US20110199667A1 - Method and apparatus for lighting a display device - Google Patents
Method and apparatus for lighting a display device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20110199667A1 US20110199667A1 US13/092,827 US201113092827A US2011199667A1 US 20110199667 A1 US20110199667 A1 US 20110199667A1 US 201113092827 A US201113092827 A US 201113092827A US 2011199667 A1 US2011199667 A1 US 2011199667A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- display
- light
- display elements
- waveguides
- layer
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B26/00—Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements
- G02B26/001—Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements based on interference in an adjustable optical cavity
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to display devices, and more particularly to interferometric modulator display devices.
- Microelectromechanical systems include micromechanical elements, actuators, and electronics. Micromechanical elements may be created using deposition, etching, and/or other micromachining processes that etch away parts of substrates and/or deposited material layers or that add layers to form electrical and electromechanical devices.
- MEMS device One type of MEMS device is called an interferometric modulator.
- interferometric modulator or interferometric light modulator refers to a device that selectively absorbs and/or reflects light using the principles of optical interference.
- an interferometric modulator may comprise a pair of conductive plates, one or both of which may be transparent and/or reflective in whole or part and capable of relative motion upon application of an appropriate electrical signal.
- one plate may comprise a stationary layer deposited on a substrate and the other plate may comprise a metallic membrane separated from the stationary layer by a transparent medium (e.g., an air gap).
- a transparent medium e.g., an air gap
- the position of one plate in relation to the other plate can change the optical interference of light incident on the interferometric modulator.
- Conventional interferometric modulator display devices typically implement front-lighting that provides light for viewing images, for example, in the dark.
- the front-lighting is typically provided by a light strip that surrounds the perimeter of an interferometric modulator display. While such a front-lighting scheme does provide light for viewing images in the dark, there is generally an intrinsic (lighting) uniformity issue as the middle portion of the interferometric modulator display remains darker than the outer edges. As interferometric modulator displays increase in size, this non-uniform effect of light caused by front-lighting increases, which can lead to poor visibility of images in the dark.
- this specification describes a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) including a transparent substrate, and a plurality of interferometric modulators.
- the plurality of interferometric modulators include an optical stack coupled to the transparent substrate, a reflective layer over the optical stack, and one or more posts to support the reflective layer and to provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the interferometric modulators.
- the MEMS can further include a glass layer between the transparent substrate and the optical stack.
- the glass layer can include a plurality of scatterers to disperse the light.
- the glass layer can comprise first spin-on glass (SOG) including the plurality of scatterers.
- the one or more posts can be composed of a transparent polymer or second spin-on glass (SOG). Each of the one or more posts can further be configured to direct the light to the glass layer.
- the scatterers can be configured to disperse the light to the interferometric modulators.
- Each of the one or more posts can further comprise a mirror.
- the one or more posts can extend from the optical stack through the reflective layer.
- the MEMS as a display device, can further include a display including the MEMS, and a processor that is in electrical communication with the display, the processor being configured to process image data, and a memory device in electrical communication with the processor.
- the display system can further include a backlight coupled to the display for providing light to the interferometric modulators.
- the display system can further include a first controller configured to send at least one signal to the display, and a second controller configured to send at least a portion of the image data to the first controller.
- the display system can further include an image source module configured to send the image data to the processor.
- the image source module can comprise at least one of a receiver, transceiver, and transmitter.
- the display system can further include an input device configured to receive input data and to communicate the input data to the processor.
- this specification describes a micromechanical system (MEMS) including a transparent substrate means, and a plurality of interferometric modulator means.
- the plurality of interferometric modulator means includes an optical stack means coupled to the transparent substrate means, a reflective layer means over the optical stack means, and one or more post means to support the reflective layer means and to provide a path for light from a backlight means for lighting the interferometric modulator means.
- this specification describes a method for providing light in a microelectromechanical system (MEMS).
- the method includes providing a transparent substrate, and forming a plurality of interferometric modulators.
- Forming a plurality of interferometric modulators includes coupling an optical stack to the transparent substrate, forming a reflective layer over the optical stack, and forming one or more posts to support the reflective layer and to provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the interferometric modulators.
- An interferometric modulator display that has an improved lighting scheme for an interferometric display device to having a higher lighting uniformity relative to conventional interferometric modulator displays devices that implement a front-lighting scheme.
- uniform lighting is provided through posts (or rails) that are integrated within the interferometric display device.
- Such a design may be more power-efficient relative to conventional techniques in illuminating a central area of an interferometric display.
- the brightness of an interferometric display may be enhanced even with ambient light.
- FIG. 1 is an isometric view depicting a portion of one embodiment of an interferometric modulator display in which a movable reflective layer of a first interferometric modulator is in a relaxed position and a movable reflective layer of a second interferometric modulator is in an actuated position.
- FIG. 2 is a system block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an electronic device incorporating a 3 ⁇ 3 interferometric modulator display.
- FIG. 3 is a diagram of movable mirror position versus applied voltage for one exemplary embodiment of an interferometric modulator of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 4 is an illustration of a set of row and column voltages that may be used to drive an interferometric modulator display.
- FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate one exemplary timing diagram for row and column signals that may be used to write a frame of display data to the 3 ⁇ 3 interferometric modulator display of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 6A is a cross section of an interferometric modulator of FIG. 1 .
- FIGS. 6B-E are alternative embodiments of an interferometric modulator.
- FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate cross-sectional views of an interferometric modulator display.
- FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate a flow diagram illustrating a process for manufacturing an interferometric modulator display according to one embodiment.
- FIGS. 9A-9N illustrate the process of manufacturing an interferometric modulator display according to the process of FIGS. 8A-8B .
- FIGS. 10A and 10B are system block diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a visual display device comprising a plurality of interferometric modulators.
- the embodiments may be implemented in or associated with a variety of electronic devices such as, but not limited to, mobile telephones, wireless devices, personal data assistants (PDAs), hand-held or portable computers, GPS receivers/navigators, cameras, MP3 players, camcorders, game consoles, wrist watches, clocks, calculators, television monitors, flat panel displays, computer monitors, auto displays (e.g., odometer display, etc.), cockpit controls and/or displays, display of camera views (e.g., display of a rear view camera in a vehicle), electronic photographs, electronic billboards or signs, projectors, architectural structures, packaging, and aesthetic structures (e.g., display of images on a piece of jewelry).
- MEMS devices of similar structure to those described herein can also be used in non-display applications such as in electronic switching devices.
- an interferometric modulator display typically implement front-lighting that provides light for viewing images, for example, in the dark. While such a front-lighting scheme does provide light for viewing images in the dark, there is generally an intrinsic lighting uniformity issue as the middle portion of the interferometric modulator display remains darker than the outer edges. As interferometric modulator displays increase in size, this non-uniform effect of light caused by front-lighting increases, which can lead to poor visibility of images in the dark. Accordingly, this specification describes an improved lighting scheme for an interferometric display device to reduce non-uniformity of light.
- an interferometric modulator display is provided that includes a transparent substrate, and an optical stack is formed on the transparent substrate. A reflective layer is formed over the optical stack, and one or more posts to support the reflective layer are formed over the optical stack. The one or more posts provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the interferometric modulator display.
- FIG. 1 One interferometric modulator display embodiment comprising an interferometric MEMS display element is illustrated in FIG. 1 .
- the pixels are in either a bright or dark state.
- the display element In the bright (“on” or “open”) state, the display element reflects a large portion of incident visible light to a user.
- the dark (“off” or “closed”) state When in the dark (“off” or “closed”) state, the display element reflects little incident visible light to the user.
- the light reflectance properties of the “on” and “off” states may be reversed.
- MEMS pixels can be configured to reflect predominantly at selected colors, allowing for a color display in addition to black and white.
- FIG. 1 is an isometric view depicting two adjacent pixels in a series of pixels of a visual display, wherein each pixel comprises a MEMS interferometric modulator.
- an interferometric modulator display comprises a row/column array of these interferometric modulators.
- Each interferometric modulator includes a pair of reflective layers positioned at a variable and controllable distance from each other to form a resonant optical cavity with at least one variable dimension.
- one of the reflective layers may be moved between two positions. In the first position, referred to herein as the relaxed position, the movable reflective layer is positioned at a relatively large distance from a fixed partially reflective layer.
- the movable reflective layer In the second position, referred to herein as the actuated position, the movable reflective layer is positioned more closely adjacent to the fixed partially reflective layer. Incident light that reflects from the two layers interferes constructively or destructively depending on the position of the movable reflective layer, producing either an overall reflective or non-reflective state for each pixel.
- the depicted portion of the pixel array in FIG. 1 includes two adjacent interferometric modulators 12 a and 12 b .
- a movable reflective layer 14 a is illustrated in a relaxed position at a predetermined distance from an optical stack 16 a , which includes a partially reflective layer.
- the movable reflective layer 14 b is illustrated in an actuated position adjacent to the optical stack 16 b.
- optical stack 16 typically comprise of several fused layers, which can include an electrode layer, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), a partially reflective layer, such as chromium, and a transparent dielectric.
- ITO indium tin oxide
- the optical stack 16 is thus electrically conductive, partially transparent and partially reflective, and may be fabricated, for example, by depositing one or more of the above layers onto a transparent substrate 20 .
- the partially reflective layer can be formed from a variety of materials that are partially reflective such as various metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics.
- the partially reflective layer can be formed of one or more layers of materials, and each of the layers can be formed of a single material or a combination of materials.
- the layers of the optical stack 16 are patterned into parallel strips, and may form row electrodes in a display device as described further below.
- the movable reflective layers 14 a , 14 b may be formed as a series of parallel strips of a deposited metal layer or layers (orthogonal to the row electrodes of 16 a , 16 b ) deposited on top of posts 18 and an intervening sacrificial material deposited between the posts 18 . When the sacrificial material is etched away, the movable reflective layers 14 a , 14 b are separated from the optical stacks 16 a , 16 b by a defined gap 19 .
- a highly conductive and reflective material such as aluminum may be used for the reflective layers 14 , and these strips may form column electrodes in a display device.
- the cavity 19 remains between the movable reflective layer 14 a and optical stack 16 a , with the movable reflective layer 14 a in a mechanically relaxed state, as illustrated by the pixel 12 a in FIG. 1 .
- the capacitor formed at the intersection of the row and column electrodes at the corresponding pixel becomes charged, and electrostatic forces pull the electrodes together.
- the movable reflective layer 14 is deformed and is forced against the optical stack 16 .
- a dielectric layer (not shown) within the optical stack 16 may prevent shorting and control the separation distance between layers 14 and 16 , as illustrated by pixel 12 b on the right in FIG. 1 .
- the behavior is the same regardless of the polarity of the applied potential difference. In this way, row/column actuation that can control the reflective vs. non-reflective pixel states is analogous in many ways to that used in conventional LCD and other display technologies.
- FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate one exemplary process and system for using an array of interferometric modulators in a display application.
- FIG. 2 is a system block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an electronic device that may incorporate aspects of the invention.
- the electronic device includes a processor 21 which may be any general purpose single-chip or multi-chip microprocessor such as an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine), Pentium®, Pentium II®, Pentium III®, Pentium IV®, Pentium® Pro, an 8051, a MIPS®, a Power PC®, an ALPHA®, or any special purpose microprocessor such as a digital signal processor, microcontroller, or a programmable gate array.
- the processor 21 may be configured to execute one or more software modules.
- the processor may be configured to execute one or more software applications, including a web browser, a telephone application, an email program, or any other software application.
- the processor 21 is also configured to communicate with an array driver 22 .
- the array driver 22 includes a row driver circuit 24 and a column driver circuit 26 that provide signals to a display array or panel 30 .
- the cross section of the array illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown by the lines 1 - 1 in FIG. 2 .
- the row/column actuation protocol may take advantage of a hysteresis property of these devices illustrated in FIG. 3 . It may require, for example, a 10 volt potential difference to cause a movable layer to deform from the relaxed state to the actuated state. However, when the voltage is reduced from that value, the movable layer maintains its state as the voltage drops back below 10 volts.
- the movable layer does not relax completely until the voltage drops below 2 volts.
- There is thus a range of voltage, about 3 to 7 V in the example illustrated in FIG. 3 where there exists a window of applied voltage within which the device is stable in either the relaxed or actuated state. This is referred to herein as the “hysteresis window” or “stability window.”
- the row/column actuation protocol can be designed such that during row strobing, pixels in the strobed row that are to be actuated are exposed to a voltage difference of about 10 volts, and pixels that are to be relaxed are exposed to a voltage difference of close to zero volts. After the strobe, the pixels are exposed to a steady state voltage difference of about 5 volts such that they remain in whatever state the row strobe put them in. After being written, each pixel sees a potential difference within the “stability window” of 3-7 volts in this example. This feature makes the pixel design illustrated in FIG.
- each pixel of the interferometric modulator is essentially a capacitor formed by the fixed and moving reflective layers, this stable state can be held at a voltage within the hysteresis window with almost no power dissipation. Essentially no current flows into the pixel if the applied potential is fixed.
- a display frame may be created by asserting the set of column electrodes in accordance with the desired set of actuated pixels in the first row.
- a row pulse is then applied to the row 1 electrode, actuating the pixels corresponding to the asserted column lines.
- the asserted set of column electrodes is then changed to correspond to the desired set of actuated pixels in the second row.
- a pulse is then applied to the row 2 electrode, actuating the appropriate pixels in row 2 in accordance with the asserted column electrodes.
- the row 1 pixels are unaffected by the row 2 pulse, and remain in the state they were set to during the row 1 pulse. This may be repeated for the entire series of rows in a sequential fashion to produce the frame.
- the frames are refreshed and/or updated with new display data by continually repeating this process at some desired number of frames per second.
- protocols for driving row and column electrodes of pixel arrays to produce display frames are also well known and may be used in conjunction with the present invention.
- FIGS. 4 and 5 A- 5 B illustrate one possible actuation protocol for creating a display frame on the 3 ⁇ 3 array of FIG. 2 .
- FIG. 4 illustrates a possible set of column and row voltage levels that may be used for pixels exhibiting the hysteresis curves of FIG. 3 .
- actuating a pixel involves setting the appropriate column to ⁇ V bias , and the appropriate row to + ⁇ V, which may correspond to ⁇ 5 volts and +5 volts, respectively. Relaxing the pixel is accomplished by setting the appropriate column to +V bias , and the appropriate row to the same + ⁇ V, producing a zero volt potential difference across the pixel.
- the pixels are stable in whatever state they were originally in, regardless of whether the column is at +V bias , or ⁇ V bias .
- voltages of opposite polarity than those described above can be used, e.g., actuating a pixel can involve setting the appropriate column to +V bias , and the appropriate row to ⁇ V.
- releasing the pixel is accomplished by setting the appropriate column to ⁇ V bias , and the appropriate row to the same ⁇ V, producing a zero volt potential difference across the pixel.
- FIG. 5B is a timing diagram showing a series of row and column signals applied to the 3 ⁇ 3 array of FIG. 2 which will result in the display arrangement illustrated in FIG. 5A , where actuated pixels are non-reflective.
- the pixels Prior to writing the frame illustrated in FIG. 5A , the pixels can be in any state, and in this example, all the rows are at 0 volts, and all the columns are at +5 volts. With these applied voltages, all pixels are stable in their existing actuated or relaxed states.
- pixels (1,1), (1,2), (2,2), (3,2) and (3,3) are actuated.
- columns 1 and 2 are set to ⁇ 5 volts
- column 3 is set to +5 volts. This does not change the state of any pixels, because all the pixels remain in the 3-7 volt stability window.
- Row 1 is then strobed with a pulse that goes from 0, up to 5 volts, and back to zero. This actuates the (1,1) and (1,2) pixels and relaxes the (1,3) pixel. No other pixels in the array are affected.
- row 2 is set to ⁇ 5 volts, and columns 1 and 3 are set to +5 volts.
- the same strobe applied to row 2 will then actuate pixel (2,2) and relax pixels (2,1) and (2,3). Again, no other pixels of the array are affected.
- Row 3 is similarly set by setting columns 2 and 3 to ⁇ 5 volts, and column 1 to +5 volts.
- the row 3 strobe sets the row 3 pixels as shown in FIG. 5A . After writing the frame, the row potentials are zero, and the column potentials can remain at either +5 or ⁇ 5 volts, and the display is then stable in the arrangement of FIG. 5A .
