Victor Company of Japan, Limited

Tetsuhiro Yamazaki

Shintaro Nakagaki

Tsutou Asakura

Tetsuji Suzuki

Minoru Ohyama

Toshio Konno

Masanobu Shigeta

Tatsuru Kobayashi

Hiromitsu Takenaka

Hiroshi Inoue

Shinichi Hirose

Yuuichi Kuromizu

Atushi Nakano

Yuichi Kuromizu

A liquid crystal displaying apparatus has a reflection-type liquid crystal display with vertical orientation-mode liquid crystals, to modulate linearly polarized light. Also provided is a polarization and diffracting section to convert read light beams obliquely incident thereto to the linearly polarized light, to allow the linearly polarized light to be incident to the liquid crystal display, allow first polarized light components of the linearly polarized light modulated by the liquid crystal display to pass therethrough, the first polarized light components vibrating in a first direction perpendicular to a second direction in which the linearly polarized light vibrates, and diffract second polarized light components of the linearly polarized light to a third direction from which the read light beams be incident to the liquid crystal display, the second polarized light components vibrating in the second direction. Further provided are a quarter wavelength plate to allow elliptically polarized light which includes the first polarized light components and a small quantity of the second polarized light components to pass therethrough when the liquid crystal display is active for modulation, and a polarizer to allow polarized light components of the elliptically polarized light to pass therethrough, the polarized light components matching a transmission axis of the polarizer.

Reflection-type liquid crystal displaying apparatus

A spatial light modulation device, in which at least a photoconductor structure and a light modulator have a multilayer structure. In this spatial light modulation device, the photoconductor structure has a plurality of pixel portions and avalanche multiplication of charges generated by light incident on each of the pixel portions is performed therein and charges obtained as a result of the avalanche multiplication are stored in the pixel portions. Thus, this spatial light modulation device has high sensibility.

Spatial light modulation device

A spacial light modulation device is composed of a photoconductive layer, a pixel electrode layer, a dielectric reflection layer, and a liquid crystal layer all laminated in sequence between first and second drive electrode layers. The pixel electrode layer includes a plurality of pixel electrodes partitioned by an insulating substance layer and arranged at predetermined intervals. In particular, to obtain higher contrast and higher resolution of the modulated and reflected light by the device, the surface area of each of the pixel electrodes formed on the photoconductive layer side is determined smaller than that formed on the dielectric reflection layer side. That is, in the pixel electrode layer, a plurality of square-shaped pixel electrodes are arranged into a matrix pattern at predetermined intervals. Each of the square-shaped pixel electrode is composed of a Schottky contact portion in contact with the photoconductive layer and a pixel composing portion in contact with the dielectric reflection layer. The contact area of the Schottky contact portion with the photoconductive layer is determined smaller than the contact area of the pixel composing portion with the dielectric reflection layer. It is also preferable that a dielectric planarized layer is further formed between the pixel electrode layer and the dielectric reflection layer to planarize the surface of the dielectric reflection layer.

Spacial light modulation device including a pixel electode layer and a

There is provided an optical pickup which emits a reading light to an optical disc having a pit in which information is stored and reads the information by means of the 0th order reflected light reflected from the pit and the diffracted light generated on the pit by diffraction effect. The optical pickup comprises a semiconductor laser for generating the reading light, a first photodiode for generatign a first electric signal corresponding to the intensity of the 0th order reflected light incident thereto, a second photodiode for generating a second electric signal corresponding to the intensity of the diffracted light incident thereto, a light focusing and guiding device for focusing the reading light to the pit and guiding the 0th order reflected light to the first photodiode, a light guiding device for guiding the diffracted light to the second photodiode and an operation device for generating an output signal by taking difference between the first and the second electric signals.

Optical pickup using diffracted light

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Yokohama, Japan

Tetsuhiro Yamazaki