Optically reduced display pixel fill factor for increased display resolution
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsJeffrey Matthew KEMPF, Alexander LYUBARSKY, Amit MITTAL, Terry Alan BARTLETT
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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 include an actuator optically coupled to the SLM, and projection optics optically coupled to the actuator.
Claims20
An apparatus, comprising:
- a focusing lens;
- a spatial light modulator (SLM) optically coupled to the focusing lens, the SLM comprising micromirrors on a surface of the SLM, wherein the focusing lens is tilted at an incident angle relative to the surface of the SLM, wherein an incident light beam on the is illuminated on the SLM at the incident angle, and wherein 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;
- an actuator optically coupled to the SLM;
- and
- projection optics optically coupled to the actuator.
A display device comprising:
- a laser configured to produce incident light;
- a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a surface, the SLM comprising micromirrors on the surface;
- a focusing lens optically coupled to the laser and to the SLM, the focusing lens configured to direct the incident light towards the SLM;
- the micromirrors configured to reflect the incident light to produce modulated light, wherein an incident angle of the incident light at the micromirrors is greater by an offset angle than twice a tilt angle of the micromirrors with respect to the surface of the SLM;
- 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 configured to project the shifted light.
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) at an incident angle relative to a surface of the SLM, wherein 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;
- modulating the incident light by the SLM by tilting the micromirrors to reflect the incident light into modulated light;
- 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.