- FIG. 6A is a cross section of the embodiment of FIG. 1 , where a strip of metal material 14 is deposited on orthogonally extending supports 18 .
- the moveable reflective layer 14 is attached to supports at the corners only, on tethers 32 .
- the moveable reflective layer 14 is suspended from a deformable layer 34 , which may comprise a flexible metal.
- the deformable layer 34 connects, directly or indirectly, to the substrate 20 around the perimeter of the deformable layer 34 . These connections are referred to herein as support posts.
- the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6D has support post plugs 42 upon which the deformable layer 34 rests.
- the movable reflective layer 14 remains suspended over the cavity, as in FIGS.
- the deformable layer 34 does not form the support posts by filling holes between the deformable layer 34 and the optical stack 16 . Rather, the support posts are formed of a planarization material, which is used to form support post plugs 42 .
- the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6E is based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 6D , but may also be adapted to work with any of the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C as well as additional embodiments not shown. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6E , an extra layer of metal or other conductive material has been used to form a bus structure 44 . This allows signal routing along the back of the interferometric modulators, eliminating a number of electrodes that may otherwise have had to be formed on the substrate 20 .
- FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B respectively illustrate cross-section and an exploded view of an embodiment of an interferometric modulator display 700 .
- the interferometric modulator display 700 includes a substrate 702 , and an interferometric modulator array comprising a plurality of interferometric modulators 704 .
- the interferometric modulator display 700 further includes a mechanical layer 706 and a plurality of support posts 708 to support the mechanical layer 706 .
- the plurality of support posts 708 are also operable to act as a waveguide (e.g., to provide a path) to propagate light 710 from a backlight (not shown) through the mechanical layer 706 to the substrate 702 . Accordingly, the light 710 can be uniformly dispersed across a viewable area of the interferometric modulator display 700 .
- FIG. 7B shows an exploded view of the interferometric modulator display 700 according to one embodiment.
- the substrate 702 comprises two layers—a first substrate layer 712 and a second substrate layer 714 .
- both the first substrate layer 712 and the second substrate layer are substantially transparent and/or translucent.
- the first substrate layer 712 can be glass, silica, and/or alumina
- the second substrate layer 714 can comprise spin-on glass (SOG).
- the second substrate layer 714 includes scatterers (or reflectors) 716 to further disperse light 710 (from a backlight (not shown)) more uniformly through the substrate 702 .
- the interferometric modulator display 700 further includes an optical stack 718 .
- the optical stack 718 comprises several fused layers, including an electrode layer (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO)), a partially reflective layer (e.g., chromium), and a transparent dielectric.
- ITO indium tin oxide
- the partially reflective layer can be formed from a variety of materials that are partially reflective such as various metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics.
- the partially reflective layer can be formed of one or more layers of materials, and each of the layers can be formed of a single material or a combination of materials.
- the support posts 708 support the mechanical layer 706 over the optical stack 718 such that the mechanical layer 706 is separated from the optical stack by a transparent medium 720 (e.g., an air gap).
- the support posts 708 also provide a path for light 710 from a backlight (not shown) to pass through the mechanical layer 706 and the optical stack 718 to the substrate 702 .
- a mirror 722 e.g., an aluminum mirror deflects the light 710 throughout the substrate 702 .
- the mirror 722 may include a light pipe or any other optical pathway for directing light.
- the interferometric modulator display 700 implements a backlighting scheme to more uniformly distribute light across an interferometric modulator display.
- FIGS. 8A-8B illustrates a process 800 of fabricating an interferometric modulator display (e.g., interferometric modulator 700 ) in accordance with one embodiment.
- an interferometric modulator display e.g., interferometric modulator 700
- the process 800 begins with providing a substrate (step 802 ).
- a substrate 902 is provided.
- the substrate 902 can be transparent or not transparent.
- the substrate 1102 comprises glass.
- a glass layer is deposited (step 804 ).
- a glass layer 904 is deposited over the substrate 902 .
- the glass layer 904 includes a plurality of scatterers (or reflectors) 906 for dispersing light, as discussed in greater detail above.
- the glass layer 904 can comprise spin-on glass (SOG) or any other transparent dielectric material.
- a conductive layer is formed (step 806 ). As shown in FIG.
- a conductive layer 908 is formed over the glass layer 904 .
- the conductive layer 908 comprises one or more layers and/or films.
- the conductive layer 908 comprises a conductive layer (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO)) and a partially reflective layer (e.g., chromium).
- An oxide layer is deposited (step 808 ).
- an oxide layer 910 is deposited over the conductive layer 908 .
- the oxide layer 910 comprises a silicon oxide compound (Si X O Y ).
- a sacrificial layer is deposited (step 810 ). Referring to FIG.
- a sacrificial layer 912 is deposited over the oxide layer 910 .
- the sacrificial layer 912 comprises molybdenum.
- the height of the sacrificial layer 912 determines the amount of spacing between the first conductive layer 908 (or conductive plate) and a second conductive plate (e.g., a mechanical layer discussed below). In one embodiment, the height of the sacrificial layer 912 is substantially (1800 ⁇ -2100 ⁇ ).
- a mechanical layer is formed (step 812 ).
- a mechanical layer 914 is formed over the sacrificial layer 912 .
- the mechanical layer 914 comprises a movable reflective layer as discussed above.
- the mechanical layer 914 comprises aluminum/nickel, and has a height substantially in the range of 1100 ⁇ -1300 ⁇ .
- the mechanical layer is etched (step 812 ).
- the mechanical layer 914 is etched at locations where support posts are desired.
- the sacrificial layer is etched (step 816 ). As shown in FIG.
- a greater portion of the sacrificial layer 912 is etched relative to the portion of the mechanical layer 914 that was etched (or removed).
- the sacrificial layer 912 is etched a distance d of approximately 0.5-1 ⁇ m greater than the mechanical layer 914 .
- the oxide layer is etched (step 818 ).
- the oxide layer 910 is etched.
- the conductive layer is etched (step 820 ).
- the conductive layer 908 is etched.
- the glass layer is etched (step 822 ).
- the glass layer 904 is etched to reveal the substrate 902 .
- a mirror is formed (step 824 ).
- a mirror 916 is formed on the substrate 902 .
- the mirror 916 is formed by deposition of a (thin) metal layer 918 over the mechanical layer 914 .
- a thickness (or height) of the metal layer 918 is substantially in the range of 50-150 ⁇ .
- the deposition of the thin metal layer 918 can be implemented through sputtering to achieve a pyramid-like structure for the mirror 916 so that the mirror 916 can deflect a light from a backlight throughout the glass layer 904 and the substrate 902 .
- the mirror 916 comprises aluminum or other reflective material.
- a plurality of posts are formed (step 826 ). As shown by FIG.
- posts 920 are formed within the etched portions of the layers of the interferometric modulator display.
- the posts 920 are formed using a planarization technique followed by photolithography to remove unwanted portions of the material that comprise the posts 920 .
- the posts 920 can comprise spin-on glass (SOG) or a transparent polymer.
- the sacrificial layer is released (step 828 ).
- the sacrificial layer 912 is released to form an air gap 922 between the mechanical layer 914 and the oxide layer 910 .
- the sacrificial layer 912 can be released through one or more etch holes formed through the metal layer 918 and the mechanical layer 914 .
- the one or more etch holes can be created after formation of the posts 920 .
- FIGS. 10A and 10B are system block diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a display device 40 .
- the display device 40 can be, for example, a cellular or mobile telephone.
- the same components of display device 40 or slight variations thereof are also illustrative of various types of display devices such as televisions and portable media players.
- the display device 40 includes a housing 41 , a display 30 , an antenna 43 , a speaker 44 , an input device 48 , and a microphone 46 .
- the housing 41 is generally formed from any of a variety of manufacturing processes as are well known to those of skill in the art, including injection molding, and vacuum forming.
- the housing 41 may be made from any of a variety of materials, including but not limited to plastic, metal, glass, rubber, and ceramic, or a combination thereof.
- the housing 41 includes removable portions (not shown) that may be interchanged with other removable portions of different color, or containing different logos, pictures, or symbols.
- the display 30 of exemplary display device 40 may be any of a variety of displays, including a bi-stable display, as described herein.
- the display 30 includes a flat-panel display, such as plasma, EL, OLED, STN LCD, or TFT LCD as described above, or a non-flat-panel display, such as a CRT or other tube device, as is well known to those of skill in the art.
- the display 30 includes an interferometric modulator display, as described herein.
- the components of one embodiment of exemplary display device 40 are schematically illustrated in FIG. 10B .
- the illustrated exemplary display device 40 includes a housing 41 and can include additional components at least partially enclosed therein.
- the exemplary display device 40 includes a network interface 27 that includes an antenna 43 which is coupled to a transceiver 47 .
- the transceiver 47 is connected to a processor 21 , which is connected to conditioning hardware 52 .
- the conditioning hardware 52 may be configured to condition a signal (e.g. filter a signal).
- the conditioning hardware 52 is connected to a speaker 45 and a microphone 46 .
- the processor 21 is also connected to an input device 48 and a driver controller 29 .
- the driver controller 29 is coupled to a frame buffer 28 , and to an array driver 22 , which in turn is coupled to a display array 30 .
- a power supply 50 provides power to all components as required by the particular exemplary display device 40 design.
- the network interface 27 includes the antenna 43 and the transceiver 47 so that the exemplary display device 40 can communicate with one or more devices over a network. In one embodiment the network interface 27 may also have some processing capabilities to relieve requirements of the processor 21 .
- the antenna 43 is any antenna known to those of skill in the art for transmitting and receiving signals. In one embodiment, the antenna transmits and receives RF signals according to the IEEE 802.11 standard, including IEEE 802.11(a), (b), or (g). In another embodiment, the antenna transmits and receives RF signals according to the BLUETOOTH standard. In the case of a cellular telephone, the antenna is designed to receive CDMA, GSM, AMPS or other known signals that are used to communicate within a wireless cell phone network.
- the transceiver 47 pre-processes the signals received from the antenna 43 so that they may be received by and further manipulated by the processor 21 .
- the transceiver 47 also processes signals received from the processor 21 so that they may be transmitted from the exemplary display device 40 via the antenna 43 .
- the transceiver 47 can be replaced by a receiver.
- network interface 27 can be replaced by an image source, which can store or generate image data to be sent to the processor 21 .
- the image source can be a digital video disc (DVD) or a hard-disc drive that contains image data, or a software module that generates image data.
- Processor 21 generally controls the overall operation of the exemplary display device 40 .
- the processor 21 receives data, such as compressed image data from the network interface 27 or an image source, and processes the data into raw image data or into a format that is readily processed into raw image data.
- the processor 21 then sends the processed data to the driver controller 29 or to frame buffer 28 for storage.
- Raw data typically refers to the information that identifies the image characteristics at each location within an image. For example, such image characteristics can include color, saturation, and gray-scale level.
- the processor 21 includes a microcontroller, CPU, or logic unit to control operation of the exemplary display device 40 .
- Conditioning hardware 52 generally includes amplifiers and filters for transmitting signals to the speaker 45 , and for receiving signals from the microphone 46 .
- Conditioning hardware 52 may be discrete components within the exemplary display device 40 , or may be incorporated within the processor 21 or other components.
- the driver controller 29 takes the raw image data generated by the processor 21 either directly from the processor 21 or from the frame buffer 28 and reformats the raw image data appropriately for high speed transmission to the array driver 22 . Specifically, the driver controller 29 reformats the raw image data into a data flow having a raster-like format, such that it has a time order suitable for scanning across the display array 30 . Then the driver controller 29 sends the formatted information to the array driver 22 .
- a driver controller 29 such as a LCD controller, is often associated with the system processor 21 as a stand-alone Integrated Circuit (IC), such controllers may be implemented in many ways. They may be embedded in the processor 21 as hardware, embedded in the processor 21 as software, or fully integrated in hardware with the array driver 22 .
- the array driver 22 receives the formatted information from the driver controller 29 and reformats the video data into a parallel set of waveforms that are applied many times per second to the hundreds and sometimes thousands of leads coming from the display's x-y matrix of pixels.
- driver controller 29 is a conventional display controller or a bi-stable display controller (e.g., an interferometric modulator controller).
- array driver 22 is a conventional driver or a bi-stable display driver (e.g., an interferometric modulator display driver).
- a driver controller 29 is integrated with the array driver 22 .
- display array 30 is a typical display array or a bi-stable display array (e.g., a display including an array of interferometric modulators).
- the input device 48 allows a user to control the operation of the exemplary display device 40 .
- input device 48 includes a keypad, such as a QWERTY keyboard or a telephone keypad, a button, a switch, a touch-sensitive screen, a pressure- or heat-sensitive membrane.
- the microphone 46 is an input device for the exemplary display device 40 . When the microphone 46 is used to input data to the device, voice commands may be provided by a user for controlling operations of the exemplary display device 40 .
- Power supply 50 can include a variety of energy storage devices as are well known in the art.
- power supply 50 is a rechargeable battery, such as a nickel-cadmium battery or a lithium ion battery.
- power supply 50 is a renewable energy source, a capacitor, or a solar cell, including a plastic solar cell, and solar-cell paint.
- power supply 50 is configured to receive power from a wall outlet.
- control programmability resides, as described above, in a driver controller which can be located in several places in the electronic display system. In some cases control programmability resides in the array driver 22 . Those of skill in the art will recognize that the above-described optimization may be implemented in any number of hardware and/or software components and in various configurations.
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for providing lighting in a display are provided. In one embodiment, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) is provided that includes a transparent substrate and a plurality of interferometric modulators. The interferometric modulators include an optical stack coupled to the transparent substrate, a reflective layer over the optical stack, and one or more posts to support the reflective layer and to provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the display.
Description
- This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/544,184, filed Aug. 19, 2009, and titled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING BACK-LIGHTING IN A DISPLAY DEVICE, which is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/357,702, filed Feb. 17, 2006, and titled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING BACK-LIGHTING IN AN INTERFEROMETRIC MODULATOR DISPLAY DEVICE, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
- 1. Field
- The present invention relates generally to display devices, and more particularly to interferometric modulator display devices.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) include micromechanical elements, actuators, and electronics. Micromechanical elements may be created using deposition, etching, and/or other micromachining processes that etch away parts of substrates and/or deposited material layers or that add layers to form electrical and electromechanical devices. One type of MEMS device is called an interferometric modulator. As used herein, the term interferometric modulator or interferometric light modulator refers to a device that selectively absorbs and/or reflects light using the principles of optical interference. In certain embodiments, an interferometric modulator may comprise a pair of conductive plates, one or both of which may be transparent and/or reflective in whole or part and capable of relative motion upon application of an appropriate electrical signal. In a particular embodiment, one plate may comprise a stationary layer deposited on a substrate and the other plate may comprise a metallic membrane separated from the stationary layer by a transparent medium (e.g., an air gap). As described herein in more detail, the position of one plate in relation to the other plate can change the optical interference of light incident on the interferometric modulator. Such devices have a wide range of applications, and it would be beneficial in the art to utilize and/or modify the characteristics of these types of devices so that their features can be exploited in improving existing products and creating new products that have not yet been developed.
- Conventional interferometric modulator display devices typically implement front-lighting that provides light for viewing images, for example, in the dark. The front-lighting is typically provided by a light strip that surrounds the perimeter of an interferometric modulator display. While such a front-lighting scheme does provide light for viewing images in the dark, there is generally an intrinsic (lighting) uniformity issue as the middle portion of the interferometric modulator display remains darker than the outer edges. As interferometric modulator displays increase in size, this non-uniform effect of light caused by front-lighting increases, which can lead to poor visibility of images in the dark.
- Accordingly, what is needed is an improved lighting scheme for an interferometric display device to reduce non-uniformity of light. The present invention addresses such a need.
- In general, in one aspect, this specification describes a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) including a transparent substrate, and a plurality of interferometric modulators. The plurality of interferometric modulators include an optical stack coupled to the transparent substrate, a reflective layer over the optical stack, and one or more posts to support the reflective layer and to provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the interferometric modulators.
