Back to results
US 6,611,377 B1Granted
Micromechanical diffraction phase grating
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorDavid B. Chung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A micromechanical reflection phase grating may be formed of spring-like ribbon reflectors that are secured to a transparent cover positioned over a substrate such as a silicon substrate. The ribbon reflectors are formed independently of the silicon substrate. If a defect occurs in the phase grating and particularly the ribbon reflectors, the top plate assembly can be reworked or discarded without sacrificing the relatively expensive silicon substrate.
Claims20
A phase grating comprising:
- a bottom plate assembly including a semiconductor substrate;
- and
- a top plate assembly sealed over said bottom plate assembly, said top plate assembly including a transparent cover and at least one ribbon reflector mounted on said cover for spring deflection towards and away from said bottom plate assembly, said ribbon reflector being attached to said top plate assembly at two spaced points, said ribbon reflector including at least one protrusion that always rests on said bottom plate assembly.
A display comprising:
- a phase grating including a bottom plate assembly including a substrate and a top plate assembly sealed over said bottom plate assembly, said top plate assembly including a transparent cover and at least one ribbon reflector mounted on said cover for spring deflection toward and away from said bottom plate assembly, said ribbon reflector attached to said top plate assembly at two spaced points and including at least one protrusion that always rests on said bottom plate assembly;
- and
- a light source for illuminating said grating.
A method of forming a phased grating comprising:
- forming a bottom plate assembly including a semiconductor substrate;
- forming a top plate assembly sealed over said bottom plate assembly, said top plate assembly including a transparent cover and at least one ribbon reflector mounted on said cover at two spaced locations for spring deflection towards and away from said bottom plate assembly between said spaced locations, said ribbon reflector including a protrusion;
- and
- removably coupling said bottom plate assembly and said top plate assembly with said protrusion maintaining contact with said bottom plate assembly.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.