Reduced micromirror mirror gaps for improved contrast ratio
US6028690A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 23, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 22, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 23, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B26/0841
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A micromirror array fabricated on a semiconductor substrate 708. The micromirrors in the micromirror array logically divided into an interior active region 704 which selectively modulates light striking the mirrors in the interior active region 704, and an exterior border region 702 for producing a dark border around the image produced by the interior active region 704. A gap between each mirror allows adjacent mirrors to rotate. The gap 712 between mirrors in the interior active region 704 of the array is larger than the gap 710 between at least some of the mirrors in the exterior border region 702. The smaller gap 710 in the exterior region 702 is enabled by restricting mirrors in the exterior region 702 to a single direction of rotation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.