JP2002533783A - Flat panel image display structure and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract: An improved beam steering and scanning device uses cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) elements (60) arranged in branches (1-16) to form a logic tree structure. Each branch includes an active CLC element (18) and a passive CLC element (19). The active CLC element includes a half-wave delay unit (61) and an electrode (62), and the passive CLC element is a CLC element only. including. The trailing branch has twice as many branches as the leading branch, and by activating the active CLC device electrodes under control of a programmable pulse source, the input provided to the first stage of the logic tree is: It is transmitted as scanned electromagnetic energy rays or light to the video cells of the last stage of the logic tree. By stacking identically shaped logic tree structures containing laser sources (17) for each tree, a flat panel image array or display panel is formed with minimal transmission intensity loss. In a similar video array, where the input logic tree is arranged vertically with a similar logic tree, the interconnection of the input and output of the logic tree can be used to capture standard television cameras and stereoscopic display images. Modulation of the laser source from the designed camera is used to generate corresponding 2D and 3D images.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a method for manipulating or scanning a beam of electromagnetic energy (eg, a collimated laser beam) in a flat or substantially planar structure, resulting in a loss of transmitted intensity. And an improved image display system that requires a minimum number of energy (eg, laser beam) sources.

The present invention also relates to a method for mass-producing such an improved image display system and apparatus at low cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART In recent years, there has been a wide range of demands for generating images for visual display. In recent decades, cathode ray tubes (CRTs) have been used to scan an electron (ie, cathode ray) beam on a fluorescent display screen to form images in response to video signals. Due to physical necessity, the electron beam is deflected in a CRT using a magnetic field and / or an electric force field that changes over time in response to a video signal representing a sequentially displayed image.

As an alternative to CRT displays, it is possible to form an image on the display surface by scanning a laser beam, rather than an electron beam, through a large amount of space across the display surface. This scheme is similar to that used during conventional laser light shows. However, in the case of a laser light show, the display surface is typically the ceiling or the atmosphere. Scanning a laser beam across such a display surface is achieved by using a variety of electromechanical or electroacoustic scanning techniques. Numerous examples of this diverse technology can be found in the literature: Leo Beiser, "Laser Scanning Notebook", SPIE Optical En
gineering Press, Bellingham, Washington, USA, November 1992. However, conventional laser scanning display systems, like CRT display systems, are difficult to physically reduce in size and require the use of amperometric and electroacoustic scanning devices. Such image display techniques have a number of disadvantages and problems. In particular, a display structure embodying the present technology requires a large amount of space because the angle at which the light beam is deflected is small. Thus, if it is desired to scan a length B, the deflecting device must be located at a distance A such that the ratio A / B is greater than 1, so that a flat display for color images Fabricating a panel structure is difficult, if not impossible.

In recent decades, there has been an increasing demand for an image display device having both flat panel surface characteristics and depth dimension thin characteristics. Many image display systems having such characteristics have been developed. Generally, such systems have a pixelated display surface that produces an image composed of light rays emanating from discrete pixels activated in response to a video signal. Voltage is derived from the video signal on a pixel-by-pixel basis along the display surface, and the derived voltage is used to change the optical or electrical properties of the associated pixel. In the case of an LCD panel, by changing the optical properties of the pixels, light generated from the opposite side of the display surface can be selectively passed. In the case of a plasma display panel, changes in the electrical properties of the encapsulated plasma gas result in emission of light from the activated pixels.

[0006] While these prior art display technologies can produce very thin flat display devices and solve the major problems associated with CRT display devices, the prior art flat panel device technologies include: It contains very serious drawbacks and problems. In particular, large area flat panel display panels cannot be fabricated using current LCD technology. Furthermore, typical flat panel display panels are very inefficient in terms of energy consumption. Therefore, the range in which conventional flat panel display technology can be used is necessarily limited.

[0007] International Patent Publication No. WO 95/24671, based on the content described in US Pat. No. 5,459,591 issued to SM Faris, is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In this international patent, the applicant addresses the above-mentioned problems associated with prior art flat panel display technology. The cited international patent discloses a method of manufacturing a large flat display structure composed of a plurality of video cells arranged in an array format. Each video cell contains a solid cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) element, an electrically controlled variable half-wave delay, and a circularly polarized light source. The CLC element is installed at a certain angle (45 °) with respect to the path on which the light from the circularly polarized light source is projected, reflects one circularly polarized light at a predetermined wavelength, and transmits other circularly polarized lights. By using this property, light in one polarization state or another polarization state is provided to the variable delay, and depending on whether the variable delay is activated, the light is directed to another orthogonal path. Be directed or maintain the original path. If another similar video cell is placed in the orthogonal path, light incident on that other video cell is directed to yet another path under the control of the half-wave delay associated with that other video cell. Alternatively, it is transmitted along an orthogonal path. By selectively activating the half-wave delay associated with each cell, monochromatic light from a single light source or polychromatic light from multiple light sources can be steered toward the selected cell and associated CLC Reflected from the element. By sequentially utilizing the cells in the array and reflecting the modulated beam, an image display frame similar to the image display frame generated by a normal television set is generated and visualized as an integrated picture It is possible. When the sequential image display frames are generated, a moving image is displayed from the flat display structure.

[0008] While prior art image display systems by the applicant address a number of problems associated with prior art flat panel display technology, prior art image display systems nonetheless have some drawbacks and disadvantages. Due to problems, commercial applications of these image display systems are not widespread.

In particular, in the apparatus of the applicant's conventional flat panel display system, the laser light beam has a very high intensity loss during beam steering and transmission operations, so unless a high power laser light source is used. It is very difficult to generate a bright image. Further, according to the conventional flat panel display system configuration by the applicant, a large number of laser light sources are required, which increases the manufacturing cost.

[0010] Thus, there is provided an improved method and apparatus for steering an electromagnetic beam to produce a color image within a substantially planar display structure, avoiding the disadvantages and problems of the prior art apparatus and methods. There are significant technical needs.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved flat panel display structure that overcomes the shortcomings and problems of the prior art systems and methods.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flat panel display structure utilizing a novel image array with substantially reduced transmission losses and the number of energy sources required.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an image array with reduced transmission loss and reduced number of required electromagnetic energy sources to one.

A second object of the present invention is to provide 2D images and 3D images in both direct-view and projection-type operation modes.
An object is to provide an improved flat panel display structure that can produce images together.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new method for manufacturing flat panel display structures inexpensively and in mass production.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a new and inexpensive method of manufacturing a flat panel display structure without the need for a vacuum envelope and unacceptably high voltages.

A further object of the invention is that the array of CLC elements and the controllable delay are configured to finely scan a circularly polarized input beam in a panel-type display, or The object is to provide a flat panel display configured to steer a circularly polarized input beam so that it can be emitted from any location on the array.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a flat panel display structure having a ratio A / B much less than one.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a flat panel scanning device that achieves a scanning speed in microseconds.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a laser beam scanning array that can scan or steer an electromagnetic beam along multiple paths without using electromechanical or electroacoustic elements. is there.

A second object of the present invention is to generate a color image over a large display surface area by using a collimated laser beam generated from a single point light source in one of a plurality of propagation paths in space. An object is to provide a one-dimensional (ie, linear) laser beam scanning array that can be selectively steered along two propagation paths.

A further object of the present invention is that a biographically controllable delay is used to instantaneously change the path of the collimated laser beam, thus providing both the transmissive and reflective functions of the CLC element. It is an object of the present invention to provide a laser beam scanning array that can be used to advantage.

A further object of the present invention comprises a substantially planar thin display panel,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optoelectronic image display system utilizing a novel laser beam steering array.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an optoelectronic image display system for use in displaying images in direct-view or projection applications.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an optoelectronic image display system that does not require a vacuum envelope, electron beam scanning, and a backlit structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for displaying a laser beam having various spectral components in the visible band using an array of beam steering cells having the reflection and transmission characteristics of a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) film material. It is to provide an optoelectronic image display system that is steered within the device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronically controllable delay and an associated polarizing reflective element that precisely and precisely steer a laser beam in a flat panel display for a video image display function. To provide an opto-electronic image display system.

It is another object of the present invention that the cross-sectional dimensions of the laser beam be sufficiently large so that the spatial period of the beam steering cell can be fine enough for high resolution display surface applications such as laptop computer systems. It is to provide an optoelectronic image display system that has been reduced in size.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optoelectronic display system in which a laser beam is generated, intensity modulated outside the image display, and supplied to the image display via a flexible fiber optic cable or similar device. To provide.

It is another object of the present invention that the display surface comprises a pixel-type panel of light-dispersing pixels, each pixel being constituted by randomly dispersed elements such as microprisms, wherein the modulated laser beam is applied to the display surface. The present invention provides an optoelectronic image display system that scatters the spectral components of the modulated laser beam as it emerges from the viewer in the direction of the observer so that the displayed image can be viewed from a sufficiently wide angle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optoelectronic image display system that shifts the wavelength of a laser beam as it emerges from a display surface.

A further object of the invention is to increase the physical dimensions of the display surface sufficiently to directly view the displayed image, as experienced in stadiums, theme parks, and other signaling applications. To provide an opto-electronic image display system.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an optoelectronic image display system that can be easily adapted to visualize stereoscopic images using well-known time multiplexing, spatial multiplexing, or spectrum multiplexing techniques. That is.

