On May 2nd, twelve innovators will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Among them are two former and one current employee of Texas Instruments. Larry Hornbeck, 66, is one of the former employees and is the inventor of the very first digital multi-mirror device, which is an array of tiny mirrors linked to a silicon chip. His invention became the birth of DLP display technology, which helped create some of the first digital movie projectors. Texas Instruments is the sole provider of DLP display technology. The display chip today is composed of up to two million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors. With a digital or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, the chips mirrors reflect the digital image onto a screen or other surface. “Texas Instruments is proud to provide an environment that fosters groundbreaking work and inventions that impact people’s lives,” chief executive Rich Templeton said.
[via Dallas Morning News]
http://www.aboutprojectors.com/news/2009/02/12/inventor-of-dlp-display-technology-gets-inducted-in-to-inventors-hall-of-fame/