Optical waveguide display with voltage-modulated controlled movable actuators which cause light leakage in waveguide at each display element to provide gradation in a display image

Abstract

Disclosed is a display device comprising an optical waveguide plate for introducing light radiated from a light source thereinto, in which the display gradation is controlled by changing the entering amount into an evanescent region existing around the back surface of the optical waveguide plate. In the present invention, an actuator element is provided, which makes bending displacement in a direction to make approach to the optical waveguide plate in accordance with voltage application to a pair of electrodes. A plate member of a displacement-transmitting section for determining the picture element area is provided on the actuator element. The entering amount of the plate member into the evanescent region is changed by controlling voltage application to the actuator element so that display gradation of the picture element corresponding to the actuator element is controlled. Accordingly, the time required to perform row scanning is drastically shortened, and it is possible to easily deal with high quality image display.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.