PROJECTION DISPLAYS: Airport showcases laser display

Installed at the Manchester, NH, airport, the latest version of the ColorVision large-screen laser display manufactured by the Corporation for Laser Optics Research (COLOR; Portsmouth, NH) measures 7.5 × 10 ft. The display features improved stability and higher light powers delivered to the screen than its previous units (see Laser Focus World, Oct. 1995, p. 43). Larger displays can be formed by matrixing arrays of multiple screens.

Three flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG lasers are used to produce the primary red, green, and blue beams that are scanned and pulsed across the screen to create rear-projected images with unlimited viewing angles from the front. Red output (615 nm) at 10 W is generated by pumping a dye laser; 532-nm, 12-W green output is generated by frequency-doubling the Nd:YAG fundamental; and 450-nm, 5.1-W blue output is produced with a new type-I beta barium borate (BBO) crystal doubler that frequency-doubles the output of a Ti:sapphire laser tuned to 900 nm and pumped by one of the Nd:YAG devices. Previous versions of the blue laser used a single type-I lithium triborate (LBO) doubling crystal.

The display is distortion-free despite baggage-conveyor space restrictions that dictated the use of a folding mirror in the behind-the-wall installation instead of direct projection onto the screen. The laser beams are contained within a specially built accessible enclosure for Class I safety within the baggage-handling area, while the flashlamp-cooling chiller and power-distribution panel are in the open. The laser projection unit is also radio-frequency shielded to preclude any interference with air-traffic-control systems at the airport.

The airport display will be used to show cable news programming and promotional features for the state and local area. The company is negotiating with facilities, mostly sports arenas, throughout the eastern USA for possible installations.