WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kopin® Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), a leading developer and provider of high-resolution microdisplays and display subassemblies for defense, enterprise, consumer and medical products, announced today it has developed a new all-plastic Pancake® optics for its new-generation 1.3” 2.6K x 2.6K Lightning® organic light emitting diode (OLED) microdisplay with outstanding performance for virtual reality (VR) applications. The new Pancake optics (named P80) enables the design of compact, lightweight, stylish VR glasses that are comfortable to wear for extended hours with no need for adjustment, even for people who wear eyeglasses. The P80 Pancake optics provides a very sharp, 77° field-of-view (FOV) image with very long (23 mm) eye relief and large (12-mm-diameter) eye box. Kopin previously announced the world’s first all-plastic Pancake optics with 95° FOV but with a smaller eye relief and eye box.
Pancake optics, compared to other optics designs, can provide far superior magnified image quality in a much thinner form factor, especially for VR headset products with FOV ranging from 50° to 100°. However, previous Pancake optics needed at least one spherical glass lens to avoid image artifacts caused by birefringence of plastic materials, but this spherical glass lens added both weight and cost to the lens system as well as reduced optical design flexibilities compared to aspherical plastic lens. Kopin’s patent-pending two-element Pancake optics design, together with processes to make aspherical plastic lenses with virtually no birefringence, has provided much better image quality, much smaller size, lighter weight and lower cost than anything previously available.
Kopin's P80 all-plastic Pancake optics, optimized for Kopin’s world-leading 1.3" 2.6K x 2.6K organic light emitting diode (OLED) microdisplay (2560 x 2560 resolution), provides an extremely sharp image with excellent modular transfer function even out to the edge of the field of view, a critical and difficult to achieve performance feature for VR applications. Combined with Kopin's 2.6K x 2.6K high-brightness OLED microdisplay, the P80 pancake optics provides a virtual image equivalent to a 180-inch-diagonal display viewed from a 3-meter distance. With the same display operated in a 16: 9 mode, the FOV is 65° (equivalent to 150” TV viewed from a 3-m distance).
The new-generation 1.3”-diagonal 2.6K x 2.6K OLED display on chip (DoC®) is designed with Kopin's extensively patented backplane architecture that reduces power consumption and delivers very high frame rates up to 120 Hz and color control up to 10 bits (30 full-color bits). Utilizing its patent-pending ColorMax® technology, Kopin has been working with its partner, Lakeside Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd., to optimize the duo-stack OLED structure to output color spectrum to match the bandpass of the color filters for high color fidelity (> 100% sRGB), coupled with very high Current Efficiency for high brightness (> 1000 nits). The 30-bit color control, together with the high color fidelity, high brightness and high contrast ratio (> 10,000: 1), enables the much-desired studio-quality, high-dynamic-range (HDR) VR experience. Kopin’s 2.6K x 2.6K OLED fully integrated on Si is the world’s largest DoC with unmatched performance.
“It has been our long-term objective to provide critical components for VR headsets which are thin, lightweight, and easy to use – just put it on and no fuss, like regular eyeglasses,” said Dr. John C.C. Fan, CEO and founder of Kopin Corporation. “Our novel P80 all-plastic Pancake optics combined with our new-generation 2.6K x 2.6K OLED microdisplay almost meet such requirements. We understand somewhat smaller FOV is a little curve ball – most folks aim for as large image as possible. However, we believe in the importance of ‘Human First’. We plan on offering our new optics as either a stand-alone component or in a module with our OLED microdisplays. Our all-plastic Pancake optics with very long eye relief and large eye box combined with our outstanding OLED microdisplay that has wonderful color, 120 Hz operation and 10-bit color control could spearhead a new era of VR glasses.”
The P80 Pancake optics with 2.6K x 2.6K OLED display will be shown on January 6th (6:00-8:30 pm) at Kopin’s suite at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino during the reception and Fireside Chat (7:00pm) with Dr. Fan and Chris Chinnock (Insight Media, Inc. & 8K Association) about their perspectives of the Metaverse.
About Kopin Corporation
Kopin Corporation is a leading developer and provider of innovative display and optical technologies sold as critical components and subassemblies for military, industrial and consumer products. Kopin's technology portfolio includes ultra-small Active Matrix Liquid Crystal displays (AMLCD), Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS) displays and Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays, a variety of optics, and low-power ASICs. For more information, please visit Kopin's website at www.kopin.com.
About Lakeside Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd.
Lakeside photoelectric technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. is an OLED technology developer and OLED micro display manufacturer having a factory in Changzhou, China. For more information, please visit Lakeside's website at www.hupanoled.com.
Kopin, ColorMax, DoC, Lightning and Pancake are registered trademarks of Kopin Corporation.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), which are subject to the safe harbor created by such sections. Words such as "expects," "believes," "can," "will," "estimates," and variations of such words and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such "forward-looking statements," which speak only as of the date made, and advise readers that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions by us that are difficult to predict. These forward-looking statements may include statements with respect to: our relationship with Lakeside Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd., to optimize the duo-stack OLED structure to output color spectrum to match the bandpass of the color filters for high color fidelity: and our plan to offer our new optics as either a stand-alone component or in a module with our OLED microdisplays. Various factors, some of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by us or on our behalf, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements that may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as may otherwise be required by the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Important factors that could affect performance and cause results to differ materially from management's expectations are described in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors; Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; and other parts of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 26, 2020, or as updated from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.