Texas Instruments Corporation

Reflectivity, Inc.

Regis Grasser

Andrew Gerrit Huibers

Satyadev R Patel

James C Dunphy

Peter Heureux

Steven Gensler

Jonathan Clayton Doan

Igor Volfman

Peter W Richards

Terry Alan Bartlett

Robert M Duboc

Andrew Gerritt Huibers

Hongqin Shi

Jim Dunphy

Leonid Frenkel

Greg Schaadt

Speckle effect in scanning display systems that employs polarized phase-coherent light is reduced by depolarizing the phase-coherent light using a depolarizer and scanning the depolarized light for producing desired images.

Method for reducing speckle effect in a laser scanning display

For combining light from different light sources that are spatially apart, an optical system comprises a prism assembly that comprises a totally-internally-surface and a dichroic filter. The totally-internally-surface and the dichroic filter are configured for reflecting light of different colors or polarizations, so as to combine light of different polarization or colors into a single beam.

Color light combiner

According to particular embodiments, an illumination system includes a light source that generates light for use in illuminating a spatial light modulator and an assembly of two optical elements spatially separated by a gap that receives the light from the light source, changes the shape of the light, and transmits the light onto the spatial light modulator.

Illuminating spatial light modulators using an anamorphic prism assembly

An illumination source and a method therefor. A light source includes a light circuit configured to process light and direct light, and a lighting element optically coupled to the light circuit to provide multiple colors of light. The light circuit propagates light using light guides. The use of light guides eliminates the use of free space optical elements, enabling the creation of more compact light sources. Furthermore, the use of light guides may enable the creation of light sources with fewer mechanical restrictions, thereby making the light sources potentially more reliable and less expensive.

Illumination source and method therefor

Speckle reduction using beam splitting with birefringent wedge in laser scanning display systems

For combining light from different light sources in a light source, dichroic filters are displaced individually according to the physical arrangement of the light sources such that the reflected light from the dichroic filters is coincident in angle and space.

Light combiner

Speckle effect in display system is reduced by utilizing the instability of phase-coherent light and the transmission of the instable phase-coherent light through a multi-mode optical fiber with a suitable length.

Speckle reduction in display systems that employ coherent light sources

An optical architecture comprises an optical scanning mechanism for use in imaging systems. With the optical scanning mechanism, illumination light from an illuminator can be directed to a target so as to generate an illumination field. The generated illumination field can be moved across the target so as to sequentially illuminate the image area on the target.

Optical structure and an imaging system using the same

The present invention provides a microstructure device comprising multiple substrates with the components of the device formed on the substrates. In order to maintain uniformity of the gap between the substrates, a plurality of pillars is provided and distributed in the gap so as to prevent decrease of the gap size. The increase of the gap size can be prevented by bonding the pillars to the components of the microstructure. Alternatively, the increase of the gap size can be prevented by maintaining the pressure inside the gap below the pressure under which the microstructure will be in operation. Electrical contact of the substrates on which the micromirrors and electrodes are formed can be made through many ways, such as electrical contact areas, electrical contact pads and electrical contact springs.

Interferometers of high resolutions

The invention provides a method and apparatus for evaluating the quality of microelectromechanical devices having deformable and deflectable members using resonation techniques. Specifically, product quality characterized in terms of uniformity of the deformable and deflectable elements is inspected with an optical resonance mapping mechanism on a wafer-level.

Characterization of micromirror array devices using interferometers

The invention provides a method and apparatus for evaluating the product quality and performances of micromirror array devices through measurements of the electromechanical responses of the individual micromirrors to the driving forces of electric fields. The electromechanical responses of the micromirrors according to the present invention are described in terms of the rotational angles associated with the operational states, such as the ON and OFF state angles of the ON and OFF state when the micromirror array device is operated in the binary-state mode, and the response speed (i.e. the time interval required for a micromirror device to transit form one state to another) of the individual micromirrors to the driving fields.

Performance analyses of micromirror devices

The micromirror-based projection system of the present invention uses polarized illumination light in producing desired images on a display target. The display target has coated thereon a polarization film that absorbs most of the ambient light that would be incident onto the display target otherwise. Polarized illumination light is provided incident to the reflective surfaces of the spatial light modulator. The polarization direction of the illumination light can be associated with the rotation axes of the micromirrors and the polarization direction of the polarized film on the display target.

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Regis Grasser