The next object of the present invention is to provide collimating within an essentially flat panel structure, such as for laser beam scanning and image display applications.
It is to provide a new way to steer a laser beam.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved beam steering mechanism used to construct various types of optoelectronic systems and devices including flat panel image display structures. The beam steering mechanism utilizes active and passive CLC elements arranged in branches to form a tree-like structure referred to as a "logic tree structure" in the following description. Each branch of the logic tree structure includes an active CLC element and a passive CLC element. Active C
The LC element includes a half-wave delay device and an electrode. Each subsequent branch in the logic tree structure contains twice as many branches as the previous branch, and activates the active CLC device electrodes under the control of a programmable pulse source to cause the first stage of the logic tree to operate. The input supplied to is transmitted as a scanned electromagnetic energy beam or light to a video cell at the last stage of the logic tree. By stacking identically shaped logic tree structures containing laser sources for each tree,
A flat panel image array or display is formed with minimal loss of beam intensity during transmission.

When using a similar video array, by using a logic tree structure having an output that serves as an input to the video array, transmission losses can be reduced in situations where conventionally a large number of lasers were required. It is further reduced. By arranging the input logic tree structure perpendicular to similar logic tree structures, a single energy (eg, laser beam) source can provide input to the associated logic tree structure of the video array. An output is provided to each video cell that functions as a.

In this manner, a scanning line is directed from each video cell of the input logic tree structure to the first active element of the associated logic tree structure array. From there, a portion of the scanned line is directed to an output video cell of each logic tree structure array under the control of a programmable pulse generator. A two-dimensional image is thus constructed by sequentially activating the video cells of each logic tree structure array.

[0038] The three-dimensional image is obtained by operating the first and second logic tree structures of the array to generate a three-dimensional parallax image from the three-dimensional camera in the output video cell of the video array. And interleaving with the stereoscopic disparity image by operating a second logic tree structure and every other logic tree structure to obtain an image similar to that described above. Viewing glasses that respond to different polarizations for each eye are needed to produce a three-dimensional effect. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional images are generated by modulating a laser from a standard television camera and a laser from a camera designed to obtain a stereoscopic parallax image, respectively.

For an array that produces a three-dimensional image, the image and the stereoscopic parallax image are interleaved to obtain the desired images having different circular polarization states.

The present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a structure having the above features. Since all stages of the logic tree structure differ only in the number of branches accommodated, for example, a light beam provided by a laser beam passes through many stages with minimal scattering and Even if a large structure is used to control the position of the light beam, the original position of the light beam is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to use a CLC element, an electrode, and a half-wave delay device, and it is not necessary to divide the logic tree structure into separate elements. Thus, each CLC element, each electrode, and
Each delay device extends vertically, or horizontally, for each stage of the image array.

Each logic tree structure stage consists of 45 layers of insulating material and 45 layers of CLC material.
It can be manufactured by slicing at an angle of °. The thickness of the insulating material depends on the resulting C
The gap between the LC elements is controlled. Transparent layers, such as indium-tin-oxide, are formed on both sides of the spaced-apart layer containing the CLC element. Using photolithographic techniques, one side of the layer is masked and etched to form electrodes on every other CLC element. Spacer elements fixed to the perimeter of each layer where the electrodes are etched form a volume that incorporates a liquid half-wave delay device. The obtained stages are stacked by the number of stages necessary to form an image array including a desired number of image cells. By stacking the stages, which are slices containing CLC elements provided at different intervals, a logic tree structure that sends the scanning lines to the output video cells is automatically obtained. This method uses mass production techniques and results in an inexpensive flat panel display. In this way, stages are mass-produced including two CLC elements, four CLC elements, eight CLC elements, sixteen CLC elements, and so on. These stages, in turn,
Stacked, each stage contains twice as many CLC elements as the previous stage and forms a logic tree structure composed of video cells forming an array.

The above and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

The above objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for practicing the present invention, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention] The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, similar structures and components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of a logic tree structure according to the present invention that can be used to construct a wide variety of optoelectronic systems and devices, including large flat panel image display structures. I have. As shown, the logic tree structure includes an active cholesteric (CLC) element and a passive cholesteric element, which have a single input to the first stage of the logic tree structure. By appropriately switching the electronically controlled half-wave delay associated with the active CLC element of the logic tree structure, it is arranged and controlled to be sent to any output of the final stage of the logic tree structure. . By programming the switching of the half-wave delay at each stage of the logic tree structure, the laser input to the first stage of the logic tree structure can be, for example, at the output of the last stage of the logic tree structure. Provide a scanned input (the scanned version of the input). The application will be described later in detail as a scanner of a logic tree structure. It will be apparent that other applications may be included in the same embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1 in more detail, the logic tree structure 1 includes a plurality of stages from a first stage to a fourth stage. Each stage includes one or more branches, and each branch includes an active CLC element and a passive CLC element. Thus, the first stage includes branch 2, which is the active C
It includes an LC element 18 and a passive CLC element 19. The second stage includes branches 3 and 4, branch 3 includes an active CLC element 21 and a passive CLC element 22, and branch 4 includes an active CLC element 23 and a passive CLC element 24. The third stage includes four branches 5, 6, 7 and 8, each branch including active CLC elements 31, 33, 35 and 37 and passive CLC elements 32, 34, 36 and 38, respectively. . Similarly, the fourth stage is 8
Branches 9-16, each branch comprising an active CLC element 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53 and 55 and a passive CLC element 42, respectively.
, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56. It has to be noted here that more stages may be added to the logic tree structure 1 and that subsequent stages have twice as many branches as the preceding stage. By using this technique, when n represents a stage number, the n-th in FIG.
It can be seen that the stage includes ^2n-1 branches. Therefore, the fourth stage includes 2 ^4-1 = 8 branches. Since each branch houses two CLC elements, each stage includes ²ⁿ elements, for example, in the case of the fourth stage, the number of elements is 16. Similarly, for example, in the case of the tenth stage, C
The number of LC elements is 2 ¹⁰ = 1024, and one light output is provided for each element.
1024 light outputs are obtained.

FIG. 1 illustrates how the logic tree structure 1 operates regardless of the number of stages, such logic tree structure being activated by input from a single source of electromagnetic energy. Only four stages are incorporated to clearly illustrate the manner used to provide the scanning light output from the plurality of devices.

Before describing the operation of FIG. 1, the active CLC element of each branch in FIG. 1 is referred to by the name of the invention by SM Faris, "Electromagn," which has been cited in full text for reference.
Note that the passive CLC device of the present invention is the same as the active device shown in FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,591 entitled "Electric Energy Beam Steering Devices." The variable half-wave delay device, that is, the active CLC device is different from the active CLC device in that a π cell is not built in. Therefore, each branch of the logic tree structure 1 includes an active CLC device 18 and a passive CL device.
C element 19 is included. The active CLC element includes a cholesteric liquid crystal member 60,
It has a transparent electrode 62, a ground plane (not shown), and a controllable half-wave delay 61,
The passive CLC element includes a cholesteric liquid crystal member that is the same as member 60.
Since the branches 3, 4, 5-8, and 9-16 are the same as the branch 2 in FIG. 1, the cholesteric liquid crystal element and the half-wave delay device of each branch have the same reference numerals, respectively. Is attached.

In FIG. 1, the active CLC element 18 and the passive CLC element 19 of the branch 2 are preferably cholesteric liquid crystal members 60 arranged at an angle of 45 °.
To accommodate. Member 60 is made from a nematic liquid crystal material that includes a chiral additive or polysiloxane side-chain polymer that naturally aligns the cigar-shaped molecules into a left-handed or right-handed optically active helical structure having a helical pitch P. The spiral direction and pitch P of the helix depend on the nature and concentration of the additive. CL like member 60
The C-member can reflect light with one circular polarization, for example, with all the spirals oriented in one direction and including a characteristic wavelength or wavelength band. Cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) member 60 used in the embodiment of the present invention and its manufacturing method
Is described in US Pat. No. 5,221,982, filed Jun. 22, 1993 by SM Faris. Although the CLC member 60 shown in FIG. 1 is a single element, the plurality of CLC members 60 reflect and transmit circularly polarized radiation having a plurality of wavelengths or wavelength bands provided by a plurality of electromagnetic radiation sources. It will be understood that each member 60 can be replaced. In embodiments of the present invention, member 60 is made from any material that can be switched to reflect and / or transmit electromagnetic energy by applying an electric or magnetic field.

The half-wave delay, schematically shown in FIG. 1, ie the π cell 61, is of the type described in US Pat. No. 4,670,744 filed on Jun. 2, 1987 by TS Buzak. And is used in the embodiment of the present invention. The entire Buzak patent is cited for reference. Alternatively, instead of the CLC film, a commercially available polarizing reflector, polarizing prism, or McNeill prism may be used in the embodiment of the present invention. When more than one wavelength of electromagnetic radiation is used in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a broadband π cell is used to provide a half-wave delay at each wavelength to maintain the same intensity level for each wavelength. Is done.

The logic tree structure 1 of FIG. 1 is operated from an electromagnetic radiation source 17, which may be a laser source or other radiation source, the output of the electromagnetic radiation source being in accordance with methods well known to those skilled in the optical arts. The direction of the linearly polarized light is converted into the direction of the circularly polarized light using a quarter wave plate (not shown). If the resulting output is not properly polarized,
A half-wave delayer is used to convert one circular polarization to another.

