Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hartman Schneider from Vitrealab presents the company's laser-LCOS light engines, designed to replace traditional LED-based illumination in LCOS systems for AR smart glasses. The core of their technology is the Quantum Light Chip (QLC), a photonic integrated circuit. This component is a piece of display glass with light channels inscribed by a femtosecond laser. Laser diodes are coupled to the edge of the chip, and the QLC directs the light to form an array of laser beams that illuminate the LCOS microdisplay.
---
HDMI® Technology is the foundation for the worldwide ecosystem of HDMI-connected devices; integrated with displays, set-top boxes, laptops, audio video receivers and other product types. Because of this global usage, manufacturers, resellers, integrators and consumers must be assured that their HDMI® products work seamlessly together and deliver the best possible performance by sourcing products from licensed HDMI Adopters or authorized resellers. For HDMI Cables, consumers can look for the official HDMI® Cable Certification Labels on packaging. Innovation continues with the latest HDMI 2.2 Specification that supports higher 96Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology to provide optimal audio and video for a wide range of device applications. Higher resolutions and refresh rates are supported, including up to 12K@120 and 16K@60. Additionally, more high-quality options are supported, including uncompressed full chroma formats such as 8K@60/4:4:4 and 4K@240/4:4:4 at 10-bit and 12-bit color.
---
This laser-based approach offers several key advantages over conventional LED light sources, including higher brightness, greater power efficiency, an expanded color gamut, and a smaller overall light engine size. Vitrealab is targeting an efficiency of 10 lumens per watt, which is two to three times higher than existing LCOS light engines. The system also produces polarized light, which can double the efficiency of compatible waveguides compared to unpolarized light sources.
On display at the event is the company's fifth-generation prototype, available in both monochrome green and full-color versions. The current demonstration unit achieves a brightness of four lumens. The next major step for Vitrealab is miniaturization. The company is working to reduce the light engine to a volume of 0.5cc for a 30-degree field-of-view, with this milestone expected within a few months.
For optimal performance, the light engine requires waveguides customized for its specific characteristics, such as narrow bandwidth laser light and a small pupil size. Most existing waveguides are designed for the larger pupils of LED sources. Vitrealab is actively collaborating with an unnamed waveguide partner to develop a customized solution and is in discussions with other waveguide manufacturers to ensure high image quality and uniformity in future AR devices.
The system architecture involves the QLC creating an illumination field that passes through a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) to the LCOS panel. The LCOS modulates the light to create an image, which is then reflected back and guided out of the engine by the PBS. This technology is positioned to meet the increasing demands for brightness and efficiency, particularly for AR applications moving towards wider fields of view and more immersive, high APL (Average Picture Level) content.
Hartman Schneider from Vitrealab presents the company's laser-LCOS light engines, designed to replace traditional LED-based illumination in LCOS systems for AR smart glasses. The core of their technology is the Quantum Light Chip (QLC), a photonic integrated circuit. This component is a piece of display glass with light channels inscribed by a femtosecond laser. Laser diodes are coupled to the edge of the chip, and the QLC directs the light to form an array of laser beams that illuminate the LCOS microdisplay.
---
HDMI® Technology is the foundation for the worldwide ecosystem of HDMI-connected devices; integrated with displays, set-top boxes, laptops, audio video receivers and other product types. Because of this global usage, manufacturers, resellers, integrators and consumers must be assured that their HDMI® products work seamlessly together and deliver the best possible performance by sourcing products from licensed HDMI Adopters or authorized resellers. For HDMI Cables, consumers can look for the official HDMI® Cable Certification Labels on packaging. Innovation continues with the latest HDMI 2.2 Specification that supports higher 96Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI Fixed Rate Link technology to provide optimal audio and video for a wide range of device applications. Higher resolutions and refresh rates are supported, including up to 12K@120 and 16K@60. Additionally, more high-quality options are supported, including uncompressed full chroma formats such as 8K@60/4:4:4 and 4K@240/4:4:4 at 10-bit and 12-bit color.
---
This laser-based approach offers several key advantages over conventional LED light sources, including higher brightness, greater power efficiency, an expanded color gamut, and a smaller overall light engine size. Vitrealab is targeting an efficiency of 10 lumens per watt, which is two to three times higher than existing LCOS light engines. The system also produces polarized light, which can double the efficiency of compatible waveguides compared to unpolarized light sources.
On display at the event is the company's fifth-generation prototype, available in both monochrome green and full-color versions. The current demonstration unit achieves a brightness of four lumens. The next major step for Vitrealab is miniaturization. The company is working to reduce the light engine to a volume of 0.5cc for a 30-degree field-of-view, with this milestone expected within a few months.
For optimal performance, the light engine requires waveguides customized for its specific characteristics, such as narrow bandwidth laser light and a small pupil size. Most existing waveguides are designed for the larger pupils of LED sources. Vitrealab is actively collaborating with an unnamed waveguide partner to develop a customized solution and is in discussions with other waveguide manufacturers to ensure high image quality and uniformity in future AR devices.
The system architecture involves the QLC creating an illumination field that passes through a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) to the LCOS panel. The LCOS modulates the light to create an image, which is then reflected back and guided out of the engine by the PBS. This technology is positioned to meet the increasing demands for brightness and efficiency, particularly for AR applications moving towards wider fields of view and more immersive, high APL (Average Picture Level) content.