- Particular features can include one or more of the following features. The MEMS can further include a glass layer between the transparent substrate and the optical stack. The glass layer can include a plurality of scatterers to disperse the light. The glass layer can comprise first spin-on glass (SOG) including the plurality of scatterers. The one or more posts can be composed of a transparent polymer or second spin-on glass (SOG). Each of the one or more posts can further be configured to direct the light to the glass layer. The scatterers can be configured to disperse the light to the interferometric modulators. Each of the one or more posts can further comprise a mirror. The one or more posts can extend from the optical stack through the reflective layer.
- The MEMS, as a display device, can further include a display including the MEMS, and a processor that is in electrical communication with the display, the processor being configured to process image data, and a memory device in electrical communication with the processor. The display system can further include a backlight coupled to the display for providing light to the interferometric modulators. The display system can further include a first controller configured to send at least one signal to the display, and a second controller configured to send at least a portion of the image data to the first controller. The display system can further include an image source module configured to send the image data to the processor. The image source module can comprise at least one of a receiver, transceiver, and transmitter. The display system can further include an input device configured to receive input data and to communicate the input data to the processor.
- In general in another aspect, this specification describes a micromechanical system (MEMS) including a transparent substrate means, and a plurality of interferometric modulator means. The plurality of interferometric modulator means includes an optical stack means coupled to the transparent substrate means, a reflective layer means over the optical stack means, and one or more post means to support the reflective layer means and to provide a path for light from a backlight means for lighting the interferometric modulator means.
- In general in another aspect, this specification describes a method for providing light in a microelectromechanical system (MEMS). The method includes providing a transparent substrate, and forming a plurality of interferometric modulators. Forming a plurality of interferometric modulators includes coupling an optical stack to the transparent substrate, forming a reflective layer over the optical stack, and forming one or more posts to support the reflective layer and to provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the interferometric modulators.
- Implementations may provide one or more of the following advantages. An interferometric modulator display that has an improved lighting scheme for an interferometric display device to having a higher lighting uniformity relative to conventional interferometric modulator displays devices that implement a front-lighting scheme. In one embodiment, uniform lighting is provided through posts (or rails) that are integrated within the interferometric display device. Such a design may be more power-efficient relative to conventional techniques in illuminating a central area of an interferometric display. Moreover, the brightness of an interferometric display may be enhanced even with ambient light.
- The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
-
FIG. 1 is an isometric view depicting a portion of one embodiment of an interferometric modulator display in which a movable reflective layer of a first interferometric modulator is in a relaxed position and a movable reflective layer of a second interferometric modulator is in an actuated position. -
FIG. 2 is a system block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an electronic device incorporating a 3×3 interferometric modulator display. -
FIG. 3 is a diagram of movable mirror position versus applied voltage for one exemplary embodiment of an interferometric modulator ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 4 is an illustration of a set of row and column voltages that may be used to drive an interferometric modulator display. -
FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate one exemplary timing diagram for row and column signals that may be used to write a frame of display data to the 3×3 interferometric modulator display ofFIG. 2 . -
FIG. 6A is a cross section of an interferometric modulator ofFIG. 1 .FIGS. 6B-E are alternative embodiments of an interferometric modulator. -
FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate cross-sectional views of an interferometric modulator display. -
FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate a flow diagram illustrating a process for manufacturing an interferometric modulator display according to one embodiment. -
FIGS. 9A-9N illustrate the process of manufacturing an interferometric modulator display according to the process ofFIGS. 8A-8B . -
FIGS. 10A and 10B are system block diagrams illustrating an embodiment of a visual display device comprising a plurality of interferometric modulators. - Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
- The following detailed description is directed to certain specific embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways. In this description, reference is made to the drawings wherein like parts are designated with like numerals throughout. As will be apparent from the following description, the embodiments may be implemented in any device that is configured to display an image, whether in motion (e.g., video) or stationary (e.g., still image), and whether textual or pictorial. More particularly, it is contemplated that the embodiments may be implemented in or associated with a variety of electronic devices such as, but not limited to, mobile telephones, wireless devices, personal data assistants (PDAs), hand-held or portable computers, GPS receivers/navigators, cameras, MP3 players, camcorders, game consoles, wrist watches, clocks, calculators, television monitors, flat panel displays, computer monitors, auto displays (e.g., odometer display, etc.), cockpit controls and/or displays, display of camera views (e.g., display of a rear view camera in a vehicle), electronic photographs, electronic billboards or signs, projectors, architectural structures, packaging, and aesthetic structures (e.g., display of images on a piece of jewelry). MEMS devices of similar structure to those described herein can also be used in non-display applications such as in electronic switching devices.
- As discussed above, conventional interferometric modulator display devices typically implement front-lighting that provides light for viewing images, for example, in the dark. While such a front-lighting scheme does provide light for viewing images in the dark, there is generally an intrinsic lighting uniformity issue as the middle portion of the interferometric modulator display remains darker than the outer edges. As interferometric modulator displays increase in size, this non-uniform effect of light caused by front-lighting increases, which can lead to poor visibility of images in the dark. Accordingly, this specification describes an improved lighting scheme for an interferometric display device to reduce non-uniformity of light. In one embodiment, an interferometric modulator display is provided that includes a transparent substrate, and an optical stack is formed on the transparent substrate. A reflective layer is formed over the optical stack, and one or more posts to support the reflective layer are formed over the optical stack. The one or more posts provide a path for light from a backlight for lighting the interferometric modulator display.
- One interferometric modulator display embodiment comprising an interferometric MEMS display element is illustrated in
FIG. 1 . In these devices, the pixels are in either a bright or dark state. In the bright (“on” or “open”) state, the display element reflects a large portion of incident visible light to a user. When in the dark (“off” or “closed”) state, the display element reflects little incident visible light to the user. Depending on the embodiment, the light reflectance properties of the “on” and “off” states may be reversed. MEMS pixels can be configured to reflect predominantly at selected colors, allowing for a color display in addition to black and white. -
FIG. 1 is an isometric view depicting two adjacent pixels in a series of pixels of a visual display, wherein each pixel comprises a MEMS interferometric modulator. In some embodiments, an interferometric modulator display comprises a row/column array of these interferometric modulators. Each interferometric modulator includes a pair of reflective layers positioned at a variable and controllable distance from each other to form a resonant optical cavity with at least one variable dimension. In one embodiment, one of the reflective layers may be moved between two positions. In the first position, referred to herein as the relaxed position, the movable reflective layer is positioned at a relatively large distance from a fixed partially reflective layer. In the second position, referred to herein as the actuated position, the movable reflective layer is positioned more closely adjacent to the fixed partially reflective layer. Incident light that reflects from the two layers interferes constructively or destructively depending on the position of the movable reflective layer, producing either an overall reflective or non-reflective state for each pixel. - The depicted portion of the pixel array in
FIG. 1 includes two adjacentinterferometric modulators interferometric modulator 12 a on the left, a movablereflective layer 14 a is illustrated in a relaxed position at a predetermined distance from anoptical stack 16 a, which includes a partially reflective layer. In theinterferometric modulator 12 b on the right, the movablereflective layer 14 b is illustrated in an actuated position adjacent to theoptical stack 16 b. - The optical stacks 16 a and 16 b (collectively referred to as optical stack 16), as referenced herein, typically comprise of several fused layers, which can include an electrode layer, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), a partially reflective layer, such as chromium, and a transparent dielectric. The
optical stack 16 is thus electrically conductive, partially transparent and partially reflective, and may be fabricated, for example, by depositing one or more of the above layers onto atransparent substrate 20. The partially reflective layer can be formed from a variety of materials that are partially reflective such as various metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics. The partially reflective layer can be formed of one or more layers of materials, and each of the layers can be formed of a single material or a combination of materials. - In some embodiments, the layers of the
optical stack 16 are patterned into parallel strips, and may form row electrodes in a display device as described further below. The movablereflective layers posts 18 and an intervening sacrificial material deposited between theposts 18. When the sacrificial material is etched away, the movablereflective layers optical stacks gap 19. A highly conductive and reflective material such as aluminum may be used for thereflective layers 14, and these strips may form column electrodes in a display device. - With no applied voltage, the
cavity 19 remains between the movablereflective layer 14 a andoptical stack 16 a, with the movablereflective layer 14 a in a mechanically relaxed state, as illustrated by thepixel 12 a inFIG. 1 . However, when a potential difference is applied to a selected row and column, the capacitor formed at the intersection of the row and column electrodes at the corresponding pixel becomes charged, and electrostatic forces pull the electrodes together. If the voltage is high enough, the movablereflective layer 14 is deformed and is forced against theoptical stack 16. A dielectric layer (not shown) within theoptical stack 16 may prevent shorting and control the separation distance betweenlayers pixel 12 b on the right inFIG. 1 . The behavior is the same regardless of the polarity of the applied potential difference. In this way, row/column actuation that can control the reflective vs. non-reflective pixel states is analogous in many ways to that used in conventional LCD and other display technologies. -
FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate one exemplary process and system for using an array of interferometric modulators in a display application. -
FIG. 2 is a system block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an electronic device that may incorporate aspects of the invention. In the exemplary embodiment, the electronic device includes aprocessor 21 which may be any general purpose single-chip or multi-chip microprocessor such as an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine), Pentium®, Pentium II®, Pentium III®, Pentium IV®, Pentium® Pro, an 8051, a MIPS®, a Power PC®, an ALPHA®, or any special purpose microprocessor such as a digital signal processor, microcontroller, or a programmable gate array. As is conventional in the art, theprocessor 21 may be configured to execute one or more software modules. In addition to executing an operating system, the processor may be configured to execute one or more software applications, including a web browser, a telephone application, an email program, or any other software application. - In one embodiment, the
processor 21 is also configured to communicate with anarray driver 22. In one embodiment, thearray driver 22 includes arow driver circuit 24 and acolumn driver circuit 26 that provide signals to a display array orpanel 30. The cross section of the array illustrated inFIG. 1 is shown by the lines 1-1 inFIG. 2 . For MEMS interferometric modulators, the row/column actuation protocol may take advantage of a hysteresis property of these devices illustrated inFIG. 3 . It may require, for example, a 10 volt potential difference to cause a movable layer to deform from the relaxed state to the actuated state. However, when the voltage is reduced from that value, the movable layer maintains its state as the voltage drops back below 10 volts. In the exemplary embodiment ofFIG. 3 , the movable layer does not relax completely until the voltage drops below 2 volts. There is thus a range of voltage, about 3 to 7 V in the example illustrated inFIG. 3 , where there exists a window of applied voltage within which the device is stable in either the relaxed or actuated state. This is referred to herein as the “hysteresis window” or “stability window.” - For a display array having the hysteresis characteristics of
FIG. 3 , the row/column actuation protocol can be designed such that during row strobing, pixels in the strobed row that are to be actuated are exposed to a voltage difference of about 10 volts, and pixels that are to be relaxed are exposed to a voltage difference of close to zero volts. After the strobe, the pixels are exposed to a steady state voltage difference of about 5 volts such that they remain in whatever state the row strobe put them in. After being written, each pixel sees a potential difference within the “stability window” of 3-7 volts in this example. This feature makes the pixel design illustrated inFIG. 1 stable under the same applied voltage conditions in either an actuated or relaxed pre-existing state. Since each pixel of the interferometric modulator, whether in the actuated or relaxed state, is essentially a capacitor formed by the fixed and moving reflective layers, this stable state can be held at a voltage within the hysteresis window with almost no power dissipation. Essentially no current flows into the pixel if the applied potential is fixed. - In typical applications, a display frame may be created by asserting the set of column electrodes in accordance with the desired set of actuated pixels in the first row. A row pulse is then applied to the
row 1 electrode, actuating the pixels corresponding to the asserted column lines. The asserted set of column electrodes is then changed to correspond to the desired set of actuated pixels in the second row. A pulse is then applied to therow 2 electrode, actuating the appropriate pixels inrow 2 in accordance with the asserted column electrodes. Therow 1 pixels are unaffected by therow 2 pulse, and remain in the state they were set to during therow 1 pulse. This may be repeated for the entire series of rows in a sequential fashion to produce the frame. Generally, the frames are refreshed and/or updated with new display data by continually repeating this process at some desired number of frames per second. A wide variety of protocols for driving row and column electrodes of pixel arrays to produce display frames are also well known and may be used in conjunction with the present invention. - FIGS. 4 and 5A-5B illustrate one possible actuation protocol for creating a display frame on the 3×3 array of
FIG. 2 .FIG. 4 illustrates a possible set of column and row voltage levels that may be used for pixels exhibiting the hysteresis curves ofFIG. 3 . In the embodiment shown inFIG. 4 , actuating a pixel involves setting the appropriate column to −Vbias, and the appropriate row to +ΔV, which may correspond to −5 volts and +5 volts, respectively. Relaxing the pixel is accomplished by setting the appropriate column to +Vbias, and the appropriate row to the same +ΔV, producing a zero volt potential difference across the pixel. In those rows where the row voltage is held at zero volts, the pixels are stable in whatever state they were originally in, regardless of whether the column is at +Vbias, or −Vbias. As is also illustrated inFIG. 4 , it will be appreciated that voltages of opposite polarity than those described above can be used, e.g., actuating a pixel can involve setting the appropriate column to +Vbias, and the appropriate row to −ΔV. In this embodiment, releasing the pixel is accomplished by setting the appropriate column to −Vbias, and the appropriate row to the same −ΔV, producing a zero volt potential difference across the pixel. -
FIG. 5B is a timing diagram showing a series of row and column signals applied to the 3×3 array ofFIG. 2 which will result in the display arrangement illustrated inFIG. 5A , where actuated pixels are non-reflective. Prior to writing the frame illustrated inFIG. 5A , the pixels can be in any state, and in this example, all the rows are at 0 volts, and all the columns are at +5 volts. With these applied voltages, all pixels are stable in their existing actuated or relaxed states. - In the frame shown in
FIG. 5A , pixels (1,1), (1,2), (2,2), (3,2) and (3,3) are actuated. To accomplish this, during a “line time” forrow 1,columns column 3 is set to +5 volts. This does not change the state of any pixels, because all the pixels remain in the 3-7 volt stability window.Row 1 is then strobed with a pulse that goes from 0, up to 5 volts, and back to zero. This actuates the (1,1) and (1,2) pixels and relaxes the (1,3) pixel. No other pixels in the array are affected. To setrow 2 as desired,column 2 is set to −5 volts, andcolumns Row 3 is similarly set by settingcolumns column 1 to +5 volts. Therow 3 strobe sets therow 3 pixels as shown inFIG. 5A . After writing the frame, the row potentials are zero, and the column potentials can remain at either +5 or −5 volts, and the display is then stable in the arrangement ofFIG. 5A . It will be appreciated that the same procedure can be employed for arrays of dozens or hundreds of rows and columns. It will also be appreciated that the timing, sequence, and levels of voltages used to perform row and column actuation can be varied widely within the general principles outlined above, and the above example is exemplary only, and any actuation voltage method can be used with the systems and methods described herein. -
FIG. 6A is a cross section of the embodiment ofFIG. 1 , where a strip ofmetal material 14 is deposited on orthogonally extending supports 18. InFIG. 6B , the moveablereflective layer 14 is attached to supports at the corners only, ontethers 32. InFIG. 6C , the moveablereflective layer 14 is suspended from adeformable layer 34, which may comprise a flexible metal. Thedeformable layer 34 connects, directly or indirectly, to thesubstrate 20 around the perimeter of thedeformable layer 34. These connections are referred to herein as support posts. The embodiment illustrated inFIG. 6D has support post plugs 42 upon which thedeformable layer 34 rests. The movablereflective layer 14 remains suspended over the cavity, as inFIGS. 6A-6C , but thedeformable layer 34 does not form the support posts by filling holes between thedeformable layer 34 and theoptical stack 16. Rather, the support posts are formed of a planarization material, which is used to form support post plugs 42. The embodiment illustrated inFIG. 6E is based on the embodiment shown inFIG. 6D , but may also be adapted to work with any of the embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 6A-6C as well as additional embodiments not shown. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 6E , an extra layer of metal or other conductive material has been used to form abus structure 44. This allows signal routing along the back of the interferometric modulators, eliminating a number of electrodes that may otherwise have had to be formed on thesubstrate 20. -
