Great turnout for Dr. Neil Pschirer’s presentation at the Photonics West conference in San Francisco. We were not surprised. His talk focused on the processability advantages of our high index nanocomposite materials in high-volume manufacturing, which is a hot topic for customers. It cited performance data from our most recent work with valued manufacturing partner EV Group*, making it even more interesting for attendees.
Dr. Neil Pschirer takes the stage at Photonics West 2024
Since joining us last year as VP of Product Development & Strategy, Neil has strengthened our innovation programs and focused our product strategy to enable customers’ extended reality device designs and other applications. We were proud that he represented Pixelligent at the show.
With fresh insights on the innovation trends that dominated the show and a host of engaging discussions with customers and partners, we asked him to share what he observed with Pixelligent’s Blog Staffer (PBS). Enjoy the read.
PBS: Why is Photonics West a top conference on Pixelligent’s calendar?
NP: Photonics West is one of the world’s largest gatherings of leading-edge optoelectronics experts. And now, with the surging popularity of extended reality displays, SPIE hosts a parallel AR/MR/VR event. This event features presentations from companies across the value chain – from leading consumer electronics giants to key technology providers focused on optical components, including displays and sensors. It’s a big attraction for companies like Pixelligent that offer next-gen technology solutions to enable AR/MR/VR products.
PBS: Tell us about your talk. What details resonated especially with attendees?
NP: With XR devices well beyond a cool concept and now in the hands of consumers, leading companies want access to the latest materials to enable their next-gen XR headgear. Pixelligent’s materials are taking it a step further, making the experience fully immersive with a high Field-of View (FoV). But that is just the start. Customers are especially keen to know about processability in high-volume manufacturing.
We showed that our materials are the easiest in the industry to use, increasing production yields, and thereby enabling a lower manufacturing cost. We call this having a large process window and it is essential for bringing this technology to scale. That is why I focused my talk on this important topic.
Beyond that, it also gave me an opportunity to expand on Pixelligent’s in-house manufacturing capabilities. For a young company like ours, scalability is always top of mind for customers. They want assurance that their vendors can reliably supply products in high volume with the highest quality and with acceptable lead times. That is what we are doing at our manufacturing facility in Baltimore.
PBS: What were the top questions following your talk?
NP: This is a very sophisticated audience with a keen understanding of materials and their enabling role in next-gen products. Questions were sharp and centered on how we achieved the improvements in processability from a formulation standpoint. This focused our discussions on tunability. I explained that by tuning specific components in the formulations, customers can achieve measurable gains in performance, reliability and even manufacturability. This tunable capability is a unique advantage of Pixelligent’s offerings and one that’s drawing a lot of interest.
Dr. Neil Pschirer lists the processability advantages of Pixelligent’s formulations for next-gen XR devices.
PBS: What’s the next event on Pixelligent’s calendar?
NP: Display Week is the big one. It will take us back to the Bay Area (San Jose) in May. We’ll have a large presence there. In fact, our VP of Sales, Jeff Anderson, will moderate a panel featuring start-up CEOs discussing the challenges and opportunities of emerging companies in today’s display industry.
*We recently published a white paper expanding on the topic addressed by Neil. Our friends at EV Group kindly participated. To get a copy, please contact Alex Everett at aeverett@pixelligent.com.