Data loading circuit for digital micro-mirror device

A method of loading data for a row of pixel-generating elements of a spatial light modulator, comprising the steps of:

• loading a first portion of a row of data into a row of shift registers, said first portion being comprised of a number of 1-bit data values;
• transferring said first portion into a first set of latches, each bit being transferred to a different latch and each latch in data communication with an associated column of said pixel-generating elements;
• loading a next portion of said row of data into the same registers of said row of shift registers, said next portion being comprised of 1-bit data values;
• transferring said next portion into a second set of latches, each bit being transferred to a different latch and each latch in data communication with an associated column of said pixel-generating elements;
• repeating said loading and transferring steps until all of said row of data is loaded into said latches via said row of shift registers.

A spatial light modulator (SLM), comprising:

• an array of pixel-generating elements, each pixel-generating element being individually addressable with data;
• at least one bit-line associated with each column of said pixels for delivering said data to said column of pixels;
• a row of shift registers for receiving portions of rows of said data from an external source for delivery to said pixels, said shift register row having a total number of shift registers that is less than the number of said pixel columns;
• a number of latches, wherein each output line of said shift registers is connected to a subset of at least two of said number of latches, wherein each latch is in data communication with a different bit-line of said array;
• a row decoder for generating a write signal for selecting which pixel row of said array is to receive each said row of data;
• and
• a write line in data communication with each row of said pixels.