Color uniformity in compact LED illumination for DMD projectors

We present compact illumination engines for DMD projection systems making use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources. The impact of uniformization optics and color-combining dichroic filters is investigated with respect to the color uniformity on the screen. PhlatLight LEDs are considered as light sources because of their superior luminance levels. Also PhotonVacuum optics are used to collimate and transform the emitted LED light distribution. The optical engines are simulated with advanced non-sequential ray tracing software. They are evaluated on the basis of ´etendue efficiency, compactness and color uniformity of the projected images. Color plots are used as tools to investigate the simulated color gradients in the image. To validate our simulation models, we have built a compact prototype LED projector. Its color-related specifications are compared with the simulated values