An optical interference color display comprising a transparent substrate, an inner-front optical diffusion layer, a plurality of first electrodes, a patterned support layer, a plurality of optical films and a plurality of second electrodes is provided. The inner-front optical diffusion layer is on the transparent substrate and the first electrodes are on the inner-front optical diffusion layer. The patterned support layer is on the inner-front optical diffusion layer between the first electrodes. The optical film is on the first electrodes and the second electrodes are positioned over the respective first electrodes. The second electrodes are supported through the patterned support layer. Furthermore, there is an air gap between the second electrodes and their respective first electrodes.

Optical interference type of color display

A spatial light modulator comprises an integrated optical compensation structure, e.g., an optical compensation structure arranged between a substrate and a plurality of individually addressable light-modulating elements, or an optical compensation structure located on the opposite side of the light-modulating elements from the substrate. The individually addressable light-modulating elements are configured to modulate light transmitted through or reflected from the transparent substrate. Methods for making such spatial light modulators involve fabricating an optical compensation structure over a substrate and fabricating a plurality of individually addressable light-modulating elements over the optical compensation structure. The optical compensation structure may be a passive optical compensation structure. The optical compensation structure may include one or more of a supplemental frontlighting source, a diffuser, a black mask, a diffractive optical element, a color filter, an anti-reflective layer, a structure that scatters light, a microlens array, and a holographic film.

Spatial light modulator with integrated optical compensation structure

In various embodiments of the invention, an interferometric display device is provided having an external film with a plurality of structures that reduce the field-of-view of the display. These structures may comprise, for example, baffles or non-imaging optical elements such as compound parabolic collectors. The baffles may comprise a plurality of vertically aligned surfaces arranged, e.g., in a grid. In certain preferred embodiments these baffles are opaque or reflective. These vertical surfaces, therefore, can substantially block light from exiting the interferometric display device in a substantially non-perpendicular direction. These vertical surfaces may, however, permit light directed in a substantially vertical direction to exit the display. The non-imaging optical elements, e.g., compound parabolic collectors, redirect light from large incident angles into more normal angles towards the display. As a result, the light reflected by the display to the user is also at a more normal angle.

Optical films for controlling angular characteristics of displays

The invention comprises devices and methods for coupling a light source to a display illumination device. In one embodiment, an illumination device includes a light guide (91) comprising a front surface, a back surface, a light coupling section (92) configured to receive optical energy from a light source (82) in to the light guide through said front surface or said back surface at an angle about normal to the optical energy receiving surface, and further configured to direct light through said light guide, and a light turning section (94) configured to redirect out of the light guide at least a portion of the light received from said light coupling section, said redirected light at an angle about normal to the optical energy receiving surface.

Illumination device with built-in light coupler

An interferometric modulator array device with backlighting is disclosed. The interferometric modulator array device comprises a plurality of interferometric modulator elements, wherein each of the interferometric modulator elements comprises an optical cavity. The interferometric modulator array includes an optical aperture region, and at least one reflecting element is positioned so as to receive light passing through the optical aperture region and reflect at least a portion of the received light to the cavities of the interferometric modulator elements. In some embodiments, the interferometric modulator elements may be separated from each other such that an optical aperture region is formed between adjacent interferometric modulator elements.

System and method of illuminating interferometric modulators using backlighting

An optical recording/reproducing apparatus having excellent resistance against vibration and noise is provided. In recording, coherent light is polarization-modulated with a spatial light modulator to generate signal light and reference light whose polarization directions are crossed at right angles with each other. The signal light permeates a polarizing beam splitter, and is incident to a quarter wavelength plate. The reference light passes through a passing hole, is diffused by a light diffuser and is incident to the quarter wavelength plate. The reference and signal light are converted into circularly polarized light which revolve in directions opposite to each other and condensed by a condenser lens, and then a predetermined area of an optical recording medium is irradiated with the reference and signal light. Thus, the reference and signal light are generated by modulating the incident light from the same light source and are coaxially incident to the polarizing beam splitter.

Optical recording apparatus and optical recording/reproducing apparatus

The present invention discloses a hologram erasing method, in which a predetermined hologram is erased by irradiating a predetermined region of a hologram recording medium in which the hologram to be erased is recorded with a reference light beam and a signal light beam holding a random data pattern at the same time. In this method, the signal light beam and the reference light beam interfere with each other in the medium, and a Fourier transform hologram recorded in the region where the interference occurs is destroyed and erased by interference light beam. That is, a data page for erasing including a random pattern is overwritten to erase an original data page. According to the present invention, the hologram recorded in the optical recording medium can be selectively and completely erased in a simple method.

Hologram erasing method and hologram erasing apparatus

In the disclosed holographic recording method, when multiplex recording of data of a plurality of pages is performed, exposure time of a hologram of a final page to be recorded is fixed irrespective of a degree of multiplicity while an exposure time of each page is changed and diffraction efficiencies of the holograms of the plurality of pages becomes equal.

Holographic recording method

The present invention relates to a method for producing an optical recording medium. In the method, on the surface of a recording layer formed by spin-coating a first coating solution containing a photo-isomerizable component, a second coating solution that contains a photo-isomerizable component that can be isomerized by radiation having the same wavelength as radiation used for isomerizing the photo-isomerizable component contained in the recording layer and incapable of dissolving the recording layer is spin-coated to form an intermediate layer. Since the intermediate layer thus formed cannot be dissolved by the first coating solution, a recording layer is further laminated on this layer. Thus, it becomes possible to make the recording layer thicker and also to provide a high-density recording characteristic.

Optical recording medium and method for producing such an optical recording medium

While Fourier transformation of a signal light beam is performed to perform recording during holographic recording so that a focal point is formed outside a holographic recording layer (defocus recording), an aperture is arranged on an outgoing side of the reproduced signal light beam (reproduction light beam), the reproduction light beam is focused at the aperture, and low-order components of a Fourier transform image of the reproduction light beam are selectively transmitted to detect only the transmitted light beam. Therefore, information recorded as the hologram in the holographic recording layer can be reproduced with high S/N ratio from the holographic recording layer added onto a support body, particularly onto a sheet member having non-optical quality such as paper and a plastic card.

Norie Matsui

Papers

Optical recording apparatus and optical recording/reproducing apparatus

Hologram erasing method and hologram erasing apparatus

Holographic recording method

Optical recording medium and method for producing such an optical recording medium

Method and apparatus for recording hologram, method and apparatus for reproducing hologram, and information retaining body