FIG. 7A andFIG. 7B respectively illustrate cross-section and an exploded view of an embodiment of aninterferometric modulator display 700. Referring toFIG. 7A , theinterferometric modulator display 700 includes asubstrate 702, and an interferometric modulator array comprising a plurality ofinterferometric modulators 704. Theinterferometric modulator display 700 further includes amechanical layer 706 and a plurality ofsupport posts 708 to support themechanical layer 706. In accordance with the present invention, the plurality ofsupport posts 708 are also operable to act as a waveguide (e.g., to provide a path) to propagate light 710 from a backlight (not shown) through themechanical layer 706 to thesubstrate 702. Accordingly, the light 710 can be uniformly dispersed across a viewable area of theinterferometric modulator display 700. -
FIG. 7B shows an exploded view of theinterferometric modulator display 700 according to one embodiment. As shown inFIG. 7B , in one embodiment, thesubstrate 702 comprises two layers—afirst substrate layer 712 and asecond substrate layer 714. In one embodiment, both thefirst substrate layer 712 and the second substrate layer are substantially transparent and/or translucent. For example, thefirst substrate layer 712 can be glass, silica, and/or alumina, and thesecond substrate layer 714 can comprise spin-on glass (SOG). In one embodiment, thesecond substrate layer 714 includes scatterers (or reflectors) 716 to further disperse light 710 (from a backlight (not shown)) more uniformly through thesubstrate 702. Althoughscatterers 716 are illustrated as circular, one of skill in the art will recognize that any shape or surface suitable for reflecting, directing or scattering light may be used in the invention, including prisms and thin-film layers for redirecting light. Theinterferometric modulator display 700 further includes anoptical stack 718. In one embodiment, theoptical stack 718 comprises several fused layers, including an electrode layer (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO)), a partially reflective layer (e.g., chromium), and a transparent dielectric. The partially reflective layer can be formed from a variety of materials that are partially reflective such as various metals, semiconductors, and dielectrics. The partially reflective layer can be formed of one or more layers of materials, and each of the layers can be formed of a single material or a combination of materials. - As shown in
FIG. 7B , the support posts 708 support themechanical layer 706 over theoptical stack 718 such that themechanical layer 706 is separated from the optical stack by a transparent medium 720 (e.g., an air gap). In addition, as discussed above, the support posts 708 also provide a path for light 710 from a backlight (not shown) to pass through themechanical layer 706 and theoptical stack 718 to thesubstrate 702. In one embodiment, a mirror 722 (e.g., an aluminum mirror) deflects the light 710 throughout thesubstrate 702. Themirror 722 may include a light pipe or any other optical pathway for directing light. Thus, unlike a conventional interferometric modulator display that may have poor lighting uniformity due to a front-lighting scheme, theinterferometric modulator display 700 implements a backlighting scheme to more uniformly distribute light across an interferometric modulator display. -
FIGS. 8A-8B illustrates aprocess 800 of fabricating an interferometric modulator display (e.g., interferometric modulator 700) in accordance with one embodiment. - Referring first to
FIG. 8A , theprocess 800 begins with providing a substrate (step 802). Referring to the example ofFIG. 9A , asubstrate 902 is provided. Thesubstrate 902 can be transparent or not transparent. In one embodiment, the substrate 1102 comprises glass. A glass layer is deposited (step 804). As shown inFIG. 9B , aglass layer 904 is deposited over thesubstrate 902. In one embodiment, theglass layer 904 includes a plurality of scatterers (or reflectors) 906 for dispersing light, as discussed in greater detail above. Theglass layer 904 can comprise spin-on glass (SOG) or any other transparent dielectric material. A conductive layer is formed (step 806). As shown inFIG. 9C , aconductive layer 908 is formed over theglass layer 904. In one embodiment theconductive layer 908 comprises one or more layers and/or films. For example, in one embodiment theconductive layer 908 comprises a conductive layer (e.g., indium tin oxide (ITO)) and a partially reflective layer (e.g., chromium). An oxide layer is deposited (step 808). As shown inFIG. 9D , anoxide layer 910 is deposited over theconductive layer 908. In one embodiment, theoxide layer 910 comprises a silicon oxide compound (SiXOY). A sacrificial layer is deposited (step 810). Referring toFIG. 9E , asacrificial layer 912 is deposited over theoxide layer 910. In one embodiment, thesacrificial layer 912 comprises molybdenum. In one embodiment, the height of thesacrificial layer 912 determines the amount of spacing between the first conductive layer 908 (or conductive plate) and a second conductive plate (e.g., a mechanical layer discussed below). In one embodiment, the height of thesacrificial layer 912 is substantially (1800 Å-2100 Å). - A mechanical layer is formed (step 812). Referring to the example of
FIG. 9F , amechanical layer 914 is formed over thesacrificial layer 912. In one embodiment, themechanical layer 914 comprises a movable reflective layer as discussed above. In one embodiment, themechanical layer 914 comprises aluminum/nickel, and has a height substantially in the range of 1100 Å-1300 Å. After formation of the mechanical layer, the process of forming the support posts for the mechanical layer begins. Accordingly, the mechanical layer is etched (step 812). Referring to the example ofFIG. 9G , themechanical layer 914 is etched at locations where support posts are desired. The sacrificial layer is etched (step 816). As shown inFIG. 9H , (in one embodiment) a greater portion of thesacrificial layer 912 is etched relative to the portion of themechanical layer 914 that was etched (or removed). In this embodiment, thesacrificial layer 912 is etched a distance d of approximately 0.5-1 μm greater than themechanical layer 914. The oxide layer is etched (step 818). As shown inFIG. 9I , theoxide layer 910 is etched. The conductive layer is etched (step 820). Referring toFIG. 9J , theconductive layer 908 is etched. The glass layer is etched (step 822). As shown inFIG. 9K , theglass layer 904 is etched to reveal thesubstrate 902. - A mirror is formed (step 824). As shown in
FIG. 9L , amirror 916 is formed on thesubstrate 902. In one embodiment, themirror 916 is formed by deposition of a (thin)metal layer 918 over themechanical layer 914. In one embodiment, a thickness (or height) of themetal layer 918 is substantially in the range of 50-150 Å. The deposition of thethin metal layer 918 can be implemented through sputtering to achieve a pyramid-like structure for themirror 916 so that themirror 916 can deflect a light from a backlight throughout theglass layer 904 and thesubstrate 902. In one embodiment, themirror 916 comprises aluminum or other reflective material. A plurality of posts are formed (step 826). As shown byFIG. 9M ,posts 920 are formed within the etched portions of the layers of the interferometric modulator display. In one embodiment, theposts 920 are formed using a planarization technique followed by photolithography to remove unwanted portions of the material that comprise theposts 920. Theposts 920 can comprise spin-on glass (SOG) or a transparent polymer. The sacrificial layer is released (step 828). Referring toFIG. 9N , thesacrificial layer 912 is released to form anair gap 922 between themechanical layer 914 and theoxide layer 910. Thesacrificial layer 912 can be released through one or more etch holes formed through themetal layer 918 and themechanical layer 914. The one or more etch holes can be created after formation of theposts 920. -
FIGS. 10A and 10B are system block diagrams illustrating an embodiment of adisplay device 40. Thedisplay device 40 can be, for example, a cellular or mobile telephone. However, the same components ofdisplay device 40 or slight variations thereof are also illustrative of various types of display devices such as televisions and portable media players. - The
display device 40 includes ahousing 41, adisplay 30, anantenna 43, aspeaker 44, aninput device 48, and amicrophone 46. Thehousing 41 is generally formed from any of a variety of manufacturing processes as are well known to those of skill in the art, including injection molding, and vacuum forming. In addition, thehousing 41 may be made from any of a variety of materials, including but not limited to plastic, metal, glass, rubber, and ceramic, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment thehousing 41 includes removable portions (not shown) that may be interchanged with other removable portions of different color, or containing different logos, pictures, or symbols. - The
display 30 ofexemplary display device 40 may be any of a variety of displays, including a bi-stable display, as described herein. In other embodiments, thedisplay 30 includes a flat-panel display, such as plasma, EL, OLED, STN LCD, or TFT LCD as described above, or a non-flat-panel display, such as a CRT or other tube device, as is well known to those of skill in the art. However, for purposes of describing the present embodiment, thedisplay 30 includes an interferometric modulator display, as described herein. - The components of one embodiment of
exemplary display device 40 are schematically illustrated inFIG. 10B . The illustratedexemplary display device 40 includes ahousing 41 and can include additional components at least partially enclosed therein. For example, in one embodiment, theexemplary display device 40 includes anetwork interface 27 that includes anantenna 43 which is coupled to atransceiver 47. Thetransceiver 47 is connected to aprocessor 21, which is connected toconditioning hardware 52. Theconditioning hardware 52 may be configured to condition a signal (e.g. filter a signal). Theconditioning hardware 52 is connected to aspeaker 45 and amicrophone 46. Theprocessor 21 is also connected to aninput device 48 and adriver controller 29. Thedriver controller 29 is coupled to aframe buffer 28, and to anarray driver 22, which in turn is coupled to adisplay array 30. Apower supply 50 provides power to all components as required by the particularexemplary display device 40 design. - The
network interface 27 includes theantenna 43 and thetransceiver 47 so that theexemplary display device 40 can communicate with one or more devices over a network. In one embodiment thenetwork interface 27 may also have some processing capabilities to relieve requirements of theprocessor 21. Theantenna 43 is any antenna known to those of skill in the art for transmitting and receiving signals. In one embodiment, the antenna transmits and receives RF signals according to the IEEE 802.11 standard, including IEEE 802.11(a), (b), or (g). In another embodiment, the antenna transmits and receives RF signals according to the BLUETOOTH standard. In the case of a cellular telephone, the antenna is designed to receive CDMA, GSM, AMPS or other known signals that are used to communicate within a wireless cell phone network. Thetransceiver 47 pre-processes the signals received from theantenna 43 so that they may be received by and further manipulated by theprocessor 21. Thetransceiver 47 also processes signals received from theprocessor 21 so that they may be transmitted from theexemplary display device 40 via theantenna 43. - In an alternative embodiment, the
transceiver 47 can be replaced by a receiver. In yet another alternative embodiment,network interface 27 can be replaced by an image source, which can store or generate image data to be sent to theprocessor 21. For example, the image source can be a digital video disc (DVD) or a hard-disc drive that contains image data, or a software module that generates image data. -
Processor 21 generally controls the overall operation of theexemplary display device 40. Theprocessor 21 receives data, such as compressed image data from thenetwork interface 27 or an image source, and processes the data into raw image data or into a format that is readily processed into raw image data. Theprocessor 21 then sends the processed data to thedriver controller 29 or to framebuffer 28 for storage. Raw data typically refers to the information that identifies the image characteristics at each location within an image. For example, such image characteristics can include color, saturation, and gray-scale level. - In one embodiment, the
processor 21 includes a microcontroller, CPU, or logic unit to control operation of theexemplary display device 40.Conditioning hardware 52 generally includes amplifiers and filters for transmitting signals to thespeaker 45, and for receiving signals from themicrophone 46.Conditioning hardware 52 may be discrete components within theexemplary display device 40, or may be incorporated within theprocessor 21 or other components. - The
driver controller 29 takes the raw image data generated by theprocessor 21 either directly from theprocessor 21 or from theframe buffer 28 and reformats the raw image data appropriately for high speed transmission to thearray driver 22. Specifically, thedriver controller 29 reformats the raw image data into a data flow having a raster-like format, such that it has a time order suitable for scanning across thedisplay array 30. Then thedriver controller 29 sends the formatted information to thearray driver 22. Although adriver controller 29, such as a LCD controller, is often associated with thesystem processor 21 as a stand-alone Integrated Circuit (IC), such controllers may be implemented in many ways. They may be embedded in theprocessor 21 as hardware, embedded in theprocessor 21 as software, or fully integrated in hardware with thearray driver 22. - Typically, the
array driver 22 receives the formatted information from thedriver controller 29 and reformats the video data into a parallel set of waveforms that are applied many times per second to the hundreds and sometimes thousands of leads coming from the display's x-y matrix of pixels. - In one embodiment, the
driver controller 29,array driver 22, anddisplay array 30 are appropriate for any of the types of displays described herein. For example, in one embodiment,driver controller 29 is a conventional display controller or a bi-stable display controller (e.g., an interferometric modulator controller). In another embodiment,array driver 22 is a conventional driver or a bi-stable display driver (e.g., an interferometric modulator display driver). In one embodiment, adriver controller 29 is integrated with thearray driver 22. Such an embodiment is common in highly integrated systems such as cellular phones, watches, and other small area displays. In yet another embodiment,display array 30 is a typical display array or a bi-stable display array (e.g., a display including an array of interferometric modulators). - The
input device 48 allows a user to control the operation of theexemplary display device 40. In one embodiment,input device 48 includes a keypad, such as a QWERTY keyboard or a telephone keypad, a button, a switch, a touch-sensitive screen, a pressure- or heat-sensitive membrane. In one embodiment, themicrophone 46 is an input device for theexemplary display device 40. When themicrophone 46 is used to input data to the device, voice commands may be provided by a user for controlling operations of theexemplary display device 40. -
Power supply 50 can include a variety of energy storage devices as are well known in the art. For example, in one embodiment,power supply 50 is a rechargeable battery, such as a nickel-cadmium battery or a lithium ion battery. In another embodiment,power supply 50 is a renewable energy source, a capacitor, or a solar cell, including a plastic solar cell, and solar-cell paint. In another embodiment,power supply 50 is configured to receive power from a wall outlet. - In some embodiments control programmability resides, as described above, in a driver controller which can be located in several places in the electronic display system. In some cases control programmability resides in the
array driver 22. Those of skill in the art will recognize that the above-described optimization may be implemented in any number of hardware and/or software components and in various configurations. - Various implementations of an interferometric modulator display have been described. Nevertheless, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there that various modifications may be made to the implementations, and any variation would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the process steps described above in connection with
FIGS. 8A-8B may be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the substrate can be treated so that scatterers are embedded within the substrate. Further, processes for creating etch hole (e.g., to release a sacrificial layer) are compatible with process steps discussed above. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without de parting from the spirit can scope of the following claims.
Claims (20)
1. A display comprising:
a plurality of display elements having a viewing side;
a backlight positioned on a side of the plurality of display elements opposite the viewing side; and
one or more waveguides positioned between the display elements, the one or more waveguides configured to provide a path for light emitted by the backlight to illuminate the display elements.
2. The display of claim 1 , wherein the one or more waveguides comprises one or more posts configured to support at least a portion of the display elements.
3. The display of claim 1 , wherein the one or more waveguides are configured to direct the light emitted by the backlight to the viewing side of the display elements.
4. The display of claim 1 , wherein the display elements are reflective display elements.
5. The display of claim 1 , where in the display elements are micro electromechanical display elements.
6. The display of claim 5 , wherein the display elements comprise interferometric modulators.
7. The display of claim 6 , wherein the interferometric modulators comprise:
an optical stack coupled to a transparent substrate;
a reflective layer over the optical stack; and
one or more posts to support the reflective layer, the one or more posts comprising the one or more waveguides.
8. The display of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of light scatterers or reflectors configured to redirect the light passing through the one or more waveguides to the display elements.
9. The display of claim 8 , further comprising one or more reflecting surfaces arranged to direct light emitted by the one or more waveguides to the plurality of light scatterers or reflectors.
10. The display of claim 8 , further comprising a glass layer on the viewing side of the display elements, the glass layer including the plurality of light scatterers or reflectors.
11. The display of claim 1 , further comprising:
a processor in electrical communication with the display elements, the processor configured to process image data; and
a memory device in electrical communication with the processor.
12. A display comprising:
a plurality of means for modulating light, the plurality of light modulating means having a viewing side;
a means for emitting light positioned on a side of the plurality of light modulating means opposite the viewing side; and
one or more means for guiding light positioned between the plurality of light modulating means, the one or more light guiding means configured to provide a path for light emitted by the light emitting means to illuminate the plurality of light modulating means.
13. The display of claim 12 , wherein the one or more light guiding means comprise one or more means for supporting at least a portion of the light modulating means.
14. The display of claim 12 , wherein the one or more light guiding means are configured to direct the light emitted by the light emitting means to the viewing side of the plurality of light modulating means.
15. The display of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of light modulating means comprise:
an first means for reflecting coupled to a transparent substrate means;
a second means for reflecting, said second reflecting means being movable and positioned over the first reflecting means; and
means for supporting the second reflecting means, wherein the supporting means comprises the light guiding means.
