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US 6,188,519 B1Granted
Bigrating light valve
OwnerKenneth Carlisle Johnsoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A spatial light modulator pixel comprises a movable reflective surface in which an array of subapertures is formed, wherein each subaperture contains a fixed (non-movable) island reflector. The movable reflector is micromechanically actuated so that the combination of movable and fixed reflectors functions alternately as a plane mirror or as a two-dimensional diffraction grating (i.e., a “bigrating”), depending on the movable reflector's position. The device is useful for applications such as maskless lithography and high-resolution printing.
Claims5
A spatial light modulator comprising an array of radiation-modulating pixel elements, wherein
- each pixel comprises a movable, micromechanically-actuated, reflective surface,
- an array of subapertures is formed in each movable surface,
- an array of fixed island reflectors fills respective subapertures of each movable surface,
- illuminating radiation reflects off of the pixel array, and
- each pixel's movable surface is actuated to control the reflected radiation's phase distribution across the pixel.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.