Optically reduced display pixel fill factor for increased display resolution
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsJeffrey Matthew Kempf, Alexander Lyubarsky, Amit Mittal, Terry Alan Bartlett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus includes a focusing lens, a SLM optically coupled to the focusing lens and comprising micromirrors on a surface of the SLM, where the focusing lens is tilted at an incident angle relative to the surface of the SLM, an incident light beam is illuminated on the SLM at the incident angle, and the incident angle is greater by an offset angle than twice a tilt angle of the micromirrors with respect to the surface of the SLM. The apparatus also includes an actuator optically coupled to the SLM, and projection optics optically coupled to the actuator.
Claims18
An apparatus, comprising:
- illumination optics comprising a focusing lens, the illumination optics having an f-number;
- a spatial light modulator (SLM) optically coupled to the focusing lens and to the illumination optics, the SLM comprising pixels on a surface of the SLM, wherein the focusing lens is tilted at an incident angle relative to the surface of the SLM;
- an actuator optically coupled to the SLM;
- and
- projection optics optically coupled to the actuator, the projection optics having an f-number, the f-number of the illumination optics greater than the f-number of the projection optics.
A display device comprising:
- a light source configured to produce incident light;
- a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a surface, the SLM comprising pixels on the surface;
- illumination optics comprising a focusing lens, the illumination optics having an f-number, the focusing lens optically coupled to the light source and to the SLM, the focusing lens configured to direct the incident light towards the SLM;
- the pixels configured to reflect the incident light to produce modulated light;
- an actuator optically coupled to the SLM, the actuator configured to shift the modulated light from the SLM according to a tilt position of the actuator to produce shifted light;
- and
- a projection lens optically coupled to the actuator, the projection lens having an f-number, the projection lens configured to project the shifted light, the f-number of the illumination optics greater than the f-number of the projection lens.
A method comprising:
- providing incident light by one or more light sources;
- directing the incident light by illumination optics towards micromirrors of a spatial light modulator (SLM);
- modulating the incident light by the SLM by tilting the micromirrors to reflect the incident light into modulated light, wherein tilting the micromirrors casts shadows in dark areas on the micromirrors;
- shifting the modulated light by an actuator to provide shifted modulated light;
- and
- directing the shifted modulated light by projection optics to project a shifted image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.