Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Plural physical display element control system – Display elements arranged in matrix
Patent
1993-09-16
1997-09-30
Hjerpe, Richard
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Plural physical display element control system
Display elements arranged in matrix
345 55, 345148, G09G 334
Patent
active
056730608
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to deformable mirror devices, and more particularly to circuits and methods for driving such devices.
The deformable mirror device is a particular type of spatial light modulator and comprises a micro-mechanical array of electronically addressable mirror elements, the elements corresponding to pixels. Each pixel mirror element is capable of mechanical movement in response to an electical input. Such movement is in practice more often a deflection rather than a deformation but the term deformable mirror device has now become accepted as the description of this class of devices. They may be digitally addressed in which case they can be referred to as digital mirror devices. The expression DMD covers all of these.
For a description of current DMD technology reference is made to HORNBECK, L. J., "Deformable-Mirror Spatial Light Modulators" Proc. SPIE Critical Reviews Series, Vol. 1150, 6-11 Aug. 1989, San Diego, Calif., U.S.A., pp 86-102. This paper contains many references to earlier work and attention is drawn particularly to references 3, 9, 14 and 23 of that paper. Further details of the construction of the devices is found in BOYSEL, R. M., "A 128.times.128 frame-addressed deformable mirror spatial light modulator" Optical Engineering, Vol. 30, No. 9, Sep. 1991, pages 1422-1427. Attention is also drawn to reference 1 in that paper which is an earlier publication by Boysel et al. It has been proposed that DMDs should be usable as projection displays, see e.g. HORNBECK, L. J., et al., "Deformable Mirror Projection Display", SID 80 Digest, pp 228-229 (Abstract of presentation delivered Jul. 20, 1980 at SID Symposium), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,579.
The construction and manufacture of DMDs is further described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,615,595 and 4,566,935 and European Patent Application EP-A-0 391 529, all of Texas Instruments Incorporated.
The following description assumes a knowledge of the above-noted prior documents, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
A DMD may comprise an area array of deflectable mirrors, used to modulate the light in an optical projector. There is one mirror for each picture point or pixel and each mirror is approximately 20 microns square. It is termed digital because each mirror has two positions, an "on" and an "off" position. In the "on" position, incoming light is directed through the projection lens to the display screen, and in the "off" position, light is deflected away from the projection lens, so that no light reaches the screen.
The "on" and "off" positions of each mirror are controlled by two deflection electrodes, which exert an electrostatic attraction on the mirror according to which of the electrodes has been charged with the necessary bias. In addition, there is a common bias applied to all the mirrors, to hold them in their "on" or "off" positions after the potential on the deflection electrodes has leaked away. Therefore the sequence for applying new positional information to each mirror is as follows. Just before the change, the potential on each deflection electrode could be equal, especially if some time has elapsed since the previous change, but the mirrors will remain locked in their previous position because of the common mirror bias. New potentials are now applied to all the deflection electrodes over a relatively short period of approximately 60 to 80 microseconds, but during this time the mirrors stay locked in their previous positions because of the common mirror bias. After all the deflection electrodes have been recharged, the common mirror bias is removed for approximately 10 microseconds and the mirrors are now attracted by the bias present on the deflection electrodes and will change position if (and only if) this bias is different from the previous setting. The common mirror bias then returns which locks the mirrors in the new position until the next time the common mirror bias is removed.
The magnitude of the light from each pixel is controlled by varying the "on/off" mark space ratio, in
REFERENCES:
patent: 4740786 (1988-04-01), Smith
patent: 4832447 (1989-05-01), Javidi
patent: 5189406 (1993-02-01), Humphries
Blaxtan Peter William
Millward John David
Hjerpe Richard
Lang Kent C.
Rank Brimar Limited
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