A modulator for modulating an incident beam of light, the modulator comprising a plurality of equally spaced-apart elements, each of which includes a light-reflective planar surface. The elements are arranged parallel to each other with their light-reflective surfaces parallel to each other. The modulator includes means for supporting the elements in relation to one another and means for moving particular ones of the elements relative to others so that the moved elements transit between a first configuration wherein the modulator acts to reflect the incident beam of light as a plane mirror, and a second configuration wherein the modulator diffracts the light reflected therefrom. In operation the light-reflective surfaces of the elements remain parallel to each other in both the first and second configurations. The perpendicular spacing between the reflective surfaces of the respective elements is equal to m/4 × the wavelength of the incident beam of light, wherein m equals an even whole number or zero when the elements are in the first configuration and m equals an odd whole number when the elements are in the second configuration.

Method and apparatus for modulating a light beam

A display system for providing a two dimensional image includes an essentially one dimensional light valve array. The diffractive light valve array includes modulator elements which diffract or reflect light incident thereon to an extent determined by an image element to be represented. The display system is arranged such diffracted light from the light-valve array passes through a magnifying lens and is separated from the reflected light from the array. A magnified virtual image of the array formed by the diffracted light is viewed through the magnifying lens. A scanning arrangement between the viewer and the magnifying lens scans the image of the light-valve array across the field of view of the viewer sufficiently quickly that the viewer perceives the scanned image as a two-dimensional image. In another arrangement a printer is formed by scanning a real image of the diffractive light valve array over a printing or recording medium.

Display device incorporating one-dimensional grating light-valve array

A compact digital camera is formed with a lenslet array comprised of a plurality of lenslets, each lenslet has a decentration corresponding to its radial position in the lenslet array so that the axial ray of each lenslet views a different segment of a total field of view. A photosensor array comprised of a plurality of sub-groups of photodetectors is positioned such that each sub-group is located along the axial ray of a respective lenslet. A field limiting baffle comprised of at least one aperture plate is positioned such that the center of the apertures are located along the axial ray of a respective lenslet.

Compact digital camera with segmented fields of view

A deformable grating apparatus for modulating light is made by forming an insulating layer (402) on a substrate (400), forming a first conducting layer (406) on the insulating layer (402) and then forming a sacrificial layer thereon. The sacrificial layer and the first conducting layer are then etched to define bit lines and busses to bonding pads (306, 312, 316). Then a layer of resilient material (410) is formed onto the etched layers and a reflective conducting layer (414) is formed on the resilient layer. A dielectric layer (416) is deposited on the reflective conducting layer (414). The dielectric layer (416), the reflective conducting layer (414), the resilient layer (410) and the sacrificial layer are all then etched to form a grating including a plurality of parallel elements (304). Thereafter the sacrificial layer is removed below the parallel elements, to suspend the parallel elements (304) over the first conducting layer. The surface is treated to prevent the grating from adhering to the first conducting layer. A light modulator includes a substrate with an insulating layer, and a plurality of parallel conducting layers formed on the insulating layer. The ribbons (304) are spaced apart from the conducting layers (300, 302) by an air space and mounted to the substrate in gaps between the conducting layers.

A method of making and an apparatus for a flat diffraction grating light valve

The current invention provides for encapsulated release structures, intermediates thereof and methods for their fabrication. The multi-layer structure has a capping layer, that preferably comprises silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride, and which is formed over an etch resistant substrate. A patterned device layer, preferably comprising silicon nitride, is embedded in a sacrificial material, preferably comprising polysilicon, and is disposed between the etch resistant substrate and the capping layer. Access trenches or holes are formed in to capping layer and the sacrificial material are selectively etched through the access trenches, such that portions of the device layer are release from sacrificial material. The etchant preferably comprises a noble gas fluoride NGF 2x (wherein Ng=Xe, Kr or Ar: and where x=1, 2 or 3). After etching that sacrificial material, the access trenches are sealed to encapsulate released portions the device layer between the etch resistant substrate and the capping layer. The current invention is particularly useful for fabricating MEMS devices, multiple cavity devices and devices with multiple release features.

Microelectronic mechanical system and methods

An optical low-pass filter so formed that a rectangular wave phase grating including a plurality of sets of laminae for introducing phase retardation, in which laminae in each set being arranged in parallel with each other and the laminae of different sets being arranged to cross with an angle to each other is inserted in an optical system of the type having a color-encoding filter means disposed in the light path of the optical system for, such as, a single tube color television camera, and high frequency components of an objective image on the color-encoding filter means are attenuated less than a predetermined level, to the image focused on the color-encoding filter means, a degree of blur always larger than the value calculated from the grating period of the color-encoding filter means is given and another image focused on a position distant from said image as far as a predetermined distance brings about no interference to produce another color striped pattern with said color-encoding filter means, regardless of f-number of the objective lens and the diaphragm value so as to remove the influence effected by interference between the luminance and chrominance signal.

Ikuro Hioki

Papers

Optical low-pass filter