16. The display of claim 12 , further comprising a plurality of means for scattering or reflecting light configured to redirect the light passing through the light guiding means to the light modulating means.
17. The display of claim 16 , further comprising a third means for reflecting arranged to direct light from the light guiding means to the plurality of light scattering or reflecting means.
18. The display of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of light modulating means comprises a plurality of display elements, or wherein the light emitting means comprises a backlight, or wherein the one or more light guiding means comprises one or more light guides.
19. A method for providing a display, the method comprising:
providing a plurality of display elements having a viewing side;
positioning a backlight on a side of the plurality of display elements opposite the viewing side; and
forming one or more waveguides between the display elements, wherein the one or more waveguides are configured to provide a path for light emitted by the backlight to illuminate the display elements.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein providing a plurality of display elements comprises:
providing a transparent substrate; and
forming a plurality of interferometric modulators including:
coupling an optical stack to the transparent substrate;
forming a reflective layer over the optical stack; and
forming one or more posts to support the reflective layer, the one or more posts comprising the one or more waveguides.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US13/092,827 US20110199667A1 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2011-04-22 | Method and apparatus for lighting a display device |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/357,702 US7603001B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2006-02-17 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in an interferometric modulator display device |
US12/544,184 US7933475B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2009-08-19 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in a display device |
US13/092,827 US20110199667A1 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2011-04-22 | Method and apparatus for lighting a display device |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US12/544,184 Continuation US7933475B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2009-08-19 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in a display device |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20110199667A1 true US20110199667A1 (en) | 2011-08-18 |
Family
ID=38428254
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/357,702 Expired - Fee Related US7603001B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2006-02-17 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in an interferometric modulator display device |
US12/544,184 Expired - Fee Related US7933475B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2009-08-19 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in a display device |
US13/092,827 Abandoned US20110199667A1 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2011-04-22 | Method and apparatus for lighting a display device |
Family Applications Before (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/357,702 Expired - Fee Related US7603001B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2006-02-17 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in an interferometric modulator display device |
US12/544,184 Expired - Fee Related US7933475B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2009-08-19 | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in a display device |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US7603001B2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2008039229A2 (en) |
Cited By (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20090225394A1 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2009-09-10 | Idc, Llc | System and method of illuminating interferometric modulators using backlighting |
US8068710B2 (en) | 2007-12-07 | 2011-11-29 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Decoupled holographic film and diffuser |
US8872085B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2014-10-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display device having front illuminator with turning features |
US8928967B2 (en) | 1998-04-08 | 2015-01-06 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for modulating light |
US8971675B2 (en) | 2006-01-13 | 2015-03-03 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Interconnect structure for MEMS device |
US8979349B2 (en) | 2009-05-29 | 2015-03-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Illumination devices and methods of fabrication thereof |
US9019590B2 (en) | 2004-02-03 | 2015-04-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Spatial light modulator with integrated optical compensation structure |
US9019183B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2015-04-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Optical loss structure integrated in an illumination apparatus |
US9025235B2 (en) | 2002-12-25 | 2015-05-05 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Optical interference type of color display having optical diffusion layer between substrate and electrode |
US9110289B2 (en) | 1998-04-08 | 2015-08-18 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Device for modulating light with multiple electrodes |
Families Citing this family (48)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6674562B1 (en) | 1994-05-05 | 2004-01-06 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Interferometric modulation of radiation |
US7907319B2 (en) | 1995-11-06 | 2011-03-15 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for modulating light with optical compensation |
WO2003007049A1 (en) | 1999-10-05 | 2003-01-23 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Photonic mems and structures |
US7706050B2 (en) | 2004-03-05 | 2010-04-27 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Integrated modulator illumination |
US7855824B2 (en) * | 2004-03-06 | 2010-12-21 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and system for color optimization in a display |
US7349141B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2008-03-25 | Idc, Llc | Method and post structures for interferometric modulation |
US8362987B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2013-01-29 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for manipulating color in a display |
US7710636B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-05-04 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Systems and methods using interferometric optical modulators and diffusers |
US7898521B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2011-03-01 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Device and method for wavelength filtering |
US7508571B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2009-03-24 | Idc, Llc | Optical films for controlling angular characteristics of displays |
US7561323B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2009-07-14 | Idc, Llc | Optical films for directing light towards active areas of displays |
US7813026B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-10-12 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | System and method of reducing color shift in a display |
US7911428B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2011-03-22 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for manipulating color in a display |
US7710632B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-05-04 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display device having an array of spatial light modulators with integrated color filters |
US7630123B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2009-12-08 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for compensating for color shift as a function of angle of view |
US7750886B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2010-07-06 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Methods and devices for lighting displays |
US7807488B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-10-05 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display element having filter material diffused in a substrate of the display element |
US7928928B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2011-04-19 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Apparatus and method for reducing perceived color shift |
US7603001B2 (en) | 2006-02-17 | 2009-10-13 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in an interferometric modulator display device |
US8004743B2 (en) | 2006-04-21 | 2011-08-23 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing brightness control in an interferometric modulator (IMOD) display |
US7766498B2 (en) | 2006-06-21 | 2010-08-03 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Linear solid state illuminator |
US7845841B2 (en) | 2006-08-28 | 2010-12-07 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Angle sweeping holographic illuminator |
US7855827B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2010-12-21 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Internal optical isolation structure for integrated front or back lighting |
US8107155B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2012-01-31 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | System and method for reducing visual artifacts in displays |
US20100103488A1 (en) | 2006-10-10 | 2010-04-29 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display device with diffractive optics |
US7864395B2 (en) | 2006-10-27 | 2011-01-04 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Light guide including optical scattering elements and a method of manufacture |
US7777954B2 (en) | 2007-01-30 | 2010-08-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Systems and methods of providing a light guiding layer |
US7733439B2 (en) | 2007-04-30 | 2010-06-08 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Dual film light guide for illuminating displays |
US8058549B2 (en) * | 2007-10-19 | 2011-11-15 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Photovoltaic devices with integrated color interferometric film stacks |
CN101828146B (en) | 2007-10-19 | 2013-05-01 | 高通Mems科技公司 | Display with integrated photovoltaic device |
KR20100094511A (en) * | 2007-11-16 | 2010-08-26 | 퀄컴 엠이엠스 테크놀로지스, 인크. | Thin film planar sonar concentrator/ collector and diffusor used with an active display |
US8941631B2 (en) * | 2007-11-16 | 2015-01-27 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Simultaneous light collection and illumination on an active display |
US20090126792A1 (en) * | 2007-11-16 | 2009-05-21 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Thin film solar concentrator/collector |
US7949213B2 (en) | 2007-12-07 | 2011-05-24 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Light illumination of displays with front light guide and coupling elements |
KR20100093590A (en) | 2007-12-17 | 2010-08-25 | 퀄컴 엠이엠스 테크놀로지스, 인크. | Photovoltaics with interferometric back side masks |
WO2009102733A2 (en) | 2008-02-12 | 2009-08-20 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Integrated front light diffuser for reflective displays |
WO2009102731A2 (en) | 2008-02-12 | 2009-08-20 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Devices and methods for enhancing brightness of displays using angle conversion layers |
US8049951B2 (en) * | 2008-04-15 | 2011-11-01 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Light with bi-directional propagation |
TWI382551B (en) * | 2008-11-06 | 2013-01-11 | Ind Tech Res Inst | Solar concentrating module |
US8138479B2 (en) * | 2009-01-23 | 2012-03-20 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Integrated light emitting and light detecting device |
US20100195310A1 (en) * | 2009-02-04 | 2010-08-05 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Shaped frontlight reflector for use with display |
US8172417B2 (en) | 2009-03-06 | 2012-05-08 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Shaped frontlight reflector for use with display |
US9110200B2 (en) | 2010-04-16 | 2015-08-18 | Flex Lighting Ii, Llc | Illumination device comprising a film-based lightguide |
BR112012026329A2 (en) | 2010-04-16 | 2019-09-24 | Flex Lighting Ii Llc | signal comprising a film-based light guide |
US8848294B2 (en) | 2010-05-20 | 2014-09-30 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and structure capable of changing color saturation |
US8902484B2 (en) | 2010-12-15 | 2014-12-02 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Holographic brightness enhancement film |
US9164219B2 (en) | 2011-11-14 | 2015-10-20 | Nano-Optic Devices, Llc | Frontlight unit for reflective displays |
US8596846B2 (en) | 2012-03-16 | 2013-12-03 | Nano-Optic Devices, Llc | Frontlight unit for enhancing illumination of a reflective display |
Citations (24)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6040937A (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2000-03-21 | Etalon, Inc. | Interferometric modulation |
US20010012159A1 (en) * | 2000-02-02 | 2001-08-09 | Seiji Umemoto | Optical film |
US20020149584A1 (en) * | 2001-04-13 | 2002-10-17 | Simpson John T. | Reflective coherent spatial light modulator |
US6603520B2 (en) * | 2000-12-21 | 2003-08-05 | Nitto Denko Corporation | Optical film and liquid-crystal display device |
US6631998B2 (en) * | 2000-09-05 | 2003-10-14 | Minebea Co., Ltd. | Spread illuminating apparatus |
US6652109B2 (en) * | 2000-12-14 | 2003-11-25 | Alps Electric Co., Ltd. | Surface light emission device, method of manufacturing the same, and liquid crystal display device |
US6674119B2 (en) * | 2001-07-02 | 2004-01-06 | Fujitsu Limited | Non-volatile semiconductor memory device and semiconductor integrated circuit |
US20040188599A1 (en) * | 2000-06-29 | 2004-09-30 | Pierre Viktorovitch | Optoelectronic device with integrated wavelength filtering |
US20050120553A1 (en) * | 2003-12-08 | 2005-06-09 | Brown Dirk D. | Method for forming MEMS grid array connector |
US20060020553A1 (en) * | 2004-07-26 | 2006-01-26 | Septon Daven W | License proxy process to facilitate license sharing between a plurality of applications |
US20060132383A1 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2006-06-22 | Idc, Llc | System and method for illuminating interferometric modulator display |
US20060209012A1 (en) * | 2005-02-23 | 2006-09-21 | Pixtronix, Incorporated | Devices having MEMS displays |
US20060209385A1 (en) * | 2005-03-15 | 2006-09-21 | Motorola, Inc. | Microelectromechanical system optical apparatus and method |
US7123216B1 (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2006-10-17 | Idc, Llc | Photonic MEMS and structures |
US20060291769A1 (en) * | 2005-05-27 | 2006-12-28 | Eastman Kodak Company | Light emitting source incorporating vertical cavity lasers and other MEMS devices within an electro-optical addressing architecture |
US20070036492A1 (en) * | 2005-08-15 | 2007-02-15 | Lee Yee C | System and method for fiber optics based direct view giant screen flat panel display |
US20070047887A1 (en) * | 2005-08-30 | 2007-03-01 | Uni-Pixel Displays, Inc. | Reducing light leakage and improving contrast ratio performance in FTIR display devices |
US20070116424A1 (en) * | 2005-11-11 | 2007-05-24 | Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd | Backlight module structure for LED chip holder |
US7256922B2 (en) * | 2004-07-02 | 2007-08-14 | Idc, Llc | Interferometric modulators with thin film transistors |
US7327510B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2008-02-05 | Idc, Llc | Process for modifying offset voltage characteristics of an interferometric modulator |
US20080100900A1 (en) * | 2006-10-27 | 2008-05-01 | Clarence Chui | Light guide including optical scattering elements and a method of manufacture |
US7388706B2 (en) * | 1995-05-01 | 2008-06-17 | Idc, Llc | Photonic MEMS and structures |
US7603001B2 (en) * | 2006-02-17 | 2009-10-13 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in an interferometric modulator display device |
US20120120682A1 (en) * | 2010-11-16 | 2012-05-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Illumination device with light guide coating |
Family Cites Families (342)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2518647A (en) | 1948-01-07 | 1950-08-15 | Celanese Corp | Interferometer means for thickness measurements |
US3247392A (en) | 1961-05-17 | 1966-04-19 | Optical Coating Laboratory Inc | Optical coating and assembly used as a band pass interference filter reflecting in the ultraviolet and infrared |
DE1288651B (en) * | 1963-06-28 | 1969-02-06 | Siemens Ag | Arrangement of electrical dipoles for wavelengths below 1 mm and method for producing such an arrangement |
US3924929A (en) | 1966-11-14 | 1975-12-09 | Minnesota Mining & Mfg | Retro-reflective sheet material |
US3813265A (en) * | 1970-02-16 | 1974-05-28 | A Marks | Electro-optical dipolar material |
US3886310A (en) * | 1973-08-22 | 1975-05-27 | Westinghouse Electric Corp | Electrostatically deflectable light valve with improved diffraction properties |
US4287449A (en) | 1978-02-03 | 1981-09-01 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Light-absorption film for rear electrodes of electroluminescent display panel |
