OMNIVISION Launches a Next-Generation Single-Chip LCOS Display for AR, MR, and XR Glasses

Image sensor and display giant OMNIVISION has announced what it claims is the world's first fully-integrated single-chip liquid-crystal on silicon (LCOS) display panel, a low power device it's hoping will find a use in augmented, extended, and mixed reality (AR, XR, and MR) glasses.

"While the market for AR glasses is still in its infancy, there is growing interest among consumers. This has led OEMs to design more functionality into slim, fashionable designs that consume very little power and are lightweight, allowing them to be worn nearly 24/7," claims OMNIVISION's Devang Patel. "The OP03011 is the only single-chip solution that is designed in an ultra-compact format for applications requiring a smaller field of view and lower resolution, making it well suited for some of the sleekest, most innovatively designed AR glasses."

The OP03011 LCOS panel is built around a 0.14" optical format footprint with 3.8µm pixels, giving it an overall resolution of 648×648. Designed to communicate with a host controller over a single-lane MIPI Display Serial Interface (DSI) connector, the display is designed to overlay computer-generated imagery over normal vision — and offers a 120Hz refresh rate to support use-cases where the image is designed to smoothly track the movement of the real world beyond the display panel.

"The OP03011 supports applications of next-generation smart glasses, like displaying notifications in the user's field of view and access to GPS for maps and directions directly from the glasses," Patel claims of the company's suggested use-cases for the panel, "so the user never needs to pull out their smartphone."

OMNIVISION is now sampling the OP03011, with a view to entering mass production in the fourth quarter of 2023. Pricing has not been publicized, though interested parties can contact a sales representative to learn more.