Diffraction grating, method of making and method of using
First Claim
1. A diffraction grating device comprising:
- first and second sets of elements, the first set of elements extending toward and being interdigitated with the second set of elements so that each element of the first set of elements defines an element pair with an immediately adjacent element of the second set of elements, and so that a first gap is defined between the elements of each element pair and a second gap is defined between each adjacent pair of element pairs;
means for moving the elements of the element pairs toward and away from each other to decrease and increase, respectively, the first gaps and to increase and decrease, respectively, the second gaps; and
means for projecting radiation toward the elements to produce diffracted radiation of at least one wavelength.
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Abstract
A diffraction grating device operable as a reflection or transmission grating, and a method of manufacturing and using any number of such grating devices so that each device is individually electrically addressable to diffract radiation of different wavelengths. The grating device comprises first and second sets of interdigitated elements so that each element of the first set defines an element pair with an immediately adjacent element of the second set, a first gap is defined between the elements of each element pair, and a second gap is defined between each adjacent pair of element pairs. The elements of an element pair are selectively movable toward and away from each other. As such, the widths of the gaps can be selectively sized to diffract radiation of a desired wavelength.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A diffraction grating device comprising:
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first and second sets of elements, the first set of elements extending toward and being interdigitated with the second set of elements so that each element of the first set of elements defines an element pair with an immediately adjacent element of the second set of elements, and so that a first gap is defined between the elements of each element pair and a second gap is defined between each adjacent pair of element pairs;
means for moving the elements of the element pairs toward and away from each other to decrease and increase, respectively, the first gaps and to increase and decrease, respectively, the second gaps; and
means for projecting radiation toward the elements to produce diffracted radiation of at least one wavelength. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A variable diffraction grating device of a reconfigurable color image source, the variable diffraction grating device comprising:
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a first set of elements extending toward and being parallel and interdigitated with a second set of elements, each element of the first set of elements defining an element pair with an immediately adjacent element of the second set of elements, a first gap being defined between the elements of each element pair, a second gap being defined between each adjacent pair of element pairs, the elements of each element pair comprising capacitive plates;
means for charging the capacitive plates so as to move the elements of the element pairs toward and away from each other to decrease and increase, respectively, the first gaps and to increase and decrease, respectively, the second gaps; and
means for projecting radiation at an angle relative to the first and second sets of elements, so that radiation is diffracted at two different wavelengths by reflection off of the first and second sets of elements, the second gaps being sized so that at least one of the two different wavelengths is in the visible light spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of diffracting radiation, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a diffraction grating device comprising first and second sets of elements, the first set of elements extending toward and being interdigitated with the second set of elements so that each element of the first set of elements defines an element pair with an immediately adjacent element of the second set of elements, and so that a first gap is defined between the elements of each element pair and a second gap is defined between each adjacent pair of element pairs;
moving the elements of the element pairs toward and away from each other to increase and decrease, respectively, the second gaps therebetween; and
projecting radiation toward the elements to produce diffracted radiation of at least one wavelength. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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- 45. A method of manufacturing a diffraction grating device, the method comprising the step of etching a layer overlying a cavity in a surface of a substrate to form trenches that delineate first and second sets of elements, the first set of elements extending toward and being interdigitated with the second set of elements so that each element of the first set of elements defines an element pair with an immediately adjacent element of the second set of elements, and so that a first gap is defined between the elements of each element pair and a second gap is defined between each adjacent pair of element pairs, the elements of the element pairs being movable relative to each other in directions toward and away from each other to decrease and increase, respectively, the first gaps and to increase and decrease, respectively, the second gaps.
Specification