For the purposes of the present invention, the radiation emitted from the electromagnetic radiation source 17 is circularly polarized in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Commercially available lasers are used to obtain an output that falls in the visible, infrared or ultraviolet spectral range. Although the radiation source 17 is shown in FIG. 1 as a single radiation source, it may be considered to represent a plurality of radiation sources having different wavelengths. That is, the radiation source 17
May be lasers emitting in the red, green and blue visible spectral wavelengths. As a result, the projection beam of radiation is a light beam having a single color or a light beam having a combination of these wavelengths.

It will be appreciated that the radiation source 17 includes a laser or other radiation source capable of intensity modulation. In this case, the intensity of the output of the radiation source changes stepwise from zero to the maximum intensity.

The electromagnetic radiation source 17 shown in FIG.
The member 60 is directly irradiated, and the electromagnetic radiation is transmitted or reflected through the active CLC element depending on the polarization. The radiation emitted from the electromagnetic radiation source 17 may have a single intensity, or may be an intensity modulated signal obtained by the television camera 25 or the like. By properly programming the π-cell, ie, the half-wave delay 61, the unmodulated or intensity-modulated signal can be transferred to the active and passive CLC elements 41 of the fourth stage branch 9-16. It is communicated in a scanning manner to -56. Thus, an unmodulated or intensity modulated beam of radiation is scanned across elements 41-56, producing an output that is similar in every respect to a single scan line of a typical television set.

When the input is provided in digital form, a digital-to-analog converter 26 is inserted between the camera 25 and the radiation source 17 in a known manner.

In FIG. 1, a variable half-wave delay 61 is activated by a programmable pulse source 27 that obtains synchronization information from a camera 25 via an interconnect 28. The plurality of driver interconnects 29 are connected to separate electrodes 62 that, when activated by the pulse source 27, apply an electric field to the associated half-wave delay. In FIG. 1, 15 driver interconnects 29 are utilized, and each driver interconnect is
When supplied with a pulse, it activates a separate variable half-wave detector 61.

In operation, the logic tree structure 1 is activated when the radiation source 17 is activated. The purpose is to provide a scanning output from a single input of the logic tree structure 1 to a plurality of outputs of the fourth stage. Therefore, the active elements 41, 4
The outputs of 3, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53 and 55 and the passive elements 42 and 44
, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56 need to be activated in the order shown in FIG. Element 41 should produce a first output, so that the input signal is right-handed circularly polarized light (RCP) and all members 60 are left-handed circularly polarized light (LCP).
2.) If designed to reflect radiation, the RCP light will pass through the active elements 18, 21, 31 and 41 unhindered. This is because the active elements 18, 21, 31 and 41 reflect LCP radiation and transmit RCP radiation. Thus, the RCP radiation output appears at the output port of element 41.

In the next time period, the half-wave delay 61 of the element 41 is activated by a pulse applied from the pulse source 27 to the electrode 62 via the interconnect 29 and the half-wave delay is A half-wave delay is introduced into the input RCP radiation passing through 21 and 31 to convert the RCP radiation to LCP radiation. The LCP radiation reflects from the member 60 of the element 41 toward the member 60 of the element 42, and the member 60 of the element 42 also reflects the LCP radiation. The impinging LCP radiation is reflected back to the output port of element 42.

In the next time period, the output from the active element 43 is requested. To achieve this, the delay device 61 on the input side of the active element 31 of the third stage and the input side of the active element 43 of the fourth stage are activated by applying a pulse to the corresponding transparent electrode 62. .

Thereafter, the RCP radiation on the input side of the active element 21 is converted into LCP radiation, reflected from the LCP reflection member 60 to the LCP reflection member 60 of the passive element 32, and activated by the LCP reflection member 60 of the passive element 32. The light is reflected toward the element 43. The LCP input at the active element 43 passes through the half-wave delay 61 and
Converted to CP radiation. The RCP radiation is transmitted to the output port of the active element 43 as it is. This is because the CLC member 60 of the active element 43 is
This is because it reflects only radiation.

In the next period, the pulse source 27 is activated by the half-wave delay 61 associated with the active element 43.
Is stopped, and the half-wave delay device 61 associated with the active element 31 is kept operating.
In this way, the LCP radiation incident on element 43 does not introduce a delay,
The P radiation is kept, and then reflected from the LCP reflecting member 60 of the element 43 toward the passive element 44. The LCP radiation thus reflected is applied to the LC of element 44
The light is reflected from the P reflecting member 60 to its output port.

Each path from the input to the output port can be found from the above description and the matter described in FIG. 1, so that not all paths passing through all the elements are described in an end-to-end manner. The operation sequence of the wave delay unit 61 will be described. To obtain an output at the active element 45, only the variable half-wave delay 61 associated with the active elements 21 and 33 is activated. To obtain the output of element 46, a variable half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 21, 33 and 45 is activated. To obtain the output of the active element 47, the variable half-wave delay 61 associated with the active elements 21 and 47 is activated. To obtain the output of the active element 48, only the variable half-wave delay 61 associated with the active element 21 is activated. The output of active element 49 is obtained by activating half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 18 and 23. The output of active element 50 is a half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 18, 23 and 49.
Is obtained by activating. To obtain the output of the active element 51, the variable half-wave delay 61 associated with the active elements 18, 35 and 51 is activated. The output from passive element 52 is obtained by activating half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 18, 23 and 35. To obtain the output of active element 53, a variable half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 18 and 37 is activated.
The output of passive element 54 is obtained by activating half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 18, 37 and 53. To obtain the output of active element 55, a variable half-wave delay 61 associated with active elements 18 and 55 is activated.
Finally, the active element 56 is a half-wave delay 61 associated with the active element 18.
Is activated by activating.

As described above, after the half-wave delay unit 61 is activated by applying a pulse from the programmable pulse source 27 to the transparent electrode 62, the scanning type in which the intensity changes in the active element and the passive element 41 to 46. The output is obtained. The output is not necessarily the same polarization, but in the case of the embodiment of FIG. 1 the elements are scanned from left to right and have an alternating polarization pattern of RCP and LCP. The output with the same circular polarization is
It is important to recognize that such variations exist in situations where, as desired or required, fixed half-wave delays are arranged to convert all polarizations to the same polarization. is there. Thus, in FIG. 1, for example, the fixed half-wave delay 63
Converts the RCP output of the active element to the LCP,
, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53 and 55 at the output. This conversion capability is particularly important for devices that provide a three-dimensional output. This is because three-dimensional recognition is based on obtaining two spatial disparity images having different polarizations.

In FIG. 1, when the input to the active CLC element 18 is changed to LCP and all the CLC members 60 in the logic tree structure 1 are changed to RCP reflection type, the output obtained is that of FIG. Is exactly the same as the output shown in FIG.

The same output pattern as the pattern shown in FIG. 1 can also be obtained when the input is an LCP and all the members 60 are of the LCP reflective type.

A pattern opposite to the pattern shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained when the input is RCP and all members 60 are RCP reflective.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a logic tree structure 1 similar to FIG. FIG.
Only the logic tree structure without associated lasers and electronics is shown. The polarization of member 60 that reflects a different polarization has been modified to produce an output having a different polarization than that shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, each box representing the active element and the passive element has a letter L or a letter R indicating whether the CLC member 60 in the box reflects left-handed or right-handed circularly polarized light. . Needless to say in more detail, the output shown in FIG. 2 is derived from the LCP input having the polarization pattern: LRRL RLLR RLLR LRRL when the delay 61 is switched in the same order as described with respect to FIG. It can be seen that it can be obtained.

A pattern different from the above polarization pattern is obtained when the input polarization is changed to RCP and the member 60 of the logic tree structure 1 reflects the polarization opposite to the polarization shown in FIG. Is done. The output pattern is RLLR LRRL LRRL RLLR.

Next, by using the key to control the variable half-wave delayer 61, the output polarization is determined for applications where the information is polarization encoded or polarization scrambled, transmitted, decoded or unscrambled. An example of a method for controlling is described below.

In terms of ease of manufacture, a logic tree structure having the same CLC members 60 is most advantageous, as will become apparent from the description of the manufacturing process below.

The device of FIG. 1 is advantageous over the scanning device described in US Pat. No. 5,459,591 in which the input light must travel in an array of 1024 × 1024. 1024
The two CLC members 2 (in the cited patent) produce the output of the farthest video cell 1 (in the cited patent). When each CLC member has a transmittance (T),
The transmittance of the final video cell is (T) ¹⁰²⁴ . Therefore, when the transmittance is approximately 1, for example, even at 0.999, the output of the 1024th video cell is (0.999) ^1024, which is practically zero.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, in order to obtain the final output in the 1024 × 1024 array, 20 CLC members 60 or two CLC members per stage are used.
It is enough to move the member, and a transmittance (T) of ²⁰ is obtained. Under this condition, assuming that the 1024th output is T = 0.999, the transmittance is (0.
999) ²⁰ , which is approximately 90% of the input intensity. The minimum transmittance in the tenth stage is (T) ^10, that is, changes once per stage.

While the logic tree structure of FIG. 1 is improved over the prior art in terms of output light intensity, each logic tree structure 1 requires a dedicated input laser or electromagnetic radiation source 17. . Therefore, for example, in order to realize an 8 × 8 array, it is necessary to stack eight logic tree structures 1 in the same manner as the method shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an orthographic view of eight logic tree structures 1 stacked together to obtain 64 outputs, in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. One electromagnetic radiation source 17 is required for one logic tree structure 1.