US4200472A (en) | 1978-06-05 | 1980-04-29 | The Regents Of The University Of California | Solar power system and high efficiency photovoltaic cells used therein |
US4228437A (en) | 1979-06-26 | 1980-10-14 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Wideband polarization-transforming electromagnetic mirror |
DE3109653A1 (en) | 1980-03-31 | 1982-01-28 | Jenoptik Jena Gmbh, Ddr 6900 Jena | "RESONANCE ABSORBER" |
US4421381A (en) | 1980-04-04 | 1983-12-20 | Yokogawa Hokushin Electric Corp. | Mechanical vibrating element |
US4375312A (en) * | 1980-08-07 | 1983-03-01 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Graded index waveguide structure and process for forming same |
US4441791A (en) * | 1980-09-02 | 1984-04-10 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Deformable mirror light modulator |
US4378567A (en) | 1981-01-29 | 1983-03-29 | Eastman Kodak Company | Electronic imaging apparatus having means for reducing inter-pixel transmission nonuniformity |
US4400577A (en) | 1981-07-16 | 1983-08-23 | Spear Reginald G | Thin solar cells |
US4633031A (en) | 1982-09-24 | 1986-12-30 | Todorof William J | Multi-layer thin film, flexible silicon alloy photovoltaic cell |
DE3402746A1 (en) | 1984-01-27 | 1985-08-08 | Robert Bosch Gmbh, 7000 Stuttgart | Liquid crystal display |
US4832459A (en) | 1984-02-06 | 1989-05-23 | Rogers Corporation | Backlighting for electro-optical passive displays and transflective layer useful therewith |
US5835255A (en) | 1986-04-23 | 1998-11-10 | Etalon, Inc. | Visible spectrum modulator arrays |
US4850682A (en) | 1986-07-14 | 1989-07-25 | Advanced Environmental Research Group | Diffraction grating structures |
IT1195125B (en) * | 1986-08-07 | 1988-10-12 | Fiat Auto Spa | DOOR WITH SLIDING CRYSTAL FOR VEHICLES |
EP0278038A1 (en) | 1987-02-13 | 1988-08-17 | Battelle-Institut e.V. | Active flat type display panel |
US5446479A (en) * | 1989-02-27 | 1995-08-29 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Multi-dimensional array video processor system |
US4961617A (en) | 1989-07-19 | 1990-10-09 | Ferrydon Shahidi | Fibre optic waveguide illuminating elements |
JPH03170911A (en) | 1989-11-30 | 1991-07-24 | Pioneer Electron Corp | Liquid crystal display device |
US5164858A (en) | 1990-03-07 | 1992-11-17 | Deposition Sciences, Inc. | Multi-spectral filter |
FR2665270B1 (en) * | 1990-07-27 | 1994-05-13 | Etat Francais Cnet | LIGHT SPACE MODULATOR DEVICE AND HIGH DYNAMIC CONOSCOPIC HOLOGRAPHY SYSTEM COMPRISING SUCH A MODULATOR DEVICE. |
US5110370A (en) | 1990-09-20 | 1992-05-05 | United Solar Systems Corporation | Photovoltaic device with decreased gridline shading and method for its manufacture |
KR960002202B1 (en) | 1991-02-04 | 1996-02-13 | 가부시끼가이샤 한도다이 에네르기 겐뀨쇼 | Method of manufacturing liquid crystal electro-optical devices |
US5142414A (en) | 1991-04-22 | 1992-08-25 | Koehler Dale R | Electrically actuatable temporal tristimulus-color device |
US5226099A (en) | 1991-04-26 | 1993-07-06 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Digital micromirror shutter device |
US5221982A (en) | 1991-07-05 | 1993-06-22 | Faris Sadeg M | Polarizing wavelength separator |
US5515184A (en) | 1991-11-12 | 1996-05-07 | The University Of Alabama In Huntsville | Waveguide hologram illuminators |
US5326426A (en) | 1991-11-14 | 1994-07-05 | Tam Andrew C | Undercut membrane mask for high energy photon patterning |
US5356488A (en) | 1991-12-27 | 1994-10-18 | Rudolf Hezel | Solar cell and method for its manufacture |
US6381022B1 (en) * | 1992-01-22 | 2002-04-30 | Northeastern University | Light modulating device |
US6002829A (en) | 1992-03-23 | 1999-12-14 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | Luminaire device |
US5528720A (en) * | 1992-03-23 | 1996-06-18 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Co. | Tapered multilayer luminaire devices |
US5312513A (en) * | 1992-04-03 | 1994-05-17 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Methods of forming multiple phase light modulators |
US5261970A (en) | 1992-04-08 | 1993-11-16 | Sverdrup Technology, Inc. | Optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices with low-reflectance surfaces |
US5638084A (en) * | 1992-05-22 | 1997-06-10 | Dielectric Systems International, Inc. | Lighting-independent color video display |
GB2269697A (en) | 1992-08-11 | 1994-02-16 | Sharp Kk | Display device |
JPH0695112A (en) | 1992-09-16 | 1994-04-08 | Hitachi Ltd | Prism plate and information display device formed by using this plate |
GB9219671D0 (en) | 1992-09-17 | 1992-10-28 | Canterbury Park Limited | Ink |
US5339179A (en) | 1992-10-01 | 1994-08-16 | International Business Machines Corp. | Edge-lit transflective non-emissive display with angled interface means on both sides of light conducting panel |
US5648860A (en) * | 1992-10-09 | 1997-07-15 | Ag Technology Co., Ltd. | Projection type color liquid crystal optical apparatus |
KR0168879B1 (en) * | 1992-12-25 | 1999-04-15 | 기따지마 요시또시 | Renticular lens, surface light source and liquid crystal display apparatus |
US5671314A (en) | 1993-01-15 | 1997-09-23 | Sisters Of Prividence In Oregon | Illuminator devices for ultraviolet light delivery and methods of making same |
JP2823470B2 (en) | 1993-03-09 | 1998-11-11 | シャープ株式会社 | Optical scanning device, display device using the same, and image information input / output device |
US6674562B1 (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2004-01-06 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Interferometric modulation of radiation |
US5481385A (en) * | 1993-07-01 | 1996-01-02 | Alliedsignal Inc. | Direct view display device with array of tapered waveguide on viewer side |
US5673139A (en) | 1993-07-19 | 1997-09-30 | Medcom, Inc. | Microelectromechanical television scanning device and method for making the same |
FR2710161B1 (en) | 1993-09-13 | 1995-11-24 | Suisse Electronique Microtech | Miniature array of light shutters. |
WO1995012897A1 (en) | 1993-11-05 | 1995-05-11 | Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. | Solar battery device and its manufacture |
NL9302091A (en) | 1993-12-02 | 1995-07-03 | R & S Renewable Energy Systems | Photovoltaic solar panel and method for its manufacture. |
US5659410A (en) | 1993-12-28 | 1997-08-19 | Enplas Corporation | Surface light source device and liquid crystal display |
TW334523B (en) | 1994-03-02 | 1998-06-21 | Toso Kk | Back light |
DE4407067C2 (en) * | 1994-03-03 | 2003-06-18 | Unaxis Balzers Ag | Dielectric interference filter system, LCD display and CCD arrangement as well as method for producing a dielectric interference filter system |
US5982540A (en) | 1994-03-16 | 1999-11-09 | Enplas Corporation | Surface light source device with polarization function |
US20010003487A1 (en) * | 1996-11-05 | 2001-06-14 | Mark W. Miles | Visible spectrum modulator arrays |
US7460291B2 (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2008-12-02 | Idc, Llc | Separable modulator |
US6680792B2 (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2004-01-20 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Interferometric modulation of radiation |
US5805117A (en) | 1994-05-12 | 1998-09-08 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Large area tiled modular display system |
US5671994A (en) | 1994-06-08 | 1997-09-30 | Clio Technologies, Inc. | Flat and transparent front-lighting system using microprisms |
US5892598A (en) | 1994-07-15 | 1999-04-06 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Head up display unit, liquid crystal display panel, and method of fabricating the liquid crystal display panel |
US5544268A (en) * | 1994-09-09 | 1996-08-06 | Deacon Research | Display panel with electrically-controlled waveguide-routing |
US5647036A (en) | 1994-09-09 | 1997-07-08 | Deacon Research | Projection display with electrically-controlled waveguide routing |
JP3219943B2 (en) | 1994-09-16 | 2001-10-15 | 株式会社東芝 | Planar direct-view display device |
JPH08136910A (en) | 1994-11-07 | 1996-05-31 | Hitachi Ltd | Color liquid crystal display device and its production |
US5474865A (en) | 1994-11-21 | 1995-12-12 | Sematech, Inc. | Globally planarized binary optical mask using buried absorbers |
US5815229A (en) | 1994-11-21 | 1998-09-29 | Proxima Corporation | Microlens imbedded liquid crystal projection panel including thermal insulation layer |
TW373116B (en) | 1994-12-15 | 1999-11-01 | Sharp Kk | Lighting apparatus |
US5550373A (en) | 1994-12-30 | 1996-08-27 | Honeywell Inc. | Fabry-Perot micro filter-detector |
JP3251452B2 (en) | 1995-01-31 | 2002-01-28 | シャープ株式会社 | Backlight device for liquid crystal display device |
JP3429384B2 (en) | 1995-02-03 | 2003-07-22 | 株式会社エンプラス | Sidelight type surface light source device |
US5650865A (en) | 1995-03-21 | 1997-07-22 | Hughes Electronics | Holographic backlight for flat panel displays |
US5751388A (en) | 1995-04-07 | 1998-05-12 | Honeywell Inc. | High efficiency polarized display |
US5886688A (en) | 1995-06-02 | 1999-03-23 | National Semiconductor Corporation | Integrated solar panel and liquid crystal display for portable computer or the like |
US6046840A (en) * | 1995-06-19 | 2000-04-04 | Reflectivity, Inc. | Double substrate reflective spatial light modulator with self-limiting micro-mechanical elements |
US6712481B2 (en) | 1995-06-27 | 2004-03-30 | Solid State Opto Limited | Light emitting panel assemblies |
US5932309A (en) * | 1995-09-28 | 1999-08-03 | Alliedsignal Inc. | Colored articles and compositions and methods for their fabrication |
US6324192B1 (en) | 1995-09-29 | 2001-11-27 | Coretek, Inc. | Electrically tunable fabry-perot structure utilizing a deformable multi-layer mirror and method of making the same |
EP0801765A1 (en) | 1995-11-02 | 1997-10-22 | Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. | Picture display device |
US5933183A (en) | 1995-12-12 | 1999-08-03 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Color spatial light modulator and color printer using the same |
US5771321A (en) | 1996-01-04 | 1998-06-23 | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology | Micromechanical optical switch and flat panel display |
GB2309609A (en) | 1996-01-26 | 1997-07-30 | Sharp Kk | Observer tracking autostereoscopic directional display |
JP2865618B2 (en) | 1996-05-31 | 1999-03-08 | 嶋田プレシジョン株式会社 | Light guide plate and light guide plate assembly |
DE19622748A1 (en) | 1996-06-05 | 1997-12-11 | Forschungszentrum Juelich Gmbh | Interference filter based on porous silicon |
US5771124A (en) | 1996-07-02 | 1998-06-23 | Siliscape | Compact display system with two stage magnification and immersed beam splitter |
KR100213968B1 (en) | 1996-07-15 | 1999-08-02 | 구자홍 | Liquid crystal display device |
FR2751398B1 (en) * | 1996-07-16 | 1998-08-28 | Thomson Csf | LIGHTING DEVICE AND APPLICATION TO THE LIGHTING OF A TRANSMISSION SCREEN |
KR100498721B1 (en) | 1996-09-24 | 2005-11-28 | 세이코 엡슨 가부시키가이샤 | Lighting devices and indicators using the devices |
JP3402138B2 (en) | 1996-09-27 | 2003-04-28 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Liquid crystal display |
US5854872A (en) | 1996-10-08 | 1998-12-29 | Clio Technologies, Inc. | Divergent angle rotator system and method for collimating light beams |
US6486862B1 (en) | 1996-10-31 | 2002-11-26 | Kopin Corporation | Card reader display system |
US5783614A (en) | 1997-02-21 | 1998-07-21 | Copytele, Inc. | Polymeric-coated dielectric particles and formulation and method for preparing same |
US5913594A (en) | 1997-02-25 | 1999-06-22 | Iimura; Keiji | Flat panel light source device and passive display device utilizing the light source device |
US6123431A (en) | 1997-03-19 | 2000-09-26 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd | Backlight apparatus and light guide plate |
EP0867747A3 (en) | 1997-03-25 | 1999-03-03 | Sony Corporation | Reflective display device |
US6879354B1 (en) * | 1997-03-28 | 2005-04-12 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Front-illuminating device and a reflection-type liquid crystal display using such a device |
JP3231655B2 (en) * | 1997-03-28 | 2001-11-26 | シャープ株式会社 | Forward illumination device and reflection type liquid crystal display device having the same |
DE69823452T2 (en) | 1997-05-14 | 2005-04-14 | Seiko Epson Corp. | DISPLAY AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE CONTAINING THEREOF |
GB9710062D0 (en) | 1997-05-16 | 1997-07-09 | British Tech Group | Optical devices and methods of fabrication thereof |
US5883684A (en) | 1997-06-19 | 1999-03-16 | Three-Five Systems, Inc. | Diffusively reflecting shield optically, coupled to backlit lightguide, containing LED's completely surrounded by the shield |
US6008449A (en) | 1997-08-19 | 1999-12-28 | Cole; Eric D. | Reflective concentrating solar cell assembly |
FR2769382B1 (en) | 1997-10-03 | 2000-12-01 | Thomson Multimedia Sa | REAR LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR A TRANSMISSIBLE ELECTRO-OPTICAL MODULATOR USING THE LIGHT POLARIZATION EFFECT |
US6273577B1 (en) | 1997-10-31 | 2001-08-14 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. | Light guide plate, surface light source using the light guide plate, and liquid crystal display using the surface light source |
US6285424B1 (en) | 1997-11-07 | 2001-09-04 | Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited | Black mask, color filter and liquid crystal display |
ATE272224T1 (en) | 1997-11-17 | 2004-08-15 | Max Planck Gesellschaft | CONFOCAL SPECTROSCOPY SYSTEM AND METHOD |
US6151089A (en) | 1998-01-20 | 2000-11-21 | Sony Corporation | Reflection type display with light waveguide with inclined and planar surface sections |
US5914804A (en) | 1998-01-28 | 1999-06-22 | Lucent Technologies Inc | Double-cavity micromechanical optical modulator with plural multilayer mirrors |
US6897855B1 (en) * | 1998-02-17 | 2005-05-24 | Sarnoff Corporation | Tiled electronic display structure |
US6195196B1 (en) * | 1998-03-13 | 2001-02-27 | Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. | Array-type exposing device and flat type display incorporating light modulator and driving method thereof |
EP0986109A4 (en) | 1998-03-25 | 2005-01-12 | Tdk Corp | SOLAR battery module |
JP2986773B2 (en) * | 1998-04-01 | 1999-12-06 | 嶋田プレシジョン株式会社 | Light guide plate for point light source |
JP3644476B2 (en) | 1998-04-30 | 2005-04-27 | 松下電器産業株式会社 | Portable electronic devices |
US6282010B1 (en) | 1998-05-14 | 2001-08-28 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Anti-reflective coatings for spatial light modulators |
TW386175B (en) | 1998-05-19 | 2000-04-01 | Dainippon Printing Co Ltd | Light reflective panel for reflective liquid crystal panel |
US6900868B2 (en) | 1998-07-07 | 2005-05-31 | Fujitsu Display Technologies Corporation | Liquid crystal display device |
TW523627B (en) | 1998-07-14 | 2003-03-11 | Hitachi Ltd | Liquid crystal display device |
GB2340281A (en) | 1998-08-04 | 2000-02-16 | Sharp Kk | A reflective liquid crystal display device |
US6034813A (en) | 1998-08-24 | 2000-03-07 | Southwall Technologies, Inc. | Wavelength selective applied films with glare control |
JP2000075293A (en) | 1998-09-02 | 2000-03-14 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Illuminator, touch panel with illumination and reflective liquid crystal display device |
WO2000016136A1 (en) | 1998-09-14 | 2000-03-23 | Digilens, Inc. | Holographic illumination system and holographic projection system |
JP3119846B2 (en) | 1998-09-17 | 2000-12-25 | 恵和株式会社 | Light diffusion sheet and backlight unit using the same |
JP3259692B2 (en) | 1998-09-18 | 2002-02-25 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Concentrating photovoltaic module, method of manufacturing the same, and concentrating photovoltaic system |
DE69942499D1 (en) | 1998-10-05 | 2010-07-29 | Semiconductor Energy Lab | Reflecting semiconductor device |
JP2000181367A (en) | 1998-10-05 | 2000-06-30 | Semiconductor Energy Lab Co Ltd | Reflection type semiconductor display device |
US6323834B1 (en) * | 1998-10-08 | 2001-11-27 | International Business Machines Corporation | Micromechanical displays and fabrication method |
US6199989B1 (en) | 1998-10-29 | 2001-03-13 | Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited | Optical plate having reflecting function and transmitting function |
US6288824B1 (en) | 1998-11-03 | 2001-09-11 | Alex Kastalsky | Display device based on grating electromechanical shutter |
TW422346U (en) | 1998-11-17 | 2001-02-11 | Ind Tech Res Inst | A reflector device with arc diffusion uint |
JP3871176B2 (en) | 1998-12-14 | 2007-01-24 | シャープ株式会社 | Backlight device and liquid crystal display device |
JP2000193933A (en) | 1998-12-25 | 2000-07-14 | Matsushita Electric Works Ltd | Display device |
JP2000214804A (en) | 1999-01-20 | 2000-08-04 | Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd | Light modulation element, aligner, and planar display |
US6827456B2 (en) | 1999-02-23 | 2004-12-07 | Solid State Opto Limited | Transreflectors, transreflector systems and displays and methods of making transreflectors |
JP4377984B2 (en) | 1999-03-10 | 2009-12-02 | キヤノン株式会社 | Color filter, manufacturing method thereof, and liquid crystal element using the color filter |
US6292504B1 (en) | 1999-03-16 | 2001-09-18 | Raytheon Company | Dual cavity laser resonator |
JP3434465B2 (en) | 1999-04-22 | 2003-08-11 | 三菱電機株式会社 | Backlight for liquid crystal display |
JP3657143B2 (en) | 1999-04-27 | 2005-06-08 | シャープ株式会社 | Solar cell and manufacturing method thereof |
