Eye-safety analysis of current laser-based LCOS projection systems

A laser safety analysis for liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) based imaging projection systems utilizing laser light sources is presented. It is shown that a typical laser-based imaging projector is capable of providing a D65 white-balanced luminous flux in excess of 20 lm while remaining Class 1 eye safe. By considering a Class 2 classification, it is shown that the same architecture is capable of providing several hundred lumens, a performance level which could potentially be applicable to a new class of high-brightness miniature projection systems.