JP6095686B2 - Spatial optical type and spatio-temporal optical type directional light modulator - Google Patents

Description

[Cross-reference with related applications]
This application is a benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 567,520, filed December 6, 2011, and US Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 616,249, filed March 27, 2012. Is an insistence.

  The present invention relates to the field of directional light modulation, 3D displays, light emitting micro displays, 2D / 3D switchable displays and 2D / 3D switchable autostereoscopic displays.

  In 3D displays, directional modulation of the emitted light is necessary to create the perception of 3D viewing. In a typical 3D display, the illumination is evenly distributed in multiple illumination directions in order to display images of the same scene from different directions by utilizing some combination of spatial and temporal multiplexing in the spatial light modulator. A backlight to do is needed. In these 3D displays, light coming from a directional backlight is typically processed by a direction-selective filter (eg, a diffractive plate or a holographic light plate) before entering the spatial light modulator pixel. The color and intensity of the light is modulated while reaching its directivity.

  Some 2D / 3D switchable displays require a directional backlight to operate the display in different display modes. In the 2D display mode, in order to display a single image with a spatial light modulator (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD)), a backlight with a large angular range for uniform illumination is required. In the 3D display mode, the spatial light modulator uses a combination of spatial multiplexing and time multiplexing to display images of the same scene from different directions so that illumination is uniformly illuminated in multiple illumination directions. I need a light.

  In both 2D and 3D modes, light coming from a directional backlight is usually processed by a directionally selective filter (such as a diffractive plate, holographic light plate, etc.) and then the pixel of the spatial light modulator. The light beam is uniformly expanded while maintaining directivity.

  The currently available directional light modulator is a combination of an illumination device including a plurality of light sources and a direction modulation device that guides light emitted from the light sources in a specified direction (FIGS. 1, 2, and 3). See). As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, which show several variations of the prior art, typically the illumination device is an electromechanical operating device such as a scanning mirror or rotating barrier (US Pat. No. 6,151,167). 6,433,907, 6,795,221, 6,803,561, 6,924,476, 6,937,221, 7,061,450, No. 7,071,594, No. 7,190,329, No. 7,193,758, No. 7,209,271, No. 7,232,071, No. 7,482,730, No. 7, 486, 255, 7,580,007, 7,724,210 and 7,791,810 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2010/0026960 and 2010/0245957), or Liquid lens or polarization switch (See FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and US Pat. Nos. 5,986,811, 6,999,238, 7,106,519, 7,215, U.S. Pat. 475, 7,369,321, 7,619,807 and 7,952,809).

US Pat. No. 6,151,167 US Pat. No. 6,433,907 US Pat. No. 6,795,221 US Pat. No. 6,803,561 US Pat. No. 6,924,476 US Pat. No. 6,937,221 US Patent No. 7,061,450 US Patent No. 7,071,594 US Pat. No. 7,190,329 US Pat. No. 7,193,758 US Pat. No. 7,209,271 US Pat. No. 7,232,071 US Pat. No. 7,482,730 US Pat. No. 7,486,255 US Pat. No. 7,580,007 US Pat. No. 7,724,210 US Pat. No. 7,791,810 US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0026960 US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0245957 US Pat. No. 5,986,811 US Pat. No. 6,999,238 US Pat. No. 7,106,519 US Pat. No. 7,215,475 US Pat. No. 7,369,321 US Pat. No. 7,619,807 US Pat. No. 7,952,809 US Pat. No. 7,623,560 US Pat. No. 7,829,902 US Pat. No. 8,049,231 US Pat. No. 8,098,265 US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0066921 US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0033113

Each of the electromechanical modulation type directional light modulator and the electro-optic modulation type directional light modulator has the following three main drawbacks.
1. Response time: Normally, no mechanical movement or optical surface changes are made instantaneously, affecting the response time of the modulator. Also, these operating speeds usually occupy part of the image frame time, thereby reducing the achievable display brightness.
2. Volume plane: These methods require a distance between the light source and the cooperating directional modulator, which increases the total volume of the display.
3. Light loss: When light is coupled to a movable mirror, light loss occurs, which degrades the output efficiency of the display system and generates heat that must be eliminated by incorporating a huge cooling method, which increases the volume. In addition, power consumption increases.

