Voltage-controlled lasing pixels for projection display

A lasing pixel device that implements a low-voltage addressable spatially p atterned variable loss element placed inside an optically pumped high-gain laser cavity is studied experimentally. A polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) was used as the loss element. It was found to have high output (600 lumens/cm(2) at the device faceplate), very high on-screen contrast (1000: 1), and narrow spectral linewidth (similar to 3 nm), which make it potentia lly useful for a nonscanned laser projection display. A grayscale model of pixel output versus element loss was developed and compared favorably to me asurements. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)04231-4] .