Due to space limitations, FIG. 3 shows only the three stages in FIG. Further, since each logic tree structure 1 in FIG. 3 is the same as the other logic tree structures 1, only the uppermost tree w is included in its CLC member 60.
And a variable half-wave delay 61. Also, as will be apparent from the following description, the scale of the dimensions is not accurate.

FIG. 3 shows an 8 × 8 array 70 in which eight logic tree structures 1 are sequentially stacked. Each logic tree structure 1 includes three stages, a first stage, a second stage, and a third stage. As shown in FIG. 1, the first stage includes branch 2, the second stage includes branches 3 and 4,
The stage includes branches 5-8. Each branch includes an active CLC element and a passive CLC element as in the first to third stages of FIG.
The LC elements include cholesteric liquid crystal members 60 arranged at a 45 ° angle within each element of the array 70. Further, the variable half-wave delay unit 61 arranged in FIG. 3 is exactly the same as the variable delay unit 61 in the first to third stages in FIG. In FIG. 3, each logic tree structure 1 is operated by an associated electromagnetic radiation source 17, preferably a laser. A total of eight radiation sources are required. As each laser is driven, the variable half-wave delay 61 is operated as described with respect to FIG. 1 and the output of each laser 17 is output from left to right at the output of video cell 71 of each logic tree structure 1. Appears as a scanning-type modulation signal that proceeds to In the case of the device shown in FIG. 3, the radiation source 17 and the delay device 61 are activated sequentially or simultaneously. The output of the radiation source 17 is converted into right-handed circularly polarized light (RCP), and all the CLC members 60 are converted.
3 reflects left-handed circularly polarized light (LCP), the output of each logic tree structure in FIG. 3 is the same as the output shown in FIG. 1 and is represented by RLRL RLRL.

As described with reference to FIG. 1, the fixed half-wave delay is appropriately arranged such that all outputs have the same polarization.

The number of lossy transitions per logic tree structure is reduced compared to the prior art, but this requires that the radiation source 17 be configured for each logic tree structure 1 incorporated in the array 70. Achieved by using If the apparatus as shown in FIG. 3 is expanded to a 1024 × 1024 array, 1024 radiation sources 17 are required. By using a logic tree structure 1 as shown in FIG. 1, this requirement can be relaxed and the number of radiation sources can be reduced to one. At this time, the output of the logic tree structure 1 provided from the single radiation source 17 acts as an input to the array 70 as shown in FIG.

This becomes clear by considering FIG. FIG. 4 is an orthographic view similar to FIG. 3, but instead of a plurality of radiation sources 17, a single radiation source 17
It is used in combination with a logic tree structure as shown in FIG. 1 which is arranged perpendicular to the logic tree structure of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4 in more detail, the array 70 is the same as the array 70 shown in FIG. Further, the electromagnetic radiation source 17 in FIG.
Is similar to In FIG. 4, the input logic tree structure 72 is
Located between the zero and the radiation source 17, each video cell 71 or logic tree structure 72 serves as an input to the associated logic tree structure 1 of the array 70. Thus, video cell 71 at the top of input logic tree structure 72 provides an input to the left-most element of logic tree structure 1 at the top of array 70. This input, which may be an intensity modulated signal from the radiation source 17, is scanned across the video cells 71 of the logic tree structure 1 at the top of the array 70 in a manner similar to scanning a television frame. When the scanned output of the top logic tree structure reaches the last video cell 71, the output of the radiation source 17 will be in the logic tree structure 72 (just below the top video cell 71). Switching to the next video cell 71 is made. The output of this (next) video cell is the logic
Acts as an input to the logic tree structure 1 immediately below the tree structure 1. A logic tree immediately below the topmost logic tree structure 1 of the array 70
The inputs to tree structure 1 are passed from left to right to video cell 71 or logic tree structure 1 to produce a scanned intensity modulated signal similar to a television scan line.

The remaining video cells 71 of the input logic tree structure 72 are similar to the logic tree structure 72 in that the electrodes 62 and the variable half-wave delay 61 are combined with the method described above with reference to FIG. It is activated by programming as well. Similarly, each logic tree structure 1 of the array 70 is driven by the output from the associated video cell 71 of the input logic tree structure 72. Then, under the control of programmed electrodes 62 and half-wave delays 61, their outputs, ie, inputs to the associated logic tree structure 1, are passed between the video cells 71. In this way, for example, in FIG. 4, by accessing the logic tree structure from top to bottom, an image can be constructed and, depending on the density of the video cells, a very high resolution image can be obtained. It is.

From the above description, the modulation output of signal source 17, preferably a laser, is sent to video cells 71 of a plurality of stacked logic tree structures 1, such as array 70 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, by using the input logic tree structure 72, a single radiation source 17 may be used for the plurality of radiation sources 17 shown in FIG. The value of the device shown in FIG.
It becomes very clear to remember that for a 4x1024 array, 1024 lasers were required. Thus, in addition to reducing the number of lossy transitions as was done in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the embodiment shown in FIG.
The required number of radiation sources 17 is reduced to an absolute minimum of one. The electronics required to operate a display such as that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are not shown, but the same components shown in FIG. 1 that are well known in the imaging arts implement the present invention. Used when doing. Thus, for example, the synchronization information obtained from the camera 25 is provided to the programmable pulse source 27 via the interconnect 28. The programmable pulse source 28 provides a switching signal to both the logic tree structure 72 and each logic tree structure 1 to properly control their electrodes 62 and half-wave delays 71, and The scanning energy output is sent from the video cell 71 of each logic tree structure 1 and the input logic tree structure 72.

Referring to FIG. 5, an orthographic view of the image array is shown. This image array forms a three-dimensional stereoscopic display system by combining with viewing glasses and stereoscopic parallax images.

In FIG. 5, the input logic tree structure is a three-dimensional television camera 73.
Is accessed via an interconnect 74 by an electromagnetic radiation source 17 modulated by Since the two outputs from the stereo camera 73 have stereo parallax, if both outputs are separated by some characteristic such as polarization, the two resulting images will be (using appropriate glasses 3.) sent to each eye and synthesized in the brain to obtain a three-dimensional image.

One image is obtained by supplying the scanning line from the stereo camera 73 to the laser 17 via the interconnect 74. The output of the laser is provided to an input logic tree structure 72, and the scanned lines from the input logic tree structure actuate a variable half-wave delayer 61 in video cell 71 via interconnect 76. Under the control of the programmable pulse source 76, the top video cell 71 and the
(Every other) video cell 71. The output from the uppermost video cell 71 of the input logic tree structure 72 is supplied to the leftmost member 60 of the uppermost logic tree structure 1 at a predetermined interval. At the same time, the variable half-wave delay 61 controlled by the programmable pulse source 27 is properly activated, and a part of the scanning line from the stereo camera 73 is shifted to the uppermost logic tree structure 1 of the array 70. It is transmitted to each video cell 71.

In the example of FIG. 5, each video cell 71 of the array 70 is illuminated for a time corresponding to １ ／ of a predetermined period of the scanning line from the camera 73. For example, 1
For a 024 × 1024 array, the illumination time is 1024 of the scanning line period.
It's a fraction.

The first image is obtained by scanning a scanning line from the stereo camera 73 that modulates the laser 17 via the interconnecting unit 74 during every other period after the first period. It is completed by supplying every other video cell 71 after the first video cell 71 of the body 72. Each scanning line is the first scanning line in the array 7
0 is transmitted to the video cells 71 of every other logic tree structure 1 in the array 70 in the same manner as described above for transmitting to the topmost logic tree structure 1.

The stereoscopic parallax image from the stereoscopic camera 73 is sent to the laser 17 as a scanning line via the interconnecting unit 74 and modulates the output of the laser 17. The stereo parallax scanning line output is sent to the laser 17 during the second period and every other period thereafter. The first stereoscopic parallax output from the laser 17 is output from above the logic tree structure 72 under the control of a programmable pulse source 75 that properly operates the variable half-wave delay 61 of the input logic tree structure 72. It is transmitted to the second video cell 71 as a scanning line. This output, acting as an input to the leftmost CLC member 60 of the logic tree structure 1 from the top of the array 70, is the output of the scanning line output of the laser 17 under the control of the programmable pulse source 27. As a part, it is sent to the video cell 71 of the logic tree structure 1 in the second stage from the top of the array 70.

As in the generation of the first image, the video cell 71 of the stereoscopic parallax image is illuminated for a period corresponding to ８ of the predetermined period of the scanning line.

The stereoscopic parallax image is obtained by inputting the scanning type line from the stereoscopic camera 73 to the laser 17 via the interconnecting section 74 during the input logic / interval during every other period after the second period.
The process is completed by supplying every other video cell 71 after the second video cell 71 of the tree structure 72. Each stereoscopic parallax scanning type line is used to transmit the first stereoscopic parallax scanning type line to the second logic tree structure 1 from the top of the array 70 in the same manner as described above. It is sent to the video cell 71 of the logic tree structure 1.

When the polarization state of the beam supplied to the logic tree structure 1 is RCP, and the member 60 is designed to reflect the LCP, the logic tree structure 1 is referred to FIG. Giving an image to the video cell 71 in the same manner as described above,
The resulting output has a polarization similar to that shown in FIG. The polarization at the third stage of each logic tree structure 1 is RLRL RLRL.

