COMPACT IMAGE PROJECTOR
First Claim
1. A device, comprising:
- a spatial light modulator (SLM);
a polarization beam splitter (PBS) optically coupled to the SLM;
a mirror optically coupled to the PBS; and
first and second quarter-wave plates, wherein;
the PBS is adapted to direct an input beam to the mirror;
the mirror is adapted to reflect the beam received from the PBS back to the PBS, wherein the first quarter-wave plate imparts on the reflected beam a first polarization that causes the PBS to direct said reflected beam to the SLM; and
the SLM is adapted to spatially modulate the beam received from the PBS and direct a resulting spatially modulated beam back to the PBS, wherein the second quarter-wave plate imparts on said spatially modulated beam a second polarization that causes the PBS to direct said spatially modulated beam to an output port to form an output beam.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A representative embodiment of the invention provides a compact image projector having a light source coupled to a spatial light modulator (SLM). The light source has a substantially planar structure. The overall size of the SLM is dominated by its length and/or width. The projector has an optical arrangement that enables the SLM to be oriented so that the SLM'"'"'s dominant dimensions are parallel to the plane of the light source. Due to this relative orientation of the SLM and light source, one of the dimensions of the image projector can be smaller than 12 mm, which advantageously enables incorporation of the projector into a hand-held electronic device, such as a cell phone, PDA, or media player.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A device, comprising:
-
a spatial light modulator (SLM); a polarization beam splitter (PBS) optically coupled to the SLM; a mirror optically coupled to the PBS; and first and second quarter-wave plates, wherein; the PBS is adapted to direct an input beam to the mirror; the mirror is adapted to reflect the beam received from the PBS back to the PBS, wherein the first quarter-wave plate imparts on the reflected beam a first polarization that causes the PBS to direct said reflected beam to the SLM; and the SLM is adapted to spatially modulate the beam received from the PBS and direct a resulting spatially modulated beam back to the PBS, wherein the second quarter-wave plate imparts on said spatially modulated beam a second polarization that causes the PBS to direct said spatially modulated beam to an output port to form an output beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method of spatially modulating a beam of light, comprising:
-
directing an input beam to a mirror using a polarization beam splitter (PBS); reflecting the beam received from the PBS back to the PBS using said mirror, wherein a first quarter-wave plate imparts on the reflected beam a first polarization that causes the PBS to direct said reflected beam to a spatial light modulator (SLM) optically coupled to the PBS; spatially modulating the beam received by the SLM from the PBS; and directing a resulting spatially modulated beam back to the PBS, wherein a second quarter-wave plate imparts on said spatially modulated beam a second polarization that causes the PBS to direct said spatially modulated beam to an output port to form an output beam. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification