Image projection system with a polarizing beam splitter
US6447120B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 21, 2001 |
| Grant date | Sep 10, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 21, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03B21/2073
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An image projection system has a wire grid polarizing beam splitter which functions as both the polarizer and the analyzer in the system. A light source produces a source light beam directed at the beam splitter which reflects one polarization and transmits the other. A liquid crystal array is disposed in either the reflected or transmitted beam. The array modulates the polarization of the beam, encoding image information thereon, and directs the modulated beam back to the beam splitter. The beam splitter again reflects one polarization and transmits the other so that the encoded image is either reflected or transmitted to a screen. The beam splitter can be an embedded wire grid polarizer with an array of parallel, elongated, spaced-apart elements sandwiched between first and second layers. The elements form a plurality of gaps between the elements which provide a refractive index less than the refractive index of the first or second layers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.