However, in order to obtain this result, the input logic tree structure 72 needs to apply RCP to all the video cells 71. Therefore, the RCP from the laser 71
Requires a logic tree structure that includes inputs and elements that reflect the LCP, and a fixed half-wave delay 63 (not shown) located after the video cell 71 that provides the LCP output.

To obtain a single polarization, eg, RCP, for all of the outputs of the first logic tree structure 1 and every other logic tree structure 1 in the array 70, The LCP output of the logic tree structure 1 needs to be converted to RCP. This is realized by inserting a fixed half-wave delay unit 63 into a video cell 71 having an LCP output.

Similarly, to obtain a single, opposite polarization, eg, LCP, for all of the outputs of the second logic tree structure 1 and every other subsequent logic tree structure 1, The RCP output of these logic tree structures 1 needs to be converted to LCP. This is because a fixed half-wave delay 63 is added to the video cell 71 having the RCP output.
This is realized by inserting

At this point, two stereoscopic parallax images appear in the output video cell 71 of the array 70.
One image has RCP polarization and the other image has LCP polarization. By using glasses where one lens passes through the RCP and the other lens passes through the LCP, a three-dimensional image is perceived by the observer.

It will be appreciated that in connection with the three-dimensional image of FIG. 5, the output from stereo camera 73 may be in either digital or analog format. In digital form, the digital signal is converted using a digital-to-analog converter in a well-known manner. Also, to the extent that the logic tree structure 1 is supplied with signals representing the scanning lines of the image and the stereoscopic parallax image, these signals are used until two stereoscopic parallax images are formed in the video cells 81 of the array 70 , Every other logic tree structure 1 is sequentially accessed. Since the scanning lines of the image and the stereoscopic parallax image are electronically interlaced, the radiation source 17 is first modulated by a signal representing a scanning stereoscopic image, and then by a signal representing a scanning stereoscopic parallax image. Modulated, and so on, until two images are formed.

FIG. 5 shows that in the case of a three-dimensional array, two 4 × 8 interlaced arrays for an image and a stereoscopic parallax image are required. Extrapolating this information to a practical level, if 1024 video cells are determined for each image, 2048
An array of x1024 video cells would be required. By using the same scheme as shown by FIG. 5, two 512 × 1024 interleaved arrays are used at the expense of some resolution. In FIG. 5, the logic tree structure 1 is horizontally interleaved for ease of manufacture, but may be vertically interleaved without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, a plurality of layers 80 of insulating material such as SiO ₂ polycarbonate, acrylic or other optically transparent material, and a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) in which the layers 80 are interleaved. An orthographic cross section of a plurality of layers 81 of material is shown.

In FIG. 6, the layers 80, 81 are subjected to a slicing operation, which preferably cuts the layers 80, 81 at an angle of 45 °. Layers 80, 81 may be saw, laser, jet, or other suitable tool to obtain layer 82, including CLC member 60 provided at a 45 ° angle to the insulating layer, as shown in FIG. Is disconnected using.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an insulating material layer provided with a CLC member 60 at an angle of 45 °. The spacing between the CLC members 60 is determined by controlling the thickness of the insulating layer 80 prior to the slicing procedure of FIG. Since the alignment of the CLC members 60 is important for transmitting electromagnetic energy between stages, the spacing between the members 60 must be carefully controlled. Accordingly, in FIG. 7, the interval between the CLC members 60 is t (unit), and constitutes, for example, the first stage of the array 70 in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the insulating material layer in which the CLC members 60 are provided at an angle of 45 °, similar to FIG. 7, but the members 60 are provided with an interval of t / 2 (unit). Has been. Layer 82 and other similar layers are fabricated by slicing the structure as shown in FIG. However, the thickness of the insulating material layer 80 is reduced to half of the thickness shown in FIG. By slicing the stack as shown in FIG. 6, the resulting layer 82 has a spacing of t / 2 between the members 60 and constitutes, for example, the second stage of the array 70 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the insulating material layer in which the CLC members 60 are provided at an angle of 45 °, similarly to FIG. 7, but the members 60 are provided at intervals of t / 4 (unit). Has been. Layer 82 and other similar layers are fabricated by slicing the structure as shown in FIG. However, the thickness of the insulating material layer 80 is reduced to a quarter of the thickness shown in FIG. By slicing the stack as shown in FIG. 6, the resulting layer 82 has a spacing of t / 4 between the members 60 and constitutes, for example, the third stage of the array 70 of FIG.

The spacing between the members 60 is always reduced to half when an additional stage is added, so that the resolution gradually increases. Therefore, in the case of an array including 10 stages, the gap between the CLC members 60 is t / 512 (unit).

By slicing the structure and controlling the thickness of the layer 80 as shown in FIG. 6, the member 60 can easily facilitate the layer 82 being separated by various distances as shown in FIGS. Obtainable. As described below, the layers 82, including the appropriately spaced members 60, are stacked to create an array 70 as shown in FIG. 4, or an array having the desired number of stages. . This is done in a mass production manner to produce thousands of layers in the lateral direction, such as layer 82 in FIGS.

FIG. 10 is an orthographic cross-sectional view of the layer 82 in which the CLC member 60 is disposed at an angle of 45 °. The layer 82 in FIG. 10 is similar to the layer 82 in FIG.
In the case of 0, the ground plane 83 is arranged or formed on the bottom side of the layer 82. Layer 83
Is a transparent layer having the property of a metal and acting as a ground plane for an electrode arranged at a stage subsequent to the operation of the variable half-wave delay device 61. Indium-tin-oxide (ITO
10) is deposited or formed at the bottom of layer 82 of FIG. The transparency of ITO allows the transmission of light energy between stages with little or no loss of intensity.

Referring to FIG. 11, a projected sectional view similar to FIG. 10 is shown. However, electrodes 84 are provided on every other CLC member 60 so that layer 83 of FIG. 11 is used as the second stage of array 70 as shown in FIG. The pattern of the electrode spacing is always the same regardless of which stage is assumed. This holds true, referring again to FIG. 1, where each stage is always
It can be seen from being constituted by at least one branch including an active CLC element and a passive CLC element. The electrode 84 (shown as 62 in FIG. 1) is always associated with and forms a part of the variable half-wave delay 61, the variable half-wave delay 61 being the active CLC element of the branch. Associated with Like the ground plane 83, the electrodes 84 are made of an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) material that is transparent to the electromagnetic radiation used. To obtain an electrode 84 of the type shown in FIG. 11, an indium-tin-oxide is formed over layer 82 and every other electrode 84 is formed using well-known lithographic, masking and etching techniques. It is appropriately arranged on the CLC member 60. Rather than performing two separate deposition procedures for ground plane 83 and electrode 84, the ITO material is formed on both sides of layer 82 simultaneously. Next, a photolithographic, masking and etching procedure is performed.

Referring to FIG. 12, the spacer 85 is, for example, an insulating spacer 85.
Is formed around the edge of layer 82 by gluing it around the edge of layer 82. The spacer 85 separates the layer 82 from other overlying layers and defines a volume in which the phase shifter material 86 is housed.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a logic tree structure 1 created from layers 82 such as the layers shown in FIGS. The device of FIG. 13 shows the logic tree structure 1 at the top of FIG. 4 manufactured in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. FIG.
3 can also be considered a side view of the input logic tree structure 72. because,
This is because the structure of the input logic tree structure 72 is not different from the structure of the logic tree structure 1.

One way to assemble the structure of FIG. 13 is to stack the finished layers 82 as shown in FIG. Another layer 82 as shown at the top of FIG. 13 is overlaid on the completed layer 82 of FIG. By bonding these layers together, the uppermost layer 82 forms a first stage as shown in FIG. 4, the middle layer 82 forms a second stage as shown in FIG. The bottom layer 82 forms the third stage as shown in FIG. Thus, the leftmost CLC member 6 of the uppermost layer 82
The input provided to 0 is controlled by the input from the pulse source 27 to the electrode 84, such as a scanning line of modulated or unmodulated light from the CLC member 60 of the lowermost layer 82. Appears from left to right as emitted output.

For an array, once stacked, the upper and lower sides of the array are covered with an insulating layer, one of which includes holes positioned with the ends of electrodes 84 and ground plane 83. Thus, even when the logic tree structure 1 is not used, the associated electrodes 61, 84 extending from the top to the bottom of the array 70 are electrically connected as shown in FIG. 5 and simultaneously supplied with energy.

The input to the stacked logic tree structure 1 is supplied from the video cell 71 of the input logic tree structure 72, as shown in FIG. The orientation of the input logic tree structure 72 with respect to the array 70 is very clearly shown in FIG. 4, which is the same as in the device of FIG. FIG. 13 shows only the structural details relating to the better effect. Thus, as already described with respect to FIG. 4, the output from the video cell 71 of the input logic tree structure 72 is traversed from top to bottom of the tree 72, each output being first associated with the associated logic tree structure. 1 access the leftmost member 60 and output the image as a plurality of left-to-right scans that move from the top logic tree structure 1 to the bottom logic tree structure 1 of the array 70. Appears in cell 71 or array 70.

The input logic tree structure 72 is such that the video cells 71 of the array are aligned with the leftmost delay 61 of each logic tree structure 1 as in the laser 17 shown in FIG. , 90 ° in the form of an array 70. In this example, only a single logic tree structure 1 of the rotated array 70 is energized.

