With disco balls, light is reflected off mirrors. Similarly, laser lights are projected off mirrors and excite phosphors sitting on a special panel, which produces a quality of image on screen unknown to any other display technology on the market.

Laser Phosphor Displays

Roger Hajjar | Prysm

"The Future of Visual Marketing Rests with Laser Phosphor Displays"

How did the idea for LPD (Laser Phosphor Displays) come about?

When I was younger I was fascinated with light – both artificial and natural. This led me to start a backyard business selling mirrors taped to styrofoam balls, more commonly known as disco balls. As I grew older, my disco ball business became a little more complex, leveraging the use of light and electricity. By the time I immigrated to the U.S. and began attending Boston University, I had left the 80’s and my bell-bottoms back home, however, my obsession with light had traveled with me.

Some years later, while reading a research article about Los Alamos Laboratory’s use of phosphorus to make white light, I wondered whether this could be similarly applied to create the entire color spectrum. Thus, the early idea behind Laser Phosphor Displays (LPD) came about. 


In general terms, how does LPD work, compared to LED/LCD/projector?

With technologies like LED/LCD and projector based entities, images are projected onto a screen with the use of such materials as fluorescent lighting, backlit lighting and liquid crystals.

LPD uses a laser to excite specific phosphor molecules behind the visual layer, so images are formed on the screen, not behind and projected onto the screen. This is also a reason why LPD is never burdened with screen burn-in associated with traditional display  technologies.

In your words, what separates Prysm displays from, say, a Christie MicroTile?

Prysm is unique to the market most notably because we are the only company that owns the patents to the technology we employ, as well as having a manufacturing base completely out of the US – specifically Concord, Mass.

The benefit to this is that no company can compete with the quality of image and product Prysm’s LPD produces. Unlike Christie’s MicroTiles, which are an LED-based backlit display, and compete with other LED-based designs, we are the sole business in this industry using Laser Phosphor Display technology while also being the only company which manufactures their display technology right on our own backyard. 

How do you see the evolution of videowall technology playing out?

The videowall industry is still in its infancy and companies are only now beginning to understand the comprehensive benefits of digital displays. Futuresource Consulting recently projected the video wall market to grow upwards of 60 percent, which I believe is a rather modest figure. Nevertheless, if companies want to continue to compete in this space, their displays are going to need to continue to increase quality of image, decrease seam appearance, and promote sustainable practices.

For Prysm, we are already on the cutting edge of these three areas. Our displays provide the highest quality image, paying attention to brightness and color uniformity during the life of the display.

Prysm provides the smallest screen seams on the market, which are crucial to creating a lasting experience for the customer.

Our LPD displays use the same power as a hairdryer, using an average of one-third the power of legacy large format displays.

Beyond the technical aspects of this technology, more and more companies are beginning to see the advantages – both internal and external – of employing a video wall as the pinnacle of experience engagement for their customers.

What are some capabilities you would like to see LPD take on in the future?

In the future, I’d love to see LPD make it beyond the enterprise stream and into the personal realm.

When people at home are looking to put a Prysm display in their family room that will be the next frontier for our company and the technology.

Which vertical market has you the most excited about future LPD adoption?

I see the most potential and room for growth in the retail space. Major retail companies like Barney’s and American Eagle, have already employed Prysm’s displays to engage customers in a unique and meaningful way. This is a market we’re watching and working with closely!


About Roger Hajjar, PhD, CTO and Founder Prysm


Dr. Hajjar has registered more than 75 U.S. and worldwide patents and has a proven record

with Avanex Corporation and Vice President of Technology with Vitesse Semiconductor.
TeraStor Corporation and the Eastman Kodak Company.He also held research positions at
the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona and IBM’s T.J. Watson Research

Roger holds a Ph.D, M.S. in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona and a B.S. in

Electrical Engineering from Boston University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.

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