Skip to main content
Society
Main Category
Era
Date Created
Location Country
us
Coordinates
33.063421, -96.69591
Address1
DLP(r) Demo Center
Address2
6550 Chase Oaks Boulevard
City
Plano
State
Country
Zip
The Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) was recognized as an ASME Mechanical Engineering Historic Landmark in 2008. Its development began in 1977 with the forming of a small team at Texas Instruments headed by noted physicist Larry Hornbeck. Texas Instruments was given a project from the Department of Defense to create a device that could modulate light. Through years of research and development Hornbeck came up with an idea to use micromirrors as a sort of on-off switch to modulate digital light pulses. DMD - DLP Cinema ProjectorIn 1987, the first Digital Micromirror Device was created at Texas Instruments. Hornbeck was granted the first patent for the DMD design in 1991. This initial design was the basis for current Digital Micromirror Devices. Soon, Digital Micromirror Device chips were incorporated into Digital Light Processing (DLP) projectors. Each micromirror in a DMD represented 1 pixel in a projected image. The DLP projectors included either one or three DMD chips and weighed in under two pounds, less than half the weight of previous projectors. DLP projectors were incorporated into many companies’ offices, modernizing the conference room. The DLP projector, made possible by the Digital Micromirror Device, also impacted the movie industry. Reels of film used in old projectors became obsolete with the introduction of DLP projectors. The Digital Micromirror Device changed the projection and film industry forever. Researchers continue to develop DMD technology and explore its future uses in a variety of fields.
Image Credit
Courtesy Wikipedia/Adpowers (CC BY-SA 1.0)
Image Caption
Picture of DLP chip used in a digital projector at the Cinerama in Seattle

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.