Enschede, the Netherlands — Brilliance has secured a €2 million investment from PhotonVentures and Oost NL to develop laser engines for augmented reality glasses. Brilliance builds chips for laser projection in AR and VR, addressing the low resolution and high energy consumption that limit current devices.
The company uses patented photonic integrated circuit technology to create the smallest possible RGB laser module, projecting sharp, colourful images onto glass surfaces such as eyeglass lenses and car windows.
Miniaturization is the key to success in the development of AR glasses, because for ultimate wearing comfort, the devices must be as small as possible and preferably barely visible.
Tim Tiek, CEO, Brilliance
Tiek adds that extremely clear images are necessary, especially outdoors, while energy consumption must be kept to an absolute minimum — a dilemma the company resolves by producing the smallest and most efficient chip solution.
Investment for scale-up
Brilliance has demonstrated technical feasibility in prototype chips, using a flip-chip technique in which the laser chip is placed on its back against other advanced components. The design gives precise control over optical output properties, is compatible with advanced eye-tracking systems, and is durable by way of a hermetically sealed design with strategically placed electrical connections. Several producers of AR applications worldwide are testing the prototypes.
By using methods from the semiconductor and photonics industries, our module is also scalable into the volumes required for these markets.
Douwe Geuzebroek, CTO, Brilliance
Next comes the development of the current proof-of-concept generation into customer-specific prototypes, alongside the industrialisation of the production process in anticipation of future demand.
What the investors say
Our expertise within the integrated photonics sector allows us to recognize and foster the potential of innovations like Brilliance's laser chip.
Pieter Klinkert, partner, PhotonVentures
We have great confidence in the team at Brilliance and think they have a unique product on their hands to enhance the experience of AR and VR.
Jordy Schaufeli, senior investment manager Tech, Oost NL
A photonics ecosystem
The investment also strengthens the photonics ecosystem in Overijssel. More than a hundred researchers at the University of Twente work on photonics, and the region is home to LioniX International, QuiX, Superlight Photonics and PHIX Photonics Assembly.