Micromirror device
First Claim
1. A spatial light modulator comprising an array of micromirror devices, each micromirror device comprising:
- a substrate;
a deformable hinge held on the substrate;
a micromirror plate attached to the deformable hinge such that the micromirror plate is configured to move on the substrate between an ON state and an OFF state, wherein the OFF state corresponds to a position wherein the micromirror plate has a non-zero OFF state angle to the substrate;
an ON state stopper disposed so as to abut against and stop a rotation of the micromirror plate at the ON state;
wherein an OFF state stopper is absent from the micromirror device such that the micromirror plate at the OFF state does not abut against a stopper, and such that there is a gap between outside edges of the micromirror plate and any adjacent structures; and
an electrode associated with the micromirror plate for deflecting the micromirror plate.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A spatial light modulator comprises an array of micromirror devices each of which has a reflective and deflectable mirror plates. The mirror plates are moved between an ON and OFF state during operation, wherein the OFF state is a state wherein the mirror plate is not parallel to the substrate on which the mirror plate is formed. The micromirror device may have an ON state stopper for limiting the rotation of the mirror plate at the ON state angle, but does not have an OFF state stopper. The non-zero OFF state is achieved by attaching the mirror plate to a deformable hinge held by a hinge support that is curved at the natural resting state.
-
Citations
40 Claims
-
1. A spatial light modulator comprising an array of micromirror devices, each micromirror device comprising:
-
a substrate; a deformable hinge held on the substrate; a micromirror plate attached to the deformable hinge such that the micromirror plate is configured to move on the substrate between an ON state and an OFF state, wherein the OFF state corresponds to a position wherein the micromirror plate has a non-zero OFF state angle to the substrate; an ON state stopper disposed so as to abut against and stop a rotation of the micromirror plate at the ON state; wherein an OFF state stopper is absent from the micromirror device such that the micromirror plate at the OFF state does not abut against a stopper, and such that there is a gap between outside edges of the micromirror plate and any adjacent structures; and an electrode associated with the micromirror plate for deflecting the micromirror plate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A projection system for producing an image, comprising:
-
a light source for producing light; a spatial light modulator for modulating the light according to a set of image data derived from the image, wherein the spatial light modulator comprises an array of micromirror devices, each micromirror device comprising a deformable hinge disposed on a substrate, a micromirror plate attached to the deformable hinge such that the micromirror plate is configured to move between an ON state and an OFF state, wherein the OFF state corresponds to a position wherein the micromirror plate has a non-zero OFF state angle to the substrate, and wherein an OFF state stopper is absent from the micromirror device such that the micromirror plate at the OFF state does not abut against a stopper, and such that there is a gap between outside edges of the micromirror plate and any adjacent structures; condensing optics for directing the light onto the spatial light modulator; and projection optics for projecting the modulated light on a screen. - View Dependent Claims (29)
-
-
30. A method comprising:
-
providing a spatial light modulator comprising an array of micromirror devices, each of which comprises; a substrate; a deformable hinge held on the substrate; a reflective and deflectable mirror plate attached to the deformable hinge such that the mirror plate is configured to move relative to the substrate; and an addressing electrode associated with the mirror plate for moving the mirror plate; and moving the mirror plate between ON and OFF states so as to modulate a beam of light, further comprising; moving the mirror plate to the OFF state where the mirror plate has a non-zero angle to the substrate, wherein the mirror plate does not abut against a stopper, and wherein there is a gap between outside edges of the mirror plate and any adjacent structures; and moving the mirror plate to the ON state where the mirror plate abuts against a stopper. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
-
Specification