Solid-state cooling on a chip vendor xMEMS Labs has rolled out what it claims is the world’s largest active micro fan targeted for augmented and extended reality smart glasses.
Dubbed XMC-1200, the device brings active cooling into slim, space-constrained form factors where conventional fans can’t fit. It manages thermal profiles at the source using xMEMS’ µCooling chip.
This allows smart glass vendors to create brighter and more stable displays in AR/XR vision applications. Additionally, it allows these glasses to achieve sustained processor performance, longer video recording sessions and improved comfort, the company said.
The micro cooling fan measures 46mm² and when paired with the Astra2 drive ASIC, it consumer just 70 mW of power to minimize battery life and delivers up to 10° C temperature reduction at a 1 W thermal load. xMEMS said this allows AR/XR devices to maintain performance without overheating or throttling.
“Glasses are colliding with a thermal wall, and the industry has been engineering around the problem instead of through it,” said Mike Housholder, VP and GM of the Thermal Management Business Unit at xMEMS. “Devices are getting hotter, and a rotary fan simply will not fit inside a temple arm – mechanically, acoustically, or thermodynamically. The XMC-1200 is the first active cooling device thin enough, quiet enough, and efficient enough to work where glasses electronics live.”
Thermal challenge
AR/XR applications are becoming more advanced with on-device AI, translation, assistant features and high-resolution video. All these features increase the thermal management profile of these devices, xMEMS said.
Simultaneously, smart glasses must remain thin, lightweight, quiet and cool as well as comfortable for all-day wear.
Targeted cooling helps to preserve visual performance over longer periods, the company said. Microdisplay LEDs and laser light sources can cause heat wavelengths to drift contributing to color bleed, white-point shifts and other image quality issues. The XMC-1200 reduces these inconsistencies by keeping the light sources in intended operating range.
