Osram Joins Corning in Making Micro-Projector Green Lasers

Long hampered by tight supply and low yields of green lasers, Microvision is forecasting expanded production this year as it prepares for the first U.S. shipments of the ShowWX micro-projector, CEO Alexander Tokman told analysts in a conference call.

Microvision limited ShowWX shipments last fall to Australia and Spain as Corning struggled with green laser production yields. But with the recent addition of Osram as a second supplier, monthly green laser production doubled in January and February from Q4 to 1,000 units. That’s expected to increase to 5,000 units in Q2 and double again in Q3, he said. Monthly manufacturing will be 10,000 to 15,000 units in Q4, he said. The production of the lasers doesn’t equate to finished products, which are being assembled by Asia Optical, a Microvision spokesman said.

Microvision has ShowWX purchase orders “north of” 40,000 units and will start U.S. sales through its own Web site March 24. The ShowWx will be sold in the U.S. as a standalone product ($549) and in a limited edition set ($999) that has accessories including batteries and docking station. Corning and Osram have forecast “hundreds of thousands” of green lasers being available this year, Tokman said. An additional five to seven green laser suppliers are expected to be fielding product by second half 2011 when direct-emitting lasers are expected to available, Tokman said. The Corning and Osram green laser use frequency-doubling technology.

The shipments of MEMS-based micro-projectors began last fall, starting with distributors Mint Wireless in Australia and Device Plus, which sold the accessory device through Vodafone in Spain. Uniden was added as an OEM and is selling private accessory projectors in Australia. Microvision raised $33 million in a Q4 stock offering to expand distribution and production.

Microvision also is moving to shrink the size of the ShowWX’s PicoP display engine. In February, Microvision received the first ASICs from STMicroelectronics and Toshiba that will allow for a smaller engine that is due this year, Tokman said. The new engine measures 7 by 42 by 20, in contrast with the current 14 by 60 by 118 model. Microvision has projected “hundreds of thousands” of micro-projectors will ship this year using its PicoP engine, with a goal of embedding th technology in cellphones by year-end (CED Oct 29 p3).

Microvision’s Q4 net loss narrowed to $8.7 million from $9.8 million despite revenue shrinking to $971,000 from $1.52 million. Product sales rose to $496,000 from $418,000, while those from contracts fell to $475,000 from $1.1 million. Microvision ended Q4 with a $3.9 million revenue backlog, up from $1.5 million a year ago, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Wilson said. Net cash used in operating activities rose to $31.7 million from $31.2 million. The company ended Q4 with $45.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and investment securities.