Non-telecentric emissive micro-pixel array light modulators and methods of fabrication thereof
First Claim
1. A non-telecentric emissive micro-pixel array light modulator comprising:
- a control layer;
pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers stacked above the control layer and controllable from the control layer to emit at least partially collimated, pixelated light that is modulated chromatically and temporally; and
a directional modulation layer of optical elements above the pixelated multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers, each optical element to directionally modulate light coupled onto it from a corresponding pixel to a respective direction relative to an axis perpendicular to the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers;
wherein the directional modulation layer is comprised of pixel level refractive micro optical elements in the form of de-centered micro lenses of successive layers of dielectric materials with different indexes of refraction.
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Abstract
Emissive micro-pixel spatial light modulators with non-telecentric emission are introduced. The individual light emission from each multi-color micro-scale emissive pixel is directionally modulated in a unique direction to enable application-specific non-telecentric emission pattern from the micro-pixel array of the emissive spatial light modulator. Design methods for directionally modulating the light emission of the individual micro-pixels using micro-pixel level optics are described. Monolithic wafer level optics methods for fabricating the micro-pixel level optics are also described. An emissive multi-color micro-pixel spatial light modulator with non-telecentric emission is used to exemplify the methods and possible applications of the present invention: ultra-compact image projector, minimal cross-talk 3D light field display, multi-view 2D display, and directionally modulated waveguide optics for see-through near-eye displays.
274 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A non-telecentric emissive micro-pixel array light modulator comprising:
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a control layer; pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers stacked above the control layer and controllable from the control layer to emit at least partially collimated, pixelated light that is modulated chromatically and temporally; and a directional modulation layer of optical elements above the pixelated multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers, each optical element to directionally modulate light coupled onto it from a corresponding pixel to a respective direction relative to an axis perpendicular to the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers; wherein the directional modulation layer is comprised of pixel level refractive micro optical elements in the form of de-centered micro lenses of successive layers of dielectric materials with different indexes of refraction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19)
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15. A non-telecentric emissive micro-pixel array light modulator comprising:
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a control layer; pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers stacked above the control layer and controllable from the control layer to emit at least partially collimated, pixelated light that is modulated chromatically and temporally; and a directional modulation layer of optical elements above the pixelated multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers, each optical element to directionally modulate light coupled onto it from a corresponding pixel to a respective direction relative to an axis perpendicular to the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers; wherein the directional modulation layer is comprised of pixel level refractive micro optical elements in the form of tilted micro lenses of successive layers of dielectric materials with different indexes of refraction.
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16. A non-telecentric emissive micro-pixel array light modulator comprising:
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a control layer; pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers stacked above the control layer and controllable from the control layer to emit at least partially collimated, pixelated light that is modulated chromatically and temporally; and a directional modulation layer of optical elements above the pixelated multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers, each optical element to directionally modulate light coupled onto it from a corresponding pixel to a respective direction relative to an axis perpendicular to the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers; wherein; the pixilated light emitted by the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers is at least partially collimated by a waveguide for each pixel emitting the light from each of the stacked layers of the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers; each optical element of the directional modulation layer is a Fourier lens; centers of each optical element of the directional modulation layer are aligned with a respective pixel of the pixelated, multiple color emission III/V semiconductor layers; and the position of the waveguides, each with respect to a respective optical element, is spatially modulated to provide a desired directional modulation pattern.
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Specification