Alternatively, the array shown in FIG. 13 is manufactured without introducing the phase shifter material 86. The structure of FIG. 13 is then sliced in a direction parallel to the surface, resulting in a structure similar to the input logic tree structure 72 as shown in FIG. The resulting slice is placed on the insulating layer and joined to the insulating layer. The insulating covering layer having a hole aligned with the electrode 84 and the ground plane 83 is manufactured by drilling or etching using a known photolithographic technique. The volume surrounded by the insulating layer is filled with the liquid phase shifter material 86. A cover layer is applied to the other side of the logic tree structure slice. A metal layer such as aluminum is deposited on the surface of the coating layer and on holes previously formed in the coating layer. Next, a conductor to electrode 84 is formed in ground plane 83 using well-known photolithographic masking and etching techniques.

The side of the input logic tree structure 72 of FIG. 4 is joined to the back of the array 70 without exhaustive detail. In this way, the overall thickness of the structure of FIG. 4 is substantially reduced. Known light techniques using reflectors are used to apply a 90 ° rotation to the light emitted from the video cells 71 of the tree 72 when the tree 72 is bonded to the back side of the array 70.

The electrodes 84 extend from the front side to the back side at each logic tree structure, for example, as shown in FIG. Can be accessed well. The metal line 29
As shown in FIG. 4, it extends in a spatially insulated relationship with the surface of the array 70, for example, to a plug connectable to the pulse source 27. This is achieved using well-known photolithographic and etching techniques.

Typical dimensions of the device shown in FIG. 6-2 are as follows. Layer 82 0.5 mm or more in thickness Electrode 84 500 to 1000 in thickness Ground plane 83 500 to 100 in thickness Spacer 85 1 to 10 μ in thickness Element 60 2 to 30 μ in thickness Cell 71 0.5 mm or more in width (However, the voltage does not exceed 10 cm) The voltage applied to the electrode 84 varies in a range of 5V to 100V.

From the above description, it can be seen that the size of the array 70 varies from the size of a typical television set used at home to the size of a display equivalent to the displays used in various stadiums. The array produced is flat, lightweight, requires a single laser source or multiple laser sources, is inexpensive and is easily fabricated.

In certain applications, it is desirable for a user to be able to view a displayed image from a wide viewing angle range physically present in front of the flat image display of the present invention. For such applications, it is desirable to mount the pixelated light scattering layer on an array of beam steering cells. The spatial period of the light scattering layer, ie, the panel, is selected to be the same as the spatial period of the underlying beam steering array. The light scattering layer contains random microprisms to scatter the laser beam as it exits the display surface.

In certain applications, beam steering activated when a laser beam interacts with a fluorescent laser, as taught in Applicant's International Patent Application No. WO 95/24671, which is incorporated by reference. It is desirable to mount a phosphor layer on the imaging section (ie, the beam steering array) so that the visible light transmitted through the cell is maintained for a predetermined time interval. Such a phosphor can take advantage of the retinal afterimage characteristics of the human visual system, and can reduce the beam scanning speed while achieving acceptable image display performance.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, it is desirable or necessary to use a laser beam that is invisible to the human visual system. In such an application, a phosphor layer or panel is attached to an array of beam steering cells, as taught in applicant's International Patent Application No. WO 95/24671. In this way, as the laser beam passes through the phosphor layer, a wavelength shift occurs naturally and the light emitted from the phosphor layer falls within the visible band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Details of such optical devices are well known in the television and lighting arts.

The display system of the present invention is provided with a projection element (on or above the display surface of the above-mentioned image display panel structure) in accordance with the teachings of International Patent Application No. 95/24671 by the present applicant.
For example, a simple installation of a holographic lens, Fresnel lens, or other optical element is modified to project a high resolution color image onto a remote viewing surface (eg, a projection screen, a wall screen, etc.). . The light-generating or light-scattering media described above, such as pixelated light-scattering panels, phosphor coatings and phosphor layers, are mounted between the display surface and the projection element utilized depending on the particular application.

In addition, a micro-polarizing panel of the type described in International Patent Application No. WO 97/16762, sold under the trade name μPol optics by Reveo, Inc. of New York, Elmsford and cited in full for reference, It is laminated directly to the display surface of the image display structure described above to achieve a stereoscopic display panel for use with spatial multiplexing technology available from VRex, Inc. of New York, Elmsford. Electrically passive polarizing eyewear is distributed to users to experience 3D stereoscopic vision in cinemas, stadiums, theaters and the like.

The size of an image that can be generated by the image display method of the present invention is limited only by the afterimage time of the human visual system. The use of the fluorescent coating described above helps in this regard. Also, if a really large image must be generated, it is possible to split the desired image portion and use the separate image display structures described above to generate each image portion simultaneously. At this time, each image display structure is driven under the control of a central display controller as taught in the applicant's International Patent Application No. WO 95/24671.

Alternatively, the beam scanning device described above includes a bar code symbol scanner, an image scanner,
Other systems, such as optical interconnects, spatial intensity modulators, etc., can also be used.

[0125] Modifications to the example embodiments are readily available to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a logic tree structure of an active cholesteric liquid crystal device and a passive cholesteric liquid crystal device configured such that a single input to a first stage is sent to an output of any of the final stages. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a logic tree similar to the logic tree structure shown in FIG. 1, wherein the polarization of the CLC member has been modified to produce an output having a different polarization than the output shown in FIG. It is a figure showing a structure.

FIG. 3 shows that one logic tree structure can be used to generate 64 outputs using one electromagnetic radiation source per logic tree structure in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 4 is an orthographic view of eight logic tree structures arranged on the body.

FIG. 4 shows a single combined with a logic tree structure as shown in FIG. 1 that needs to be placed perpendicular to the stacked logic tree structure of FIG. 3, rather than multiple sources of electromagnetic radiation. FIG. 4 is an orthographic view similar to FIG.

FIG. 5 is an orthographic view of electronic components associated with an image array for performing three-dimensional display in combination with viewing glasses and a stereoscopic parallax image.

FIG. 6 shows multiple layers of insulation, such as SiO ₂ , and C interleaved with layers of insulation.
FIG. 4 is an orthographic cross-sectional view showing a plurality of layers of LC material, wherein the interleaved layers are cut at an angle of 45 °.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an insulating material layer in which CLC members provided with a gap of a distance t are arranged at an angle of 45 °.

8 is a view similar to FIG. 7, wherein the CLC member is arranged at an angle of 45 °, and the CLC member is separated by a distance t / 2.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an insulating material layer provided with a gap of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a layer of insulating material similar to FIG. 7, with a gap at distance t / 4 in the CLC member.

FIG. 10 is an orthographic cross-sectional view of the insulating layer including the CLC members arranged at a 45 ° angle as shown in FIG. 8 and having a ground plane on the bottom side.

FIG. 11 is an orthographic cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 10, with electrodes disposed on every other CLC member.

FIG. 12 is an orthographic sectional view similar to FIG. 11, in which spacers are arranged around a layer of insulating material, and a sealed volume is filled with a liquid phase shifter.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a logic tree structure comprised of the layers of insulating material shown in FIGS. 7-12 stacked and aligned to form an array as shown in FIG. 4 or 5; .

[Procedural Amendment] Submission of translation of Article 34 Amendment of the Patent Cooperation Treaty

