I wonder if this has implications for custom home chips/prototyping. I'm sure a big issue is vibrations but something like this could remove the need for masks at least. (again, not my area so I am clobbering terminology I am sure). It may open up home fab capabilities.
I think abusing a write-off electron microscope to side step the need for masks is also an interesting idea, however, I believe acquiring wafers of sufficient quality and depositing layers to be etched could be the bigger challenge here.
This reminds me of the original patents that Magic Leap had, which involved pumping light through a single optical fiber that was wiggled by piezoelectrics into a spiral to project light (https://kguttag.com/2018/01/06/magic-leap-fiber-scanning-dis...).
Seems what it is, but with a "waveguide" instead of an "optical fiber" wiggling about. Seems like a sneaky use of the word "projection" though, since the "surface" the image is "projected" onto is just what the flopping waveguide head traces.
> The chip projected a roughly 125-micrometer image of the Mona Lisa.
This may seem small (barely visible as a dot to the naked eye), but that's also the geometric mean of the Planck length and the diameter of the observable universe. So average size actually.
They mean 125um = sqrt(ab), where a is the Planck length and b the size of the observable universe (I didn't verify). Implying, 125um is some sort of middle ground.
*Often said to be the smallest length with physical meaning.
I wonder if this has implications for custom home chips/prototyping. I'm sure a big issue is vibrations but something like this could remove the need for masks at least. (again, not my area so I am clobbering terminology I am sure). It may open up home fab capabilities.
I think abusing a write-off electron microscope to side step the need for masks is also an interesting idea, however, I believe acquiring wafers of sufficient quality and depositing layers to be etched could be the bigger challenge here.
And the clean environment as a whole. That's a massive investment and there are a million ways to mess that up.
In general, hobby photo-lithography projects already use DMD/DLP projectors, and some inexpensive optics.
Huygens Optics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w0Z2Y5vaAQ
Sam Zeloof:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxz_ENnmgtI
In general, getting vanity silicon made is usually much less expensive than trying to bootstrap a fab line. =3
This reminds me of the original patents that Magic Leap had, which involved pumping light through a single optical fiber that was wiggled by piezoelectrics into a spiral to project light (https://kguttag.com/2018/01/06/magic-leap-fiber-scanning-dis...).
Seems what it is, but with a "waveguide" instead of an "optical fiber" wiggling about. Seems like a sneaky use of the word "projection" though, since the "surface" the image is "projected" onto is just what the flopping waveguide head traces.
Sounds like this will have interesting fiber-optic implications?
This might be relevant for Augmented Reality headgear.
What is this, a movie theater for ants?
It has to be at least 3 times bigger than this!
or AR glasses?
We can finally say yes to this question
> The chip projected a roughly 125-micrometer image of the Mona Lisa.
This may seem small (barely visible as a dot to the naked eye), but that's also the geometric mean of the Planck length and the diameter of the observable universe. So average size actually.
I really can't follow your comment and I've been trying. Would you mind a longer explanation of what you're getting at here?
They mean 125um = sqrt(ab), where a is the Planck length and b the size of the observable universe (I didn't verify). Implying, 125um is some sort of middle ground. *Often said to be the smallest length with physical meaning.
How do you even fit a video projector onto something that small, the physics feel like they shouldn't cooperate.
This is actually getting close enough to manipulate the _phase_ of light! And doing that would allow creating true holograms.
Or alternative true augmented reality glasses that are not limited to one focal plane.
Have I got news for you:
https://www.rp-photonics.com/phase_modulators.html
Except that you need that for individual pixels.
Electro-optic modulators already exist — still no StarTrek. :(
Oh wait. It does have the correct title. My fruit flies are cheering.
Cool. Now I can show videos to my fruit flies! /s
Srsly title should be "MEMS Array Chip the Size of a Grain of Sand Can Project Video"
not
"MEMS Array Chip Can Project Video the Size of a Grain of Sand"
It is actually about a 0.125mm projection, not the size of the chip. But more about steering lasers, which is really what they wanted to do.
This is revolutionary. No other way to put it.
It certainly looks like something that will find novel applications.