Infrared scene projector with per-pixel spectral and polarisation capability

• US 10,267,997 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2015
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Wehner, Justin Gordon Adams, Smith, Duane D., Smith, Edward Peter Gordon, Kennedy, Adam M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Jack
• Application Number:
  US14/938,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20170131475A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 359267
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/045 Sealings; Vacuum enclosures; Encapsulated packages; Wafer bonding structures; Getter arrangements getter arrangements per se H01L23/26 and H01L21/3221
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0831 Masks; Aperture plates; Spatial light modulators
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/53 Reference sources, e.g. standard lamps; Black bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29358 Multiple beam interferometer external to a light guide, e.g. Fabry-Pérot, etalon, VIPA plate, OTDL plate, continuous interferometer, parallel plate resonator G02B6/29347, G02B6/29349, G02B6/2935, G02B6/29361 take precedence; resonator evanescently coupled to light guide G02B6/29335
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29389 Bandpass filtering, e.g. 1x1 device rejecting or passing certain wavelengths G02B6/2938 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29395 configurable, e.g. tunable or reconfigurable switching G02B6/35
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/157 Structural association of cells with optical devices, e.g. reflectors or illuminating devices
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2203/11 involving infrared radiation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/00 Devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor or other solid-state components formed in or on a common substrate details thereof H01L23/00, H01L29/00 - H10K10/00; assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual solid state devices H01L25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 28/00 Passive two-terminal components without a potential-jump or surface barrier for integrated circuits; Details thereof; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor testing or measuring during manufacture H01L22/00; integration methods H01L21/70; integrated circuits H01L27/00; two-terminal components with a potential-jump or surface barrier H01L29/00; resistors in general H01C; inductors in general H01F; capacitors in general H01G
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/002 for television cameras

Abstract

A scene projector including an array of light emitting pixels, a tunable filter element, and a spatial light modulator. The tunable filter element is optically coupled to the array of light emitting pixels such that light emitted from the array of light emitting pixels is passed through the tunable filter element as filtered light. The spatial light modulator is optically coupled to the array of light emitting pixels and is configured to generate transmitted light by interacting with the filtered light to control at least one of an amplitude, a phase, and a polarization of the filtered light.

Claims

1. A scene projector, comprising:

an array of light emitting pixels disposed on a substrate;

a tunable filter element optically coupled to the array of light emitting pixels such that light emitted from the array of light emitting pixels is passed through the tunable filter element as filtered light;

a light source; and

a spatial light modulator optically coupled to the array of light emitting pixels and the light source and configured to control a polarization of the filtered light and at least one of an amplitude and a phase of the filtered light to generate transmitted light by projecting at least one optical pattern using the light source such that the filtered light is passed through the at least one optical pattern as the transmitted light.

2. The scene projector of claim 1, wherein the tunable filter element is optically coupled to each pixel of the array of light emitting pixels and is configured to pass a predetermined range of wavelengths of light emitted from each pixel as the filtered light.

3. The scene projector of claim 2, wherein the tunable filter element is a tunable Fabry-Perot filter.

4. The scene projector of claim 1, wherein the at least one optical pattern is a sub-wavelength grating configured to polarize the filtered light to produce polarized transmitted light.

5. The scene projector of claim 1, wherein the array of light emitting pixels are configured to emit light in a range of infrared wavelengths.

6. The scene projector of claim 1, further comprising drive electronics coupled to the array of light emitting pixels and configured to actuate each pixel of the array of light emitting pixels.

7. An infrared scene projector system, comprising:

a wafer level package including an array of infrared light emitting pixels disposed on a substrate, a transmissive cover coupled to the substrate to form a cavity between an inner surface of the transmissive cover and the substrate, and a tunable filter element disposed in the cavity between the array of infrared light emitting pixels and the transmissive cover; and

a spatial light modulator configured to control a polarization and at least one of an amplitude and a phase of light emitted from the transmissive cover by projecting at least one optical pattern onto an outer surface of the transmissive cover, wherein the at least one optical pattern is a polarizing pattern, an amplitude varying pattern, or a phase shifting pattern.

8. The infrared scene projector of claim 7, wherein the tunable filter element is attached to the inner surface of the transmissive cover.

9. The infrared scene projector of claim 7, wherein the tunable filter element is integrated with the array of infrared light emitting pixels.

10. The infrared scene projector of claim 7, wherein the tunable filter element is rapidly tunable over a range of infrared frequencies and is configured to selectively filter light emitted by each pixel of the array of infrared light emitting pixels.

11. The infrared scene projector of claim 7, wherein the at least one optical pattern includes a plurality of optical patterns, each optical pattern of the plurality of optical patterns aligned with at least one pixel of the array of infrared light emitting pixels.

12. The infrared scene projector of claim 7, wherein the at least one optical pattern is a sub-wavelength grating.

13. The infrared scene projector of claim 7, further comprising a controller configured to selectively activate at least one of a pixel of the array of infrared light emitting pixels, the tunable filter element, and the spatial light modulator.

14. A method for projecting an infrared scene, comprising:

providing infrared light emitted from an array of infrared light emitting pixels;

filtering the infrared light emitted from the an array of infrared light emitting pixels to emit filtered infrared light of a predetermined range of wavelengths;

projecting an optical pattern with a spatial light modulator using a light source; and

passing the filtered infrared light through the optical pattern to control a polarization and at least one of a phase and an amplitude of the filtered infrared light of the predetermined range of wavelengths to generate transmitted light.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein filtering includes introducing the emitted infrared light to a tunable filter element.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising actuating each pixel of the array of light emitting pixels using drive electronics coupled to the array of light emitting pixels.