[Submission date] May 21, 1999 (1999.5.21)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Claims]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G02F 1/13357 G02F 1/13357 G09G 3/02 G09G 3/02 A 3/20 622 3/20 622J 680 680H (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IT, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OA (BF, BJ , CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, KE, LS, MW, SD, SZ, UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AL, AM, AT, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, C H, CN, CU, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, GB, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC , LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZWF terms (reference) 2H088 EA03 EA05 EA12 EA20 EA37 EA47 HA18 HA28 JA04 KA17 LA06 MA06 MA10 MA20 2H091 FA07X FA07Z FA46Z FA50X FA06Z LA30 MA01 MA07 2H099 AA11 BA09 CA00 CA02 DA05 2K002 AA07 AB04 BA06 CA14 DA01 DA14 EA10 EA11 EA12 EB08 HA04 5C080 AA01 BB05 CC06 DD26 EE19 FF10 FF14 JJ02 JJ06 [Continued from the abstract] Is the camera designed to capture the displayed image? The laser source is then used to generate corresponding 2D and 3D images by modulating the laser source.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A branch of a logic tree structure for steering a beam of electromagnetic energy, the branch comprising: a path of one of a first path and a second path. An active element for directing the electromagnetic energy beam to a path parallel to the first path when the electromagnetic energy beam is directed to the second path. A branch of the logic tree structure, having and. 2. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 1, further comprising a radiation source of the electromagnetic energy beam having a predetermined wavelength and a predetermined circular polarization and supplied to the active element. 3. The active element includes an element that is transmissive to the predetermined wavelength and the predetermined polarization, and reflective to the predetermined wavelength and a polarization opposite to the predetermined polarization. A branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 2. 4. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 2, wherein the passive element includes an element that is reflective to the predetermined wavelength and to a polarization opposite to the predetermined polarization. 5. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 2, wherein said active element includes phase shifter means between said source of electromagnetic energy and said radiation source. 6. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 2, wherein said active elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 7. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 2, wherein said passive elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 8. The branch of the logic tree structure of claim 2, further comprising a programmable pulse source connected to said active device. 9. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 2, further comprising: means for modulating said radiation source connected to said radiation source of said beam of electromagnetic energy. 10. The phase shifter means is switchable between a state producing electromagnetic energy having the predetermined polarization and a state producing electromagnetic energy having the opposite polarization in response to different potential levels. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 5, comprising a material. 11. The branch of the logic tree structure according to claim 5, wherein said phase shifter means further comprises electrode means for applying said different potential levels to said phase shifter material. 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of stages for manipulating the beam of electromagnetic energy, wherein n represents a stage number, wherein the nth stage has 2 ^n-1 branches, wherein: The first stage branch sends the electromagnetic energy to a similar branch in each subsequent stage, a logic tree structure. 13. An active element for directing the beam of electromagnetic energy to one of a first path and a second path, wherein each branch includes: an active element for directing the beam of electromagnetic energy to the second path; 13. The logic tree structure of claim 12, comprising: a passive element that directs the beam of electromagnetic energy to a path parallel to the first path when is directed to the second path. 14. The logic tree structure according to claim 13, further comprising a radiation source of said electromagnetic energy beam having a predetermined wavelength and a predetermined circular polarization and supplied to said active element of said first stage. . 15. The active element includes an element that is transmissive to the predetermined wavelength and the predetermined polarization, and reflective to the predetermined wavelength and a polarization opposite to the predetermined polarization. The logic tree structure according to claim 14. 16. The logic tree structure according to claim 14, wherein the passive element includes an element that is reflective to the predetermined wavelength and to a polarization opposite to the predetermined polarization. 17. The logic tree structure according to claim 14, wherein said active elements include phase shifter means arranged in an electromagnetically coupled relationship. 18. The logic tree structure according to claim 14, wherein said active elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 19. The logic tree structure according to claim 14, wherein said passive elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 20. The logic tree structure according to claim 14, further comprising a programmable pulse source connected to said active device. 21. The logic tree structure according to claim 14, further comprising means connected to said radiation source of said beam of electromagnetic energy for modulating said radiation source. 22. Electromagnetic energy emitted from the selected active element and passive element disposed in an electromagnetically coupled relationship with a selected active element and passive element in a final stage of the plurality of stages. 15. The logic tree structure of claim 14, further comprising a half-wave delay that converts the beam to a single circular polarization. 23. The phase shifter means includes a phase shifter material responsive to different potential levels to switch incident electromagnetic energy between the predetermined polarization and the opposite polarization. The logic tree structure of claim 17, wherein: 24. The logic tree structure according to claim 23, wherein said phase shifter means further comprises electrode means for applying said different potential levels to said phase shifter material. 25. A flat panel display structure for steering a beam of electromagnetic energy to generate an image, a first logic tree structure having a plurality of stages, a single input port, A flat panel display structure, comprising: a plurality of output ports; and wherein m and n represent a number of stages, wherein the array has 2mx2n output ports. 26. The apparatus of claim 26, further comprising a plurality of radiation sources of electromagnetic radiation, each radiation source electromagnetically coupled to a single input port of an associated first logic tree structure, the radiation source having a predetermined wavelength and circular polarization. 26. The flat panel display structure of claim 25, comprising: 27. A second logic tree similar to the first logic tree structure.
Further comprising a tree structure, wherein the second logic tree structure comprises a plurality of stages, a single input port, and a plurality of output ports, each output port of the second logic tree structure Is the plurality of first logic
26. The flat panel display structure of claim 25, wherein the flat panel display structure is connected to the input port of a separate first one of the tree structures. 28. When n represents a stage number, the nth stage has 2 ^{n −1} branches, and the first stage branch of the plurality of stages transmits the radiation to each subsequent branch. 27. The flat panel display structure of claim 26, wherein the structure is directed to a similar branch in the stage. 29. The flat panel display structure of claim 27, further comprising at least one radiation source of electromagnetic radiation electromagnetically coupled to said input port of said second logic tree structure. 30. A half-wave delay device electromagnetically coupled to an output port selected among the output port stages of the plurality of first logic tree structures.
28. The flat panel display structure of claim 27. 31. A half wave delayer electromagnetically coupled to an output port selected in the output port stage of the plurality of first logic tree structures.
28. The flat panel display structure of claim 27. 32. The flat panel panel of claim 27, wherein the plurality of output ports of the plurality of first logic tree structures are arranged in a linear array.
Display structure. 33. The plurality of first logic tree structures and the second logic tree structure.
28. The flat structure of claim 27, wherein the tree structures are arranged in an orthogonal relationship.
Panel display structure. 34. Each of the first logic tree structures in the plurality of first logic tree structures is arranged in a stacked relationship with another first logic tree structure. 28. The flat panel display structure according to claim 27. 35. The plurality of output ports of the second logic tree structure are separated from the single input port of each of the plurality of first logic tree structures. A flat panel display structure as described. 36. A source of at least one electromagnetic radiation optically coupled to said single input port of said second logic tree structure; and a source of at least one electromagnetic radiation connected to said radiation source. 28. The flat panel display structure of claim 27, further comprising: means for modulating at least one radiation source. 37. When n represents the number of stages, the nth stage has 2 ^{n− 1} branches, and the first stage of the plurality of stages of the first logic tree structure has the number of branches. 28. The flat panel display structure of claim 27, wherein a branch and a first stage branch of the second logic tree structure direct the radiation to similar branches in each subsequent stage. 38. Each of the branches includes an active element for directing the beam of electromagnetic energy to one of a first path and a second path, and an active element provided on the second path. 29. The flat panel display structure of claim 28, comprising: a passive element that directs the beam of electromagnetic energy to a path parallel to the first path when is directed to the second path. 39. The flat element according to claim 28, wherein the active element includes an element that is transmissive to a predetermined wavelength and circularly polarized light and is reflective to a circularly polarized light opposite to the predetermined circularly polarized light. -Panel display structure. 40. The flat panel display structure according to claim 28, wherein the passive element includes an element having a reflectivity with respect to the predetermined wavelength and circularly polarized light opposite to the predetermined circularly polarized light. 41. The flat panel display structure according to claim 28, wherein said active elements include phase shifter means arranged in an electromagnetically coupled relationship. 42. The flat panel display structure of claim 28, wherein said active elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 43. The flat panel display structure of claim 28, wherein said passive elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 44. The flat panel display structure according to claim 28, further comprising a programmable pulse source connected to said active device. 45. The flat panel display structure of claim 28, further comprising means for modulating the radiation source connected to the source of electromagnetic radiation. 46. Electromagnetic energy emitted from the selected active and passive elements disposed in an electromagnetically coupled relationship with the selected active and passive elements in a final stage of the plurality of stages. 29. The flat panel display structure of claim 28, further comprising a half-wave delay that converts the beam to a single circular polarization. 47. Each of the branches of the first logic tree structure and the second logic tree structure includes an active element for directing the radiation to one of a first path and a second path. 38. A passive element provided in said second path, said passive element directing said radiation in a path parallel to said first path when said beam of electromagnetic energy is directed to said first path. A flat panel display structure as described. 48. The active element is transmissive for the predetermined wavelength and the predetermined circularly polarized light, and is reflective for the predetermined wavelength and the circularly polarized light opposite to the predetermined circularly polarized light. 38. The flat panel display structure of claim 37, comprising: 49. The flat panel display structure according to claim 37, wherein the passive element includes an element having a reflectivity with respect to the predetermined wavelength and circularly polarized light opposite to the predetermined circularly polarized light. 50. The flat panel display structure of claim 37, wherein said active elements include phase shifter means arranged in an electromagnetically coupled relationship. 51. The flat panel display structure of claim 37, wherein said active elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 52. The flat panel display structure of claim 37, wherein said passive elements include elements made from cholesteric liquid crystal material. 53. The flat panel display structure according to claim 37, further comprising a programmable pulse source connected to said active element. 54. The flat panel display structure of claim 37, further comprising means connected to said source of electromagnetic radiation for modulating said radiation source. 55. Electromagnetic energy emanating from the selected active and passive elements disposed in an electromagnetically coupled relationship with the selected active and passive elements in a final stage of the plurality of stages. 38. The flat panel display structure according to claim 37, further comprising a half-wave delayer for converting to a single circularly polarized light. 56. The phase shifter means includes a phase shifter material that is responsive to different potential levels to switch between a state of switching incident electromagnetic radiation between the predetermined polarization and the opposite polarization. Item 42. The flat panel display structure according to Item 41. 57. The phase shifter means includes a phase shifter material switchable between states of switching incident electromagnetic energy between the predetermined polarization and the opposite polarization in response to different potential levels. 51. The flat panel display structure according to item 50. 58. The flat panel display structure of claim 56, wherein said phase shifter means further comprises means for applying said different potential levels to said phase shifter material. 59. The flat panel display structure of claim 57, wherein said phase shifter means further comprises means for applying said different potential levels to said phase shifter material. A plurality of insulating media having a plurality of wavelengths, and a polarizing element embedded in the insulating medium at a fixed angle with respect to the surface of the insulating medium, wherein a distance between the polarizing elements is equal to the plurality of insulating media. Procedure for forming the insulating medium in half for different insulating media (a