TW477897B (en) | 1999-05-07 | 2002-03-01 | Sharp Kk | Liquid crystal display device, method and device to measure cell thickness of liquid crystal display device, and phase difference plate using the method thereof |
JP4328919B2 (en) * | 1999-05-21 | 2009-09-09 | 株式会社トプコン | Target device |
US7350236B1 (en) | 1999-05-25 | 2008-03-25 | Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd | Method and system for creation and use of a photo album |
GB2350963A (en) | 1999-06-09 | 2000-12-13 | Secr Defence | Holographic Displays |
DE19927359A1 (en) * | 1999-06-16 | 2000-12-21 | Creavis Tech & Innovation Gmbh | Electrophoretic displays made of light-scattering carrier materials |
JP2001035222A (en) | 1999-07-23 | 2001-02-09 | Minebea Co Ltd | Surface lighting system |
US6448709B1 (en) | 1999-09-15 | 2002-09-10 | Industrial Technology Research Institute | Field emission display panel having diode structure and method for fabricating |
US7046905B1 (en) * | 1999-10-08 | 2006-05-16 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Blacklight with structured surfaces |
JP3457591B2 (en) | 1999-10-08 | 2003-10-20 | インターナショナル・ビジネス・マシーンズ・コーポレーション | Liquid crystal display |
US6421104B1 (en) | 1999-10-22 | 2002-07-16 | Motorola, Inc. | Front illuminator for a liquid crystal display and method of making same |
LT4842B (en) | 1999-12-10 | 2001-09-25 | Uab "Geola" | Universal digital holographic printer and method |
JP3524831B2 (en) | 1999-12-15 | 2004-05-10 | シャープ株式会社 | Reflective and transmissive liquid crystal display |
US6519073B1 (en) * | 2000-01-10 | 2003-02-11 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | Micromechanical modulator and methods for fabricating the same |
JP4442836B2 (en) | 2000-02-02 | 2010-03-31 | 日東電工株式会社 | Optical film |
DE10004972A1 (en) * | 2000-02-04 | 2001-08-16 | Bosch Gmbh Robert | Display device |
JP4006918B2 (en) | 2000-02-28 | 2007-11-14 | オムロン株式会社 | Surface light source device and manufacturing method thereof |
JP4856805B2 (en) | 2000-03-31 | 2012-01-18 | スリーエム イノベイティブ プロパティズ カンパニー | Optical laminate |
KR100481590B1 (en) | 2000-04-21 | 2005-04-08 | 세이코 엡슨 가부시키가이샤 | Electrooptic device, projection type display and method for manufacturing electrooptic device |
US20010055076A1 (en) | 2000-04-28 | 2001-12-27 | Keizou Ochi | Reflective liquid crystal display apparatus |
US6864882B2 (en) | 2000-05-24 | 2005-03-08 | Next Holdings Limited | Protected touch panel display system |
US6598987B1 (en) | 2000-06-15 | 2003-07-29 | Nokia Mobile Phones Limited | Method and apparatus for distributing light to the user interface of an electronic device |
JP3700078B2 (en) * | 2000-07-11 | 2005-09-28 | ミネベア株式会社 | Surface lighting device |
US7525531B2 (en) | 2000-07-31 | 2009-04-28 | Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd. | Method for manufacturing lighting device, image display, liquid crystal monitor, liquid crystal television, liquid crystal information terminal, and light guide plate |
US6466354B1 (en) | 2000-09-19 | 2002-10-15 | Silicon Light Machines | Method and apparatus for interferometric modulation of light |
US6538813B1 (en) | 2000-09-19 | 2003-03-25 | Honeywell International Inc. | Display screen with metallized tapered waveguides |
JP3561685B2 (en) * | 2000-09-20 | 2004-09-02 | 三洋電機株式会社 | Linear light source device and lighting device using the same |
US7072086B2 (en) * | 2001-10-19 | 2006-07-04 | Batchko Robert G | Digital focus lens system |
US6643067B2 (en) | 2000-11-22 | 2003-11-04 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Electro-optical device and electronic apparatus |
IL140318A0 (en) * | 2000-12-14 | 2002-02-10 | Planop Planar Optics Ltd | Compact dynamic crossbar switch by means of planar optics |
JP4266551B2 (en) | 2000-12-14 | 2009-05-20 | 三菱レイヨン株式会社 | Surface light source system and light deflection element used therefor |
JP3551310B2 (en) | 2000-12-20 | 2004-08-04 | ミネベア株式会社 | Touch panel for display device |
US6925313B2 (en) | 2001-02-07 | 2005-08-02 | Hyundai Curitel Inc. | Folder-type mobile communication terminal having double-sided LCD |
JP2002245835A (en) | 2001-02-15 | 2002-08-30 | Minolta Co Ltd | Illumination device, display device, and electronic equipment |
US6700695B2 (en) | 2001-03-14 | 2004-03-02 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Microstructured segmented electrode film for electronic displays |
US6630786B2 (en) | 2001-03-30 | 2003-10-07 | Candescent Technologies Corporation | Light-emitting device having light-reflective layer formed with, or/and adjacent to, material that enhances device performance |
US6592234B2 (en) | 2001-04-06 | 2003-07-15 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Frontlit display |
JP2002333618A (en) | 2001-05-07 | 2002-11-22 | Nitto Denko Corp | Reflection type liquid crystal display device |
JP4049267B2 (en) | 2001-06-01 | 2008-02-20 | フィリップス ルミレッズ ライティング カンパニー リミテッド ライアビリティ カンパニー | Compact lighting system and display device |
GB0114862D0 (en) | 2001-06-19 | 2001-08-08 | Secr Defence | Image replication system |
JP2003007114A (en) | 2001-06-26 | 2003-01-10 | Sharp Corp | Front light and reflection type display device using the same |
JP4526223B2 (en) | 2001-06-29 | 2010-08-18 | シャープ株式会社 | Wiring member, solar cell module and manufacturing method thereof |
JP2003031017A (en) * | 2001-07-13 | 2003-01-31 | Minebea Co Ltd | Planar lighting device |
KR100799156B1 (en) * | 2001-07-13 | 2008-01-29 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Light guided panel and method for fabricating thereof and liquid crystal display device using the same |
JP3909812B2 (en) | 2001-07-19 | 2007-04-25 | 富士フイルム株式会社 | Display element and exposure element |
TWI225916B (en) | 2001-07-27 | 2005-01-01 | Nissen Kagaku Kk | Planar lighting device |
JP4213897B2 (en) | 2001-08-07 | 2009-01-21 | 株式会社日立製作所 | Method of manufacturing transfer pattern of microlens array |
JP2003057653A (en) | 2001-08-21 | 2003-02-26 | Citizen Watch Co Ltd | Liquid crystal display device |
JP4671562B2 (en) | 2001-08-31 | 2011-04-20 | 富士通株式会社 | Illumination device and liquid crystal display device |
KR20040039400A (en) * | 2001-09-26 | 2004-05-10 | 코닌클리케 필립스 일렉트로닉스 엔.브이. | Waveguide, edge-lit illumination arrangement and display comprising such |
JP4050119B2 (en) | 2001-10-02 | 2008-02-20 | シャープ株式会社 | Liquid crystal display |
JP2003131215A (en) | 2001-10-29 | 2003-05-08 | Optrex Corp | Reflection type display device |
JP2005531790A (en) | 2001-11-06 | 2005-10-20 | キーオティ | Image projection device |
AU2002342349A1 (en) * | 2001-11-07 | 2003-05-19 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Maskless printer using photoelectric conversion of a light beam array |
KR100774256B1 (en) | 2001-11-08 | 2007-11-08 | 엘지.필립스 엘시디 주식회사 | liquid crystal display devices |
US7128459B2 (en) * | 2001-11-12 | 2006-10-31 | Nidec Copal Corporation | Light-guide plate and method for manufacturing the same |
KR100440405B1 (en) | 2001-11-19 | 2004-07-14 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Device for controlling output of video data using double buffering |
US20030095401A1 (en) * | 2001-11-20 | 2003-05-22 | Palm, Inc. | Non-visible light display illumination system and method |
JP3801032B2 (en) * | 2001-11-29 | 2006-07-26 | 日本電気株式会社 | Light source and liquid crystal display device using the light source |
JP2003167500A (en) | 2001-11-30 | 2003-06-13 | Art Nau:Kk | Method for making hologram |
US7253853B2 (en) | 2001-12-04 | 2007-08-07 | Rohm Co., Ltd. | Liquid crystal display and lighting unit having parabolic surface |
JP2003173713A (en) | 2001-12-04 | 2003-06-20 | Rohm Co Ltd | Illumination device and liquid crystal display device |
JP3683212B2 (en) | 2001-12-14 | 2005-08-17 | Necアクセステクニカ株式会社 | Mobile phone |
US7072096B2 (en) * | 2001-12-14 | 2006-07-04 | Digital Optics International, Corporation | Uniform illumination system |
JP2003186008A (en) | 2001-12-14 | 2003-07-03 | Dainippon Printing Co Ltd | Sheet for front light and display device using the same |
JP3893421B2 (en) | 2001-12-27 | 2007-03-14 | 富士フイルム株式会社 | Light modulation element, light modulation element array, and exposure apparatus using the same |
US6577429B1 (en) | 2002-01-15 | 2003-06-10 | Eastman Kodak Company | Laser projection display system |
US6794119B2 (en) * | 2002-02-12 | 2004-09-21 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Method for fabricating a structure for a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device |
US7369735B2 (en) | 2002-02-15 | 2008-05-06 | Biosynergetics, Inc. | Apparatus for the collection and transmission of electromagnetic radiation |
US6574033B1 (en) | 2002-02-27 | 2003-06-03 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Microelectromechanical systems device and method for fabricating same |
AU2003216481A1 (en) | 2002-03-01 | 2003-09-16 | Planar Systems, Inc. | Reflection resistant touch screens |
AU2003211809A1 (en) | 2002-03-01 | 2003-09-16 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Light emitting device and display unit using the light emitting device and reading device |
WO2003075051A1 (en) | 2002-03-05 | 2003-09-12 | Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. | Illumination system combining diffuse homogeneous lighting with direct spot illumination |
JP3716934B2 (en) | 2002-03-14 | 2005-11-16 | 日本電気株式会社 | Light modulation display device, method of manufacturing the same, and display device equipped with the light modulation display device |
US6965468B2 (en) * | 2003-07-03 | 2005-11-15 | Reflectivity, Inc | Micromirror array having reduced gap between adjacent micromirrors of the micromirror array |
KR20030081662A (en) | 2002-04-12 | 2003-10-22 | 삼성에스디아이 주식회사 | Solar cell with double layer antireflection coating |
GB2388236A (en) * | 2002-05-01 | 2003-11-05 | Cambridge Display Tech Ltd | Display and driver circuits |
US6689949B2 (en) | 2002-05-17 | 2004-02-10 | United Innovations, Inc. | Concentrating photovoltaic cavity converters for extreme solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies |
JP4123415B2 (en) | 2002-05-20 | 2008-07-23 | ソニー株式会社 | Solid-state imaging device |
GB2389960A (en) | 2002-06-20 | 2003-12-24 | Suisse Electronique Microtech | Four-tap demodulation pixel |
DE10228946B4 (en) | 2002-06-28 | 2004-08-26 | Universität Bremen | Optical modulator, display, use of an optical modulator and method for producing an optical modulator |
US6741377B2 (en) * | 2002-07-02 | 2004-05-25 | Iridigm Display Corporation | Device having a light-absorbing mask and a method for fabricating same |
US7019734B2 (en) | 2002-07-17 | 2006-03-28 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Resistive touch sensor having microstructured conductive layer |
US6738194B1 (en) * | 2002-07-22 | 2004-05-18 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Navy | Resonance tunable optical filter |
US7019876B2 (en) * | 2002-07-29 | 2006-03-28 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Micro-mirror with rotor structure |
TWI266106B (en) * | 2002-08-09 | 2006-11-11 | Sanyo Electric Co | Display device with a plurality of display panels |
US7151532B2 (en) | 2002-08-09 | 2006-12-19 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Multifunctional multilayer optical film |
JP2004095390A (en) * | 2002-08-30 | 2004-03-25 | Fujitsu Display Technologies Corp | Lighting device and display device |
JP4057871B2 (en) * | 2002-09-19 | 2008-03-05 | 東芝松下ディスプレイテクノロジー株式会社 | Liquid crystal display |
JP2004133430A (en) | 2002-09-20 | 2004-04-30 | Sony Corp | Display element, display device, and micro lens array |
US7406245B2 (en) * | 2004-07-27 | 2008-07-29 | Lumitex, Inc. | Flat optical fiber light emitters |
TW573170B (en) * | 2002-10-11 | 2004-01-21 | Toppoly Optoelectronics Corp | Dual-sided display liquid crystal panel |
JP4130115B2 (en) * | 2002-10-16 | 2008-08-06 | アルプス電気株式会社 | Illumination device and liquid crystal display device |
US6747785B2 (en) * | 2002-10-24 | 2004-06-08 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | MEMS-actuated color light modulator and methods |
US7370185B2 (en) | 2003-04-30 | 2008-05-06 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Self-packaged optical interference display device having anti-stiction bumps, integral micro-lens, and reflection-absorbing layers |
TW200413776A (en) | 2002-11-05 | 2004-08-01 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Display element and display using the same |
US7063449B2 (en) * | 2002-11-21 | 2006-06-20 | Element Labs, Inc. | Light emitting diode (LED) picture element |
JP4140499B2 (en) | 2002-11-29 | 2008-08-27 | カシオ計算機株式会社 | Communication terminal and program |
TWI289708B (en) * | 2002-12-25 | 2007-11-11 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies Inc | Optical interference type color display |
TW594155B (en) | 2002-12-27 | 2004-06-21 | Prime View Int Corp Ltd | Optical interference type color display and optical interference modulator |
JP2004219843A (en) | 2003-01-16 | 2004-08-05 | Seiko Epson Corp | Optical modulator, and display device and their manufacturing methods |
US7042444B2 (en) | 2003-01-17 | 2006-05-09 | Eastman Kodak Company | OLED display and touch screen |
US6871982B2 (en) | 2003-01-24 | 2005-03-29 | Digital Optics International Corporation | High-density illumination system |
US6844953B2 (en) * | 2003-03-12 | 2005-01-18 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Micro-mirror device including dielectrophoretic liquid |
US20040188150A1 (en) | 2003-03-25 | 2004-09-30 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | High transparency touch screen |
JP3829819B2 (en) | 2003-05-08 | 2006-10-04 | ソニー株式会社 | Holographic stereogram creation device |
WO2004106983A2 (en) | 2003-05-22 | 2004-12-09 | Optical Research Associates | Illumination in optical systems |
US7268840B2 (en) * | 2003-06-18 | 2007-09-11 | Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd. | Display device employing light control member and display device manufacturing method |
US20050024890A1 (en) | 2003-06-19 | 2005-02-03 | Alps Electric Co., Ltd. | Light guide plate, surface light-emitting unit, and liquid crystal display device and method for manufacturing the same |
US6917469B2 (en) | 2003-06-27 | 2005-07-12 | Japan Acryace Co., Ltd. | Light diffusing laminated plate |
DE10329917B4 (en) | 2003-07-02 | 2005-12-22 | Schott Ag | Coated cover glass for photovoltaic modules |
US7112885B2 (en) * | 2003-07-07 | 2006-09-26 | Board Of Regents, The University Of Texas System | System, method and apparatus for improved electrical-to-optical transmitters disposed within printed circuit boards |
DE10336352B4 (en) * | 2003-08-08 | 2007-02-08 | Schott Ag | Method for producing scattered light structures on flat light guides |
US6880959B2 (en) * | 2003-08-25 | 2005-04-19 | Timothy K. Houston | Vehicle illumination guide |
US7241220B2 (en) * | 2003-09-10 | 2007-07-10 | Igt | Gaming device having pivoting symbol indicator |
KR20060135610A (en) | 2003-09-22 | 2006-12-29 | 코닌클리케 필립스 일렉트로닉스 엔.브이. | Touch input screen using a light guide |
US7218812B2 (en) | 2003-10-27 | 2007-05-15 | Rpo Pty Limited | Planar waveguide with patterned cladding and method for producing the same |
US7456805B2 (en) | 2003-12-18 | 2008-11-25 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Display including a solid state light device and method using same |
US6972827B2 (en) | 2003-12-19 | 2005-12-06 | Eastman Kodak Company | Transflective film and display |
US20050271325A1 (en) | 2004-01-22 | 2005-12-08 | Anderson Michael H | Liquid crystal waveguide having refractive shapes for dynamically controlling light |
US7342705B2 (en) | 2004-02-03 | 2008-03-11 | Idc, Llc | Spatial light modulator with integrated optical compensation structure |
US20060110090A1 (en) | 2004-02-12 | 2006-05-25 | Panorama Flat Ltd. | Apparatus, method, and computer program product for substrated/componentized waveguided goggle system |
TWI256941B (en) * | 2004-02-18 | 2006-06-21 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies Inc | A micro electro mechanical system display cell and method for fabricating thereof |
US7706050B2 (en) | 2004-03-05 | 2010-04-27 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Integrated modulator illumination |
US7213958B2 (en) * | 2004-06-30 | 2007-05-08 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Phosphor based illumination system having light guide and an interference reflector |
US7663714B2 (en) | 2004-08-18 | 2010-02-16 | Sony Corporation | Backlight device and color liquid crystal display apparatus |
JP2006093104A (en) | 2004-08-25 | 2006-04-06 | Seiko Instruments Inc | Lighting system, and display device using the same |
US20060066586A1 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2006-03-30 | Gally Brian J | Touchscreens for displays |
US7564612B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2009-07-21 | Idc, Llc | Photonic MEMS and structures |
US7710636B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2010-05-04 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Systems and methods using interferometric optical modulators and diffusers |
US7719500B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-05-18 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Reflective display pixels arranged in non-rectangular arrays |
US7349141B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2008-03-25 | Idc, Llc | Method and post structures for interferometric modulation |
US7561323B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2009-07-14 | Idc, Llc | Optical films for directing light towards active areas of displays |
