Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc.

Silicon Light Machines Corporation

Snaptrack Incorporated

Pixtronix, Incorporated

Wilhelmus Adrianus De Groot

James A Hunter

Dinesh Maheshwari

Omar Sze Leung

David T Amm

Jonathan Kies

Alexander P Payne

Jasper Lodewyk Steyn

Philip Don Floyd

Fan Zhong

Gianni Taraschi

Yi Tao

Thomas G Fiske

Yeh-Jiun Tung

Michael J Dueweke

Matthew Brian Sampsell

Patrick F Brinkley

Josef Berger

Mark Douglas Halfman

Brent D Lunceford

Gregory Paul Heinzinger

Brian Finkel

Gregory Beach

Jennifer Lee Gille

Mark Jerger

Shiae Park

Theodore Richard Santos, Ii

Elif Selin Mungan

Sauri Gudlavaleti

Xia Ren

Sriram Akella

Some implementations provide automatic display mode selection for a device, such as a mobile display device, according to a hierarchy of criteria. Each display mode may correspond with a set of display parameter settings, which may include a color depth setting, a brightness setting, etc. In some examples, one of the criteria may correspond with a software application being executed on the device. Some implementations involve creating a display device user profile and controlling a display of a mobile display device according to the user profile. The user profile may be built gradually over some number of days/weeks/months after the first use of the device. In some implementations, display parameter setting information or other device setting information corresponding to data in a user profile, including but not limited to demographic data, may be received by a mobile display device from another device, such as a server.

Display mode selection according to a user profile or a hierarchy of criteria

This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for forming electromechanical systems (EMS) displays where the area of a substrate occupied by a pixel circuit can be reduced if portions of the pixel circuit can be built in three dimensions. In some aspects, certain EMS displays can incorporate structures that are substantially normal to the surface of a substrate. Incorporating circuit components, such as transistors, into such structures, can reduce the area they occupy within the plane of the substrate. In some aspects, the components of a transistor can be fabricated directly into a MEMS anchor that supports a light modulator or a portion of an actuator over the substrate. In some other aspects, the transistor can be fabricated on one or more sidewalls of any MEMS structure.

Thin-film transistors incorporated into three dimensional MEMS structures

This disclosure provides mechanical layers and methods of forming the same. In one aspect, an electromechanical systems device includes a substrate and a mechanical layer having an actuated position and a relaxed position. The mechanical layer is spaced from the substrate to define a collapsible gap. The gap is in a collapsed condition when the mechanical layer is in the actuated position and in a non-collapsed condition when the mechanical layer is in the relaxed position. The mechanical layer includes a reflective layer, a conductive layer, and a supporting layer. The supporting layer is positioned between the reflective layer and the conductive layer and is configured to support the mechanical layer.

Mechanical layer and methods of forming the same

An array of MEMS shutters may incorporate opaque and/or interference-based film stacks, to control light in a window. The shutter structure may include one or more layers with a controlled stress gradient, which makes a shutter arm curl out of plane and away from a defined aperture for light, thus permitting light to be transmitted through a transparent substrate and past the MEMS structure. To close the shutter, a voltage may be applied between an electrode in the shutter arm and an electrode covering a region on the substrate, rolling the shutter arm flat against the substrate electrode and placing the shutter arm over the aperture. The shutter arm may be configured to transmit selected wavelengths of light. In some implementations, the shutter arm may be configured to filter out infrared light.

Switchable windows with MEMS shutters

Method and apparatus to reduce or eliminate stiction and image retention in interferometric display devices are disclosed. In some embodiments, a display element comprises a plurality of interferometric modulator devices configured in a matrix, each interferometric modulator device having a movable reflective layer and a plurality of supporting posts, the plurality of posts defining a post spacing distance in at least one direction that is greater for one or more interferometric modulator devices disposed adjacent to an edge of the display element than one or more interferometric modulator devices disposed nonadjacent to an edge of the display element.

Method and apparatus to reduce or eliminate stiction and image retention in interferometric modulator devices

In one embodiment, a method of treating a surface of a Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS) device reduces or eliminates performance degradation due to charge migration and accumulation. Briefly, the method may include treating a dielectric surface of the MEMS device to replace hydroxyl groups with electrically neutral molecules, thereby converting the dielectric surface from a hydrophilic to a substantially hydrophobic nature. A MEMS device having a surface treated using the aforementioned method is also disclosed.

MEMS surface modification for passive control of charge accumulation

In one embodiment disclosed, a light modulator can be configured to have a substantially flat optically active modulator element portion while deflected. The modulator can include a plurality of modulator elements arranged substantially in parallel, with each modulator element including an optically active portion and a support portion on either side of the optically active portion. Further, the optically active portion can have a narrower width than the support portion. In another embodiment disclosed, a movable membrane for light modulation includes a substantially circular optically active portion and a released membrane portion surrounding the circular optically active portion. The substantially circular optically active portion can also include a plurality of gaps configured to expose a lower surface. Further, the substantially circular optically active portion can be essentially flat while in a deflected state.

Diffractive light modulator

A MEMS device such as a grating light valve&#x2122; light modulator is athermalized such that the force required to deflect the movable portion of the MEMS device remains constant over a range of temperatures. In MEMS embodiments directed to a grating light valve&#x2122; light modulator, a ribbon is suspended over a substrate, and the ribbon tension is kept constant over a temperature range by adjusting the aggregate thermal coefficient of expansion of the ribbon to match the aggregate thermal coefficient of expansion of the substrate. Various opposition materials have an opposite thermal coefficient of expansion as the aluminum layer of a grating light valve&#x2122; light modulator ribbon, using the thermal coefficient of expansion of the substrate as a zero coefficient reference. The adjustment of the thermal coefficient of expansion of the ribbon can be performed variously by thickening existing layers of opposition material or adding additional layers of new opposition material to the ribbon, or reducing the aluminum in aluminum layer. The aluminum layer may be reduced variously by reducing the thickness of the aluminum layer, or reducing the surface area that the aluminum covers, or reducing both the surface area and the thickness. Embodiments may combine the reduction of aluminum with the use of opposition materials.

Method and apparatus for leveling thermal stress variations in multi-layer MEMS devices

Growing community of inventors

Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Wilhelmus Adrianus De Groot