Texas Instruments Corporation

Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc

Moxtek, Inc.

Motex, Inc.

Austin L Huang

James M Florence

Jeffrey Brian Sampsell

Dean E Probst

Bin Wang

Hua Li

Scott J Daly

James D Huffman

Stephen Wesley Marshall

Duane E Carter

Frank C Sulzbach

Dean Messing

Henry W Trombley

Richard C Meyer

Gerhard P Deffner

Brian L Ray

Joseph K Masters

G Sreenivas

Cube polarizers can be designed for substantially equal optical path lengths of a reflected beam and a transmitted beam. For example, dof FIG.can define a distance between a plane (face plane) of the outer face (outer face) of a second prismand the first edge (first edge) of the first prism, and dcan be less than 400 micrometers. As another example, an optical path length differential between a transmitted beam and a reflected beam (|OPL&#x2212;OPL|) can be where t is a thickness of the substrate between the first surface and the second surface of the substrate and nis an index of refraction of the first prism.

Cube polarizer

The cube polarizer can have modified prism dimensions to satisfy the following equation: where an optical path length is a distance of light travel through a material times an index of refraction of the material, OPLis an optical path length of the transmitted beam, OPLis an optical path length of the reflected beam, t is a thickness of the substrate between the first surface and the second surface of the substrate, and nis an index of refraction of the first prism.

Cube polarizer with minimal optical path length difference

An image processing system processes light conveying visual pattern information represented by individual light rays. The system includes an optical assembly having an input surface and an output surface. The input and output surfaces define a plurality of input and output positions, respectively, for the light rays to enter and exit, respectively, the assembly. The assembly includes a light-shifting apparatus operable so that a respective one of the light rays entering a respective one of the input positions is selectively shiftable by the apparatus in a first direction and, subsequently, in a second direction angled with respect to the first direction from a preceding one to another of the output positions. The assembly is further operable so that following each shifting operation, a respective one of the light rays transmitted by the assembly from an arbitrarily selected one of the output positions is solely derived from the light received from a single one of the input positions.

Image processing system optical shifting mechanism

Projection display systems for light valves such as liquid crystal display panels, and in particular to the use of color component rotators, such as retardation filters, to provide for improved projection display architectures.

Projection display systems for light valves

A projection display system includes a light source, at least-one polarizer, at least one liquid crystal panel for generating an image, and a projection lens for projecting the image. The system includes a polarization compensator having a plurality of regions each having a respective birefringence. The birefringence of one of the regions is different than the birefringence of another of the regions. The birefringence of the various regions may be controlled electrically.

Projection display having polarization compensator

A device switching an output of a polarized light beam on the basis of the beam's polarization state is disclosed. Optical &ldquo;add,&rdquo; &ldquo;drop,&rdquo; and crossbar switch devices for multiplexed optical signals are based on wavelength specific embodiments of the optical switching device.

Optical switching devices

A projection display system comprises a light source that generates non-polarized light having at least two polarization states and having a first color component, a second color component, and a third color component. At least one color selection device selectively transmits at different times one of the second and third color components. The system has at least four polarized light modulators, two of the light modulators each generating a respective image associated with each respective polarization state of the first color component, and two of the light modulators each generating a respective image associated with a respective polarization state of one of the second and third color components transmitted by the color selection device. The system also has a projection lens for projecting the images from the polarized light modulators. Alternative projection display systems are disclosed, together with a method for projecting color images.

Liquid crystal projection display system

A spatial light modulator with an anti-reflective coating (ARC),integrated into its structure. The manufacturing of the device is altered to include deposition of an ARC,and any necessary patterning and etching to allow the elements of the array to operate properly. The ARC could reside in several places of the element structure including over the addressing circuitry,over a middle layer,or on the underside of the reflective structure,Micromechanical spatial light modulators, as well as non-moving modulators, such as reflective and transmissive LCD modulators can use the invention.

Anti-reflective coatings for spatial light modulators

A polarizer is made from pairs of polarizing beam splitting cubes. In every pair, a first cube transmits P-polarized light and reflects S-polarized light. A retarder rotates the transmitted light to become S-polarized. A second cube receives only the reflected light, and redirects it in the direction of the transmitted light. A polarizing filter filters the reflected light, but not the rotated light. Exposing the retarder improves the transmission throughput of the overall polarizer. A stop at the side of the second cube blocks light from entering the first cube of an adjacent pair.

Light polarization converter

A color image display system (10, 110, 120, 150) having a lamp power supply (78, 134, 152) switching rate being a multiple of, and synchronized to, a video frame rate. An AC component of a lamp driving waveform which may cause variations in intensity of the lamp output is synchronized to the video frame rate. Synchronizing the lamp power supply switching rate to the frame rate stops the beating and rolling of color bands in the video frame that may be produced by a ripple in light intensity. An odd number of switching cycles per two frame periods is chosen to alternate the phase of the ripple pattern frame-to-frame for ripple cancellation through integration. The lamp driving waveform may be amplitude modulated (90) to balance a lamp (14) that has spectral deficiencies. A DMD spatial light modulator (26) is utilized to modulate the colored light and generate a light image on a display (42) in either a sequential, or non-sequential image display system.

Spatial light image display system with synchronized and modulated light

A method of detecting and compensating for colors displayed by a display system (10) that uses a light source (16) and a color wheel (15). A desired color balance is specified in terms of a power ratio of three primary colors. This ratio is then compared to the actual power of light filtered through each color of the color wheel. (FIGS. 2A, 2B). In a first embodiment, the filter transmission characteristics are adjusted. (FIG. 3). In a second embodiment, the size of the color wheel's segments are changed as well as the display times for data corresponding to each segment. (FIG. 4). The two embodiments can also be combined to achieve a desired color balance.

Color balance compensation for digital display system with color wheel

A method of adjusting color temperature of images displayed by a display system (10) whose images are based on sequential pixel data and are filtered with a color wheel (15, 15', 15'). The relative display times for each color are adjusted to result in a corresponding adjustment of color temperature. In a first embodiment (FIG. 2), the size of the color wheel's segments are changed as well as the display times for data corresponding to each segment. In a second embodiment (FIG. 3), the display times for data corresponding to one or more segments are decreased with a black display time to fill in the difference.

Color temperature compensation for digital display system with color

A light separator (20) for testing the tilt angles of mirror elements (21) of a digital micro-mirror device. The light separator (20) is comprised of two triangular prisms (23, 25). A bottom prism (23) receives light from all mirror elements (21). It transmits light from all mirror elements having a tilt angle over a specified angle (21a, 21b) from a different face than light from mirror elements having a tilt angle less than the specified angle (21c). A top prism (25) receives light from one face of the bottom prism (23). It further divides the light, so that light from all mirror elements having a tilt angle within a specified range (21a) is transmitted from one face and light from other mirror elements (21b) is transmitted from another face.

Light separator for testing DMD performance

An illumination control unit (17) for a projection display system (10) that uses a digital mirror device (DMD) (15) to generate images. The illumination control unit (17) has a first set of lenses (23) for receiving light from a source and focussing the light to a color filter (24). A second set of lenses (25) receives the colored light and directs it to a prism (28). The prism (28) bends the light toward the reflective mirrors (30) of the DMD (15), and a collimating lens (28a) provides a beam that is approximately the size of the mirror array of the DMD (15). An optical shutter (26) is interposed between the second set of lenses (25) and the prism (28a), and permits the system (10) to achieve a 'black state' between image displays or to achieve modulated brightness levels of images being displayed.

Growing community of inventors

Camas, WA, United States of America

Austin L Huang