The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 11, 2001
Filed:
Mar. 24, 2000
Douglas Sojourner, Fremont, CA (US);
Craig Robson, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Harold Dean Lewis, Ft. Collins, CO (US);
Agilent Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An apron and a skirt of a spatial light modulator are each coupled to a substrate by reverse-bias diodes. The spatial light modulator includes liquid crystal material between an array of electrodes and a ground electrode. The apron surrounds the array, and the segmented skirt surrounds the apron. The array, apron, and skirt are formed over the substrate. The reverse-bias diodes provide suitable electrical isolation during normal operation, but dissipate excessive charge that might accumulate during plasma etching as the modulator is being manufactured and that might otherwise induce damage due to electrostatic discharge.