), A portion of the conductive material is aligned with every other polarizing element in each insulating medium and disposed on one side of the insulating medium, and another portion of the conductive material overlies the entirety of the polarizing element. (B) forming a phase shifter device such that the phase shifter is disposed on at least every other polarizing element and is disposed on the opposite surface of the insulating medium; (C) stacking the plurality of insulating media such that the subsequent insulating medium has twice as many polarizing elements as the preceding insulating medium. A method for manufacturing a steering array. 61. A method of forming a plurality of insulating media, comprising: alternating insulating material layers and wavelength and polarization sensitive material layers such that the thickness of the insulating material layers determines the spacing between the polarizing elements. 61. The method of claim 60, comprising: stacking; and slicing the stacked layers at an angle to form the plurality of insulating media in which the polarizing elements are embedded. 62. A step of forming a phase shifter device includes: a step of depositing a transparent conductive layer on a surface of the insulating medium; and a step of forming a portion of the conductive material on the one surface of each insulating medium using photolithography. 61. The method of claim 60, further comprising: bonding a spacer of insulating material to a periphery of the one surface of each of the insulating media; and introducing a phase shifter material to the one surface of each of the insulating media. Method. 63. The method of claim 60, further comprising sealing the top of the insulating medium with a layer of insulating material. 64. The method of claim 60, wherein said insulating medium is made of SiO ₂ . 65. The insulating medium is made from an optically transparent layer.
The described method. 66. The method of claim 60, wherein said polarizing element is made from a cholesteric liquid crystal material. 67. The method of claim 60, wherein said angle is 45 °. 68. The conductive material is indium-tin-oxide.
The described method. 69. The method of claim 62, wherein said phase shifter material is in a liquid form. 70. The method of claim 62, wherein said phase shifter material is a liquid crystal. 71. The method of claim 62, wherein said phase shifter material is a solid state optoelectronic material. 72. A plurality of insulating media having a plurality of wavelengths, and a polarizing element embedded in the insulating medium at a fixed angle with respect to the surface of the insulating medium, wherein a distance between the polarizing elements is equal to the plurality of insulating media. Procedure for forming the insulating medium in half for different insulating media (a
), A portion of the conductive material is aligned with every other polarizing element in each insulating medium and disposed on one side of the insulating medium, and another portion of the conductive material overlies the entirety of the polarizing element. (C) forming a phase shifter device such that the phase shifter is disposed on at least every other polarizing element and is disposed on the opposite surface of the insulating medium; (C) stacking the plurality of insulating media such that the subsequent insulating medium has twice as many polarizing elements as the preceding insulating medium. A method for manufacturing a steering array. 61. A method of forming a plurality of insulating media, comprising: alternating insulating material layers and wavelength and polarization sensitive material layers such that the thickness of the insulating material layers determines the spacing between the polarizing elements. 61. The method of claim 60, comprising: stacking; and slicing the stacked layers at an angle to form the plurality of insulating media in which the polarizing elements are embedded. 62. A step of forming a phase shifter device includes: a step of depositing a transparent conductive layer on a surface of the insulating medium; and a step of forming a portion of the conductive material on the one surface of each insulating medium using photolithography. 61. The method of claim 60, further comprising: bonding a spacer of insulating material to a periphery of the one surface of each of the insulating media; and introducing a phase shifter material to the one surface of each of the insulating media. Method. 63. The method of claim 60, further comprising sealing the top of the insulating medium with a layer of insulating material. 64. The method of claim 60, wherein said insulating medium is made of SiO ₂ . 65. The insulating medium is made from an optically transparent layer.
The described method. 66. The method of claim 60, wherein said polarizing element is made from a cholesteric liquid crystal material. 67. The method of claim 60, wherein said angle is 45 °. 68. The conductive material is indium-tin-oxide.
The described method. 69. The method of claim 62, wherein said phase shifter material is in a liquid form. 70. The method of claim 62, wherein said phase shifter material is a liquid crystal. 71. The method of claim 62, wherein said phase shifter material is a solid state optoelectronic material. 72. A plurality of insulating media having a plurality of wavelengths, and a polarizing element embedded in the insulating medium at a fixed angle with respect to the surface of the insulating medium, wherein a distance between the polarizing elements is equal to the plurality of insulating media. First means for forming a half for each different insulating medium of the medium, a part of the conductive material is aligned with every other polarizing element in each insulating medium, and is arranged on one surface of the insulating medium; The phase shifter device is arranged such that another portion of conductive material is disposed on the opposite surface of the insulating medium overlying the entire polarizing element, and the phase shifting material is disposed on at least every other polarizing element. A second means for forming, such that the uppermost insulating medium has two polarizing elements and the succeeding insulating medium has twice as many polarizing elements as the preceding insulating medium. A third means for laminating a plurality of insulating media; Equipment for manufacturing steering arrays. 73. The first means comprises: means for alternately stacking layers of insulating material and layers of wavelength and polarization sensitive material such that the thickness of the layer of insulating material determines the spacing between the polarizing elements. 73. The apparatus of claim 72, comprising: means for slicing the stacked layers at an angle to form the plurality of insulating media in which the polarizing elements are embedded. 74. The second means includes: means for depositing a transparent conductive layer on the surface of the insulating medium; and means for forming a portion of the conductive material on one surface of the insulating medium by using photolithography. 73. The apparatus of claim 72, comprising: means for joining a spacer of insulating material near the periphery of the one surface for each of the insulating media; and means for introducing a phase shifter material to the one surface for each of the insulating media. 75. An optoelectronic display system for producing a visible image for viewing by an observer, comprising: an electromagnetic beam producing means for producing an electromagnetic beam having substantially collimated beam characteristics; and representing the image to be displayed. Control signal generating means for generating an electric control signal in response to a video signal; and image display means, the image display means having a display surface having substantially planar surface characteristics, and a logic tree structure. An array of beam steering elements disposed on the body, the beam steering elements comprising a passive CLC element and an electrically active CLC element, controllable for steering the electromagnetic beam within an image display device. In response to the electrical control signal generated by the control signal generating means, one or more of the beam steering elements causes light in the visible spectral range to be transmitted from the display surface. Shines, the said visible image to an observer sees to generate on the display surface, to steer the electromagnetic beam, optoelectronic image display system. 76. The display surface of claim 75, wherein the display surface further comprises a phosphor layer that shifts the wavelength of the electromagnetic beam as the electromagnetic beam travels substantially perpendicular to the display surface in the direction of the observer. Optoelectronic image display system. 77. The display surface further comprises a light emitting layer, wherein the one or more controllable beam steering cells produce visible light for a predetermined time when the electromagnetic beam intersects the light emitting layer. 78. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75. 78. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75, wherein said light emitting layer comprises a phosphor coating. 79. The display surface further comprises a light scattering structure provided for each of the electrically controllable beam steering elements, wherein the electromagnetic beam passes through the light scattering structure.
77. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75, wherein the generated light beam is scattered three-dimensionally from the display surface. 80. The image has a plurality of spectral components, each spectral component having a wavelength included in a different color band of the visible spectrum, the electromagnetic beam having a plurality of spectral components, Each spectral component has a wavelength corresponding to a wavelength of the spectral component of the image, and in response to the electrical control signal, each beam steering element moves one or more of the electromagnetic beams along a selected steering direction. 76. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75, wherein said system selectively steers spectral components. 81. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75, wherein said electromagnetic beam is generated by a laser. 82. The optoelectronic image display of claim 75, wherein the transmission and reflection characteristics of each electrically controllable beam steering element depend on the wavelength and polarization characteristics of the electromagnetic beam incident on the beam steering element. system. 83. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75, wherein said electromagnetic beam is generated by a laser and provided to an image display device via a flexible fiber optic cable. 84. The optoelectronic image display system according to claim 52, further comprising means for supporting the image display device on a support surface. 85. The optoelectronic image display system according to claim 75, further comprising image projection means for projecting an image on a display surface remote from said image display device. 86. The optoelectronic image display system of claim 75, wherein the displayed images include spectral components from different bands within the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. 87. A display surface having substantially planar surface characteristics, and an array of beam steering elements arranged in the form of a logic tree structure having branches, each beam steering element having an interior. A method of generating an image on an image display panel structure that is electrically controllable to steer an electromagnetic beam with a method of generating an electromagnetic beam having substantially collimated beam characteristics.
And (b) generating an electrical control signal according to a video signal representing an image to be displayed.
And so that the electromagnetic beam passes through the image display panel with minimal intensity loss, light rays in the visible spectral range radiate from the display surface, producing an image on the display surface for an observer to see. (C) steering the electromagnetic beam along one or more branches in response to the generation of the electrical control signal. 88. The method according to claim 87, further comprising the step (d) of projecting an image from a viewing surface remote from the image display device. 89. A display surface having substantially planar surface characteristics and an array of beam steering elements arranged in the form of a logic tree structure having branches, wherein each beam steering element has an interior. An image display panel electrically controllable to steer an electromagnetic beam; a beam generator for generating an electromagnetic beam having substantially collimated beam characteristics; and a video representing an image displayed on the display surface. A control signal generator for generating an electrical control signal in response to the signal, wherein the electromagnetic beam passes through the image display panel with minimal intensity loss, and light rays in a visible spectral range are emitted from the display surface. The beam steering element steers the electromagnetic beam along one or more branches in response to the generation of the electrical control signal so as to generate an image on the display surface for an observer to view. Optoelectronic system for generating an image. 90. The opto-electronic system according to claim 89, further comprising an image projection device that projects an image from the display surface to a viewing surface remote from the image display panel.