Mechanical light modulators with stressed beams
First Claim
1. A spatial light modulator comprising:
- a substrate having a surface; and
a modulation assembly coupled to the substrate including a modulation element and a compliant beam;
wherein the modulation assembly is configured such that the compliant beam has first and second ends and is coupled to the substrate at a first anchor, andwherein the modulation assembly is configured such that the compliant beam is shaped to extend away from the first anchor from the first end and curve back towards the first anchor towards the second end.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a spatial light modulator including a substrate having a surface and a modulation assembly coupled to the substrate including a modulation element and a compliant beam. The modulation assembly is configured to limit the bending of the compliant beam towards an opposing surface that would otherwise be caused by inherent stresses within the compliant beam. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a spatial light modulator including the steps of forming and releasing a modulation assembly that has a modulation element and a compliant beam formed in a pre-release position to have an intended inherent stress state. As a result of the stress state in the compliant beam, upon release of the compliant beam, the compliant beam bends into a rest position which is different than the pre-release position, where the rest position is based in part on the intended inherent stress state.
762 Citations
48 Claims
-
1. A spatial light modulator comprising:
-
a substrate having a surface; and a modulation assembly coupled to the substrate including a modulation element and a compliant beam; wherein the modulation assembly is configured such that the compliant beam has first and second ends and is coupled to the substrate at a first anchor, and wherein the modulation assembly is configured such that the compliant beam is shaped to extend away from the first anchor from the first end and curve back towards the first anchor towards the second end. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A spatial light modulator comprising:
-
a substrate having a surface; and a modulation assembly coupled to the substrate including a modulation element, a first compliant beam, and second compliant beam, at least one of the first and second compliant beams forming a portion of an electrostatic actuator of the modulation assembly, wherein the modulation assembly is configured such that both the first compliant beam and the second compliant beam attach to the modulation element. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A spatial light modulator comprising:
-
a substrate having a surface; a light modulation assembly coupled to the substrate including a modulation element and a compliant beam, the compliant beam forming a portion of an actuator of the modulation assembly; and a stationary structure that is not coupled to the compliant beam, and wherein the stationary structure limits the bending of the compliant beam. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
-
-
36. A spatial light modulator comprising:
-
a substrate having a surface; a modulation assembly coupled to the substrate including a modulation element and a compliant beam, the compliant beam being shaped to promote motion substantially parallel to the surface; and a plurality of attachment points coupling the compliant beam to the substrate at positions on the compliant beam. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
-
Specification