be used to design a LRM with 16% output gain for the consumer Rear Projection display market.; The second part of this research focuses on the issue of lifetime performance. The electrode, arc attachment and envelope evolution were monitored by camera systems. The upgraded ORT models confirmed the arc length insensitivity property of the Dual Mirror LRM being one of the major reasons for its longer native lifetime.; The third part of this research focuses on issues related to the entire LRM manufacturing. A series of quality control tools were developed to help implement manufacturing process optimization. LRMs made with the upgraded manufacturing processes showed about 25% output gain over the previous prototypes.; Based on the imaging property of the Dual Mirror LRM, a lower cost lamp reflector alignment method, called cold alignment, was developed. In this method, the etendue efficiency is maintained and a slower degrading and more stable lifetime output performance are achieved. In the end, a novel even lower cost LRM assembly process (generation III) was developed and its validity was verified by experiments. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...