LEDs Shrink Displays

Microvision Inc. of Bothell, Wash., has completed the initial tests of its miniature retinal-scanning display. The device, which uses micromirrors to focus the output of three edge-emitting LEDs into the wearer's eye, will be distributed in a demonstration package to potential customers and partners.

Applications for the device will include portable Internet viewers, viewfinders for cameras and camcorders, and wearable screens for games and computers. The user perceives the images from the display as though viewing a computer screen at arm's length.

The work was supported by Cree Research Inc. of Durham, N.C., which supplied the LEDs under a multiyear development agreement.