Texas Instruments has launched a 0.67-inch DLP 4K UHD chip for video projectors, based on the popular DLP Cinema technology now used in many projectors. The DLP 4K UHD chipset combines the fast switching speed of a digital micromirror device (DMD) with advanced image processing.
 
A DLP chip has a large array of aluminum micromirrors. Each little mirror is a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) whose state is determined by the electrical input signal. The micromirrors can move very quickly to modulate the incident light, thereby projecting a complete image with HD or even higher resolution. Each pixel of the image is reproduced by a single micromirror.
 
The new DLP 4K UHD chip operates at a very high switching speed, with each micromirror switching over 9,000 times per second. This makes it possible for each micromirror to reproduce two separate pixels. This way 8 million pixels per frame can be generated with just 4 million micromirrors.
 
This new chip enables the implementation of single-chip video projectors with high resolution and high brightness at an affordable price for the mass market. The new DLP chip will be available in the spring of 2016.