Spatio-temporal directional light modulator

• US 9,195,053 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2014
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ostendo Technologies Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ostendo Technologies Inc.
• Inventors: El-Ghoroury, Hussein S., Alpaslan, Zahir Y., Cai, Jingbo, Maiers, Marty, Warner, Philip, McNeill, Dale A.
• Primary Examiner(s): HASAN, MOHAMMED A
• Application Number:
  US14/486,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20150033539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 435 Days
• Field of Search: 359290-295, 359/619, 359/298
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/08 for controlling the direction of light in light guides G02B6/35
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/101 with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/307 using fly-eye lenses, e.g. arrangements of circular lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/32 using arrays of controllable light sources; using moving apertures or moving light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/356 having separate monoscopic and stereoscopic modes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4978 Assisting assembly or disassembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A spatio-temporal directional light modulator is introduced. This directional light modulator can be used to create 3D displays, ultra-high resolution 2D displays or 2D/3D switchable displays with extended viewing angle. The spatio-temporal aspects of this novel light modulator allow it to modulate the intensity, color and direction of the light it emits within an wide viewing angle. The inherently fast modulation and wide angular coverage capabilities of this directional light modulator increase the achievable viewing angle, and directional resolution making the 3D images created by the display be more realistic or alternatively the 2D images created by the display having ultra high resolution.

Claims

1. A method of forming a directional light modulator comprising:

providing an emissive micro emitter array device having a two dimensional array of individually addressable micro emitters;

providing a micro lens array of micro lens elements;

aligning the micro lens array with the emissive micro emitter array device to form a directional light modulator subassembly so that each micro lens element of the micro lens array is associated with and aligned with a corresponding two dimensional plurality of micro emitters within the two dimensional array of micro emitters, each micro lens element optically mapping light emitted from each of the corresponding plurality of micro emitters into a respective direction of a corresponding two dimensional set of discrete directions within an angular extent defined by a numerical aperture of each micro lens element;

temporally angularly articulating the directional light modulator subassembly in an angular motion having a periodicity selected to enable temporal coverage of the maximum articulation angle within an image frame duration about at least a first axis in a plane of the directional light modulator subassembly to expand the discrete set of directions responsive to the angular articulation;

wherein the directional modulator is capable of displaying a three dimensional image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the directional light modulator subassembly is also angularly articulated about a second axis in the plane of the assembly to further expand the discrete set of directions responsive to the angular articulation, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein:

providing an emissive micro emitter array device comprises providing a matrix of micro emitter array devices on a single substrate;

providing a micro lens array comprises providing a matrix of micro lens arrays;

mounting the matrix of micro lens arrays onto the matrix of micro emitter array devices to form a matrix of directional light modulators, and;

dicing the matrix of directional light modulators to provide a plurality individual directional light modulators.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the matrix of micro lens arrays are aligned with respect to the matrix of micro emitter array devices to form a matrix of directional light modulators using semiconductor wafer level alignment techniques.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein providing the matrix of micro lens arrays comprises providing a plurality of micro lens array layers, wherein the micro lens array layers are mounted in a stack and aligned with respect to each other to form the matrix of micro lens arrays.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein each micro emitter is individually addressable to control the brightness thereof.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein each micro emitter is individually addressable to control the color and brightness thereof.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein light emitted from the corresponding plurality of micro emitters into a corresponding discrete set of directions within an angular extent defined by a numerical aperture of each micro lens element forms a corresponding pixel group, the association of the pixels within each pixel group with the temporally expanded set of directions together with the individual pixel addressability enabling the individual addressability of the temporally expanded set of directions, whereby the directional light modulator generates light that is directionally modulated in any of the directions comprising the set of the temporally expanded set of light directions.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprised of modulating the individual pixel color and brightness with the temporal association of the pixels within a pixel group with the temporally expanded set of light directions, thereby enabling the light modulator to generate light that is modulated in color, intensity and direction over the expanded angular extent.