US7355780B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2008-04-08 | Idc, Llc | System and method of illuminating interferometric modulators using backlighting |
US7630123B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2009-12-08 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for compensating for color shift as a function of angle of view |
US7911428B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2011-03-22 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for manipulating color in a display |
US7508571B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2009-03-24 | Idc, Llc | Optical films for controlling angular characteristics of displays |
US7750886B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-07-06 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Methods and devices for lighting displays |
US8031133B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2011-10-04 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for manipulating color in a display |
US7417735B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2008-08-26 | Idc, Llc | Systems and methods for measuring color and contrast in specular reflective devices |
US7807488B2 (en) | 2004-09-27 | 2010-10-05 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display element having filter material diffused in a substrate of the display element |
US7161730B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2007-01-09 | Idc, Llc | System and method for providing thermal compensation for an interferometric modulator display |
JP4445827B2 (en) | 2004-10-07 | 2010-04-07 | 大日本印刷株式会社 | Condensing sheet, surface light source device, and manufacturing method of condensing sheet |
JP2006120571A (en) | 2004-10-25 | 2006-05-11 | Fujikura Ltd | Lighting system |
KR100735148B1 (en) * | 2004-11-22 | 2007-07-03 | (주)케이디티 | Backlight unit by phosphorescent diffusion sheet |
US8130210B2 (en) | 2004-11-30 | 2012-03-06 | Avago Technologies Ecbu Ip (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | Touch input system using light guides |
US20060130889A1 (en) | 2004-12-22 | 2006-06-22 | Motorola, Inc. | Solar panel with optical films |
US7339635B2 (en) | 2005-01-14 | 2008-03-04 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Pre-stacked optical films with adhesive layer |
WO2006081633A1 (en) | 2005-02-07 | 2006-08-10 | Rpo Pty Limited | Waveguide design incorporating reflective optics |
US20060187676A1 (en) | 2005-02-18 | 2006-08-24 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Light guide plate, light guide device, lighting device, light guide system, and drive circuit |
JP2006270021A (en) | 2005-02-28 | 2006-10-05 | Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd | Laminated photoelectric conversion element |
US7352501B2 (en) | 2005-03-31 | 2008-04-01 | Xerox Corporation | Electrophoretic caps prepared from encapsulated electrophoretic particles |
KR100681521B1 (en) | 2005-04-06 | 2007-02-09 | (주)케이디티 | Backlight unit |
JP4743846B2 (en) | 2005-05-10 | 2011-08-10 | シチズン電子株式会社 | Optical communication apparatus and information equipment using the same |
WO2007048180A1 (en) | 2005-10-24 | 2007-05-03 | Rpo Pty Limited | Improved optical elements for waveguide-based optical touch screens |
US7760197B2 (en) | 2005-10-31 | 2010-07-20 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Fabry-perot interferometric MEMS electromagnetic wave modulator with zero-electric field |
JP4932732B2 (en) | 2005-11-15 | 2012-05-16 | パナソニック株式会社 | Surface illumination device and liquid crystal display device using the same |
JP2006065360A (en) | 2005-11-16 | 2006-03-09 | Omron Corp | Light guide and display apparatus |
US20070125415A1 (en) | 2005-12-05 | 2007-06-07 | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology | Light capture with patterned solar cell bus wires |
US20070133226A1 (en) | 2005-12-13 | 2007-06-14 | Eastman Kodak Company | Polarizing turning film with multiple operating orientations |
WO2007073203A1 (en) | 2005-12-19 | 2007-06-28 | Renewable Energy Corporation Asa | Solar cell module |
EP1975961B1 (en) | 2006-01-20 | 2016-06-22 | Nissha Printing Co., Ltd. | Capacitance type light-emitting switch and light-emitting switch element used for such capacitance type light-emitting switch |
KR100678067B1 (en) | 2006-02-28 | 2007-02-02 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Touch sensor apparatus |
JP2007271865A (en) | 2006-03-31 | 2007-10-18 | Hitachi Displays Ltd | Liquid crystal display device |
US20070235072A1 (en) | 2006-04-10 | 2007-10-11 | Peter Bermel | Solar cell efficiencies through periodicity |
US8120595B2 (en) | 2006-05-01 | 2012-02-21 | Rpo Pty Limited | Waveguide materials for optical touch screens |
US20080232135A1 (en) | 2006-05-31 | 2008-09-25 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Light guide |
US7876489B2 (en) | 2006-06-05 | 2011-01-25 | Pixtronix, Inc. | Display apparatus with optical cavities |
US7766498B2 (en) | 2006-06-21 | 2010-08-03 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Linear solid state illuminator |
TWI331231B (en) | 2006-08-04 | 2010-10-01 | Au Optronics Corp | Color filter and frbricating method thereof |
US7845841B2 (en) * | 2006-08-28 | 2010-12-07 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Angle sweeping holographic illuminator |
WO2008034184A1 (en) | 2006-09-22 | 2008-03-27 | Rpo Pty Limited | Waveguide configurations for optical touch systems |
US7679610B2 (en) | 2006-09-28 | 2010-03-16 | Honeywell International Inc. | LCD touchscreen panel with external optical path |
WO2008045362A2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2008-04-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Increasing collimation of light from light bar to light panel using tapering |
US8872085B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2014-10-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display device having front illuminator with turning features |
US7855827B2 (en) * | 2006-10-06 | 2010-12-21 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Internal optical isolation structure for integrated front or back lighting |
CN101600901A (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2009-12-09 | 高通Mems科技公司 | Be integrated in the optical loss structure in the lighting apparatus of display |
US8107155B2 (en) * | 2006-10-06 | 2012-01-31 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | System and method for reducing visual artifacts in displays |
US20100103488A1 (en) | 2006-10-10 | 2010-04-29 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display device with diffractive optics |
US20080105298A1 (en) | 2006-11-02 | 2008-05-08 | Guardian Industries Corp. | Front electrode for use in photovoltaic device and method of making same |
KR100951723B1 (en) | 2006-12-28 | 2010-04-07 | 제일모직주식회사 | Optical sheet for back light unit |
US7777954B2 (en) | 2007-01-30 | 2010-08-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Systems and methods of providing a light guiding layer |
US8487751B2 (en) | 2007-04-12 | 2013-07-16 | Nokia Corporation | Keypad |
WO2008138049A1 (en) | 2007-05-11 | 2008-11-20 | Rpo Pty Limited | A transmissive body |
WO2009011922A1 (en) | 2007-07-18 | 2009-01-22 | Qd Vision, Inc. | Quantum dot-based light sheets useful for solid-state lighting |
US7477809B1 (en) | 2007-07-31 | 2009-01-13 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Photonic guiding device |
JP4384214B2 (en) | 2007-09-27 | 2009-12-16 | 株式会社 日立ディスプレイズ | Surface light emitting device, image display device, and image display device using the same |
ES2379890T3 (en) | 2007-10-08 | 2012-05-04 | Whirlpool Corporation | Capacitive and household touch switch provided with such a switch |
US8058549B2 (en) | 2007-10-19 | 2011-11-15 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Photovoltaic devices with integrated color interferometric film stacks |
US20090293955A1 (en) | 2007-11-07 | 2009-12-03 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Photovoltaics with interferometric masks |
US20090126792A1 (en) | 2007-11-16 | 2009-05-21 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Thin film solar concentrator/collector |
US8941631B2 (en) | 2007-11-16 | 2015-01-27 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Simultaneous light collection and illumination on an active display |
US7949213B2 (en) | 2007-12-07 | 2011-05-24 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Light illumination of displays with front light guide and coupling elements |
US8068710B2 (en) | 2007-12-07 | 2011-11-29 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Decoupled holographic film and diffuser |
EP2232567A2 (en) | 2007-12-11 | 2010-09-29 | Evergreen Solar, Inc. | Photovoltaic panel and cell with fine fingers and method of manufacture of the same |
KR20100093590A (en) | 2007-12-17 | 2010-08-25 | 퀄컴 엠이엠스 테크놀로지스, 인크. | Photovoltaics with interferometric back side masks |
US20090168459A1 (en) | 2007-12-27 | 2009-07-02 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Light guide including conjugate film |
WO2009102733A2 (en) | 2008-02-12 | 2009-08-20 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Integrated front light diffuser for reflective displays |
US8851734B2 (en) | 2008-03-27 | 2014-10-07 | Skc Haas Display Films Co., Ltd. | Light guiding film having light extraction features |
EP2279530B1 (en) | 2008-04-11 | 2013-06-26 | QUALCOMM MEMS Technologies, Inc. | Method for improving pv aesthetics and efficiency |
US8049951B2 (en) | 2008-04-15 | 2011-11-01 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Light with bi-directional propagation |
US8023167B2 (en) | 2008-06-25 | 2011-09-20 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Backlight displays |
EP2435867A1 (en) | 2009-05-29 | 2012-04-04 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Illumination devices and methods of fabrication thereof |
-
2006
- 2006-02-17 US US11/357,702 patent/US7603001B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2007
- 2007-02-16 WO PCT/US2007/004277 patent/WO2008039229A2/en active Application Filing
-
2009
- 2009-08-19 US US12/544,184 patent/US7933475B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2011
- 2011-04-22 US US13/092,827 patent/US20110199667A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (26)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7123216B1 (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2006-10-17 | Idc, Llc | Photonic MEMS and structures |
US6040937A (en) * | 1994-05-05 | 2000-03-21 | Etalon, Inc. | Interferometric modulation |
US7388706B2 (en) * | 1995-05-01 | 2008-06-17 | Idc, Llc | Photonic MEMS and structures |
US20010012159A1 (en) * | 2000-02-02 | 2001-08-09 | Seiji Umemoto | Optical film |
US20040188599A1 (en) * | 2000-06-29 | 2004-09-30 | Pierre Viktorovitch | Optoelectronic device with integrated wavelength filtering |
US6927387B2 (en) * | 2000-06-29 | 2005-08-09 | Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique | Optoelectronic device with integrated wavelength filtering |
US6631998B2 (en) * | 2000-09-05 | 2003-10-14 | Minebea Co., Ltd. | Spread illuminating apparatus |
US6652109B2 (en) * | 2000-12-14 | 2003-11-25 | Alps Electric Co., Ltd. | Surface light emission device, method of manufacturing the same, and liquid crystal display device |
US6603520B2 (en) * | 2000-12-21 | 2003-08-05 | Nitto Denko Corporation | Optical film and liquid-crystal display device |
US20020149584A1 (en) * | 2001-04-13 | 2002-10-17 | Simpson John T. | Reflective coherent spatial light modulator |
US6674119B2 (en) * | 2001-07-02 | 2004-01-06 | Fujitsu Limited | Non-volatile semiconductor memory device and semiconductor integrated circuit |
US20050120553A1 (en) * | 2003-12-08 | 2005-06-09 | Brown Dirk D. | Method for forming MEMS grid array connector |
US7256922B2 (en) * | 2004-07-02 | 2007-08-14 | Idc, Llc | Interferometric modulators with thin film transistors |
US20060020553A1 (en) * | 2004-07-26 | 2006-01-26 | Septon Daven W | License proxy process to facilitate license sharing between a plurality of applications |
US20060132383A1 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2006-06-22 | Idc, Llc | System and method for illuminating interferometric modulator display |
US7327510B2 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2008-02-05 | Idc, Llc | Process for modifying offset voltage characteristics of an interferometric modulator |
US20060209012A1 (en) * | 2005-02-23 | 2006-09-21 | Pixtronix, Incorporated | Devices having MEMS displays |
US20060209385A1 (en) * | 2005-03-15 | 2006-09-21 | Motorola, Inc. | Microelectromechanical system optical apparatus and method |
US20060291769A1 (en) * | 2005-05-27 | 2006-12-28 | Eastman Kodak Company | Light emitting source incorporating vertical cavity lasers and other MEMS devices within an electro-optical addressing architecture |
US20070036492A1 (en) * | 2005-08-15 | 2007-02-15 | Lee Yee C | System and method for fiber optics based direct view giant screen flat panel display |
US20070047887A1 (en) * | 2005-08-30 | 2007-03-01 | Uni-Pixel Displays, Inc. | Reducing light leakage and improving contrast ratio performance in FTIR display devices |
US20070116424A1 (en) * | 2005-11-11 | 2007-05-24 | Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd | Backlight module structure for LED chip holder |
US7603001B2 (en) * | 2006-02-17 | 2009-10-13 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in an interferometric modulator display device |
US7933475B2 (en) * | 2006-02-17 | 2011-04-26 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in a display device |
US20080100900A1 (en) * | 2006-10-27 | 2008-05-01 | Clarence Chui | Light guide including optical scattering elements and a method of manufacture |
US20120120682A1 (en) * | 2010-11-16 | 2012-05-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Illumination device with light guide coating |
Cited By (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US8928967B2 (en) | 1998-04-08 | 2015-01-06 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Method and device for modulating light |
US9110289B2 (en) | 1998-04-08 | 2015-08-18 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Device for modulating light with multiple electrodes |
US9025235B2 (en) | 2002-12-25 | 2015-05-05 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Optical interference type of color display having optical diffusion layer between substrate and electrode |
US9019590B2 (en) | 2004-02-03 | 2015-04-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Spatial light modulator with integrated optical compensation structure |
US20090225394A1 (en) * | 2004-09-27 | 2009-09-10 | Idc, Llc | System and method of illuminating interferometric modulators using backlighting |
US8971675B2 (en) | 2006-01-13 | 2015-03-03 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Interconnect structure for MEMS device |
US8872085B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2014-10-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Display device having front illuminator with turning features |
US9019183B2 (en) | 2006-10-06 | 2015-04-28 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Optical loss structure integrated in an illumination apparatus |
US8068710B2 (en) | 2007-12-07 | 2011-11-29 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Decoupled holographic film and diffuser |
US8798425B2 (en) | 2007-12-07 | 2014-08-05 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Decoupled holographic film and diffuser |
US8979349B2 (en) | 2009-05-29 | 2015-03-17 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Illumination devices and methods of fabrication thereof |
US9121979B2 (en) | 2009-05-29 | 2015-09-01 | Qualcomm Mems Technologies, Inc. | Illumination devices and methods of fabrication thereof |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20090310208A1 (en) | 2009-12-17 |
US7933475B2 (en) | 2011-04-26 |
WO2008039229A3 (en) | 2008-06-05 |
WO2008039229A2 (en) | 2008-04-03 |
US20070196040A1 (en) | 2007-08-23 |
US7603001B2 (en) | 2009-10-13 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US7933475B2 (en) | Method and apparatus for providing back-lighting in a display device | |
US7446927B2 (en) | MEMS switch with set and latch electrodes | |
US7304784B2 (en) | Reflective display device having viewable display on both sides | |
US8023167B2 (en) | Backlight displays | |
US8077380B2 (en) | Method and apparatus for providing brightness control in an interferometric modulator (IMOD) display | |
US7768690B2 (en) | Backlight displays | |
US7916378B2 (en) | Method and apparatus for providing a light absorbing mask in an interferometric modulator display | |
US7499208B2 (en) | Current mode display driver circuit realization feature | |
US7719500B2 (en) | Reflective display pixels arranged in non-rectangular arrays | |
US7349136B2 (en) | Method and device for a display having transparent components integrated therein | |
US8194056B2 (en) | Method and system for writing data to MEMS display elements | |
EP1949165B1 (en) | MEMS switch with set and latch electrodes | |
US20120320010A1 (en) | Backlight utilizing desiccant light turning array | |
US7791783B2 (en) | Backlight displays |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SNAPTRACK, INC., CALIFORNIA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:QUALCOMM MEMS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.;REEL/FRAME:039891/0001 Effective date: 20160830 |