  Prior art directional backlight devices are not only slow, large and optically lossy, but also combined with a direction-selective filter for the purpose of 3D display, narrow spectral bandwidth, high collimation and individual It must have controllability. Achieving narrow spectral bandwidth and high collimation requires device level innovation and optical light conditioning, which increases the overall cost and volume of the display system. Achieving individual controllability requires the addition of circuitry and multiple light sources, increasing system complexity, capacity, and cost.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a spatial optical light modulator that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art and thus enables the formation of 3D displays that provide a practical volume and viewing experience. Another object of the present invention is to provide an angular range that solves the limitations of the prior art, thus enabling the formation of 3D and high resolution 2D displays that provide a viewing experience over a wide viewing angle in addition to the volume advantage. An enlarged spatiotemporal optical modulator is provided. Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the accompanying drawings, the present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation, and like elements are designated with the same reference numerals.

1 shows a prior art directional light modulator that uses a liquid lens. FIG. 1 shows a prior art directional light modulator that uses a scanning mirror. FIG. It is a figure which shows a prior art direction modulation type | mold 3D optical modulator. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the space optical directional light modulation of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. It is an isometric view showing the principle of directional light modulation of a spatial optical directional light modulator. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary parallel wafer level optics design for a spatial optical directional light modulator. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary design of a spatial optical directional light modulator that uses the exemplary design of wafer level optics shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of directional addressability in one of the spatially modulated pixel groups of a spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator. FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of directional modulation in one of the spatially modulated pixel groups of a spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator. It is a block diagram explaining the data processing block diagram of a spatial optical type directional light modulator. FIG. 2 is an isometric view illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a 3D / 2D switchable display implemented by tiling a number of spatial optical directional light modulators. 1 is an isometric view illustrating a principle aspect of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the angular emission expansion enabled by the temporal articulation aspect of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. It is a figure which shows the temporal angular joint motion of a spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator. It is a figure which shows the cross section of the expanded angle range of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. 1 is an isometric view, a side view, and a top view of one embodiment of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. FIG. FIG. 6 is an isometric view, a side view, and a top view of another embodiment of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator.

  References to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” in the following detailed description include the specific features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment in at least one embodiment of the invention. Means that. The expressions “in one embodiment” appearing in various places in the detailed description are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

  More recently, a new class of light emitting microscale pixel array devices has been introduced. These devices are characterized by high brightness, ultrafast light multicolor intensity, and spatial modulation capability in an ultra-compact single device size that includes all drive circuits. The solid state light emitting pixel of one such device is a light emitting diode (LED) or laser diode (LD) whose on / off state is controlled by a drive circuit included in a CMOS chip (or device) to which a light emitting microscale pixel array is fixed. ). Typically, the size of the pixel containing the light emitting array of such a device is about 5-20 microns, and the typical light emitting surface area of this device is about 15-150 square millimeters. The pixels in the light emitting microscale pixel array device can be individually addressed spatially, chromatically and temporally, usually through a CMOS chip drive circuit. An example of such a device is the QPI device (US Pat. Nos. 7,623,560, 7,767,479, 7,829,902, No. 7) referred to in the exemplary embodiments described below. 8,049,231 and 8,098,265 and U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2010/0066921 and 2012/0033113). Another example of such a device is an OLED-based microdisplay. However, it should be understood that a QPI device is only one example of the type of device that can be used in embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, in the following description, it should be understood that references to QPI devices are for clarity of the disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention.

  The present invention combines the capabilities of a light emitting micropixel array of a QPI device with either passive wafer level optics (WLO) alone or articulation of the entire assembly, and the functionality of prior art directional light sources and the diffraction plate. It forms an optical modulator that can perform functionality simultaneously. As used herein, wafer level or wafer means a device or matrix device having a diameter of at least 2 inches, more preferably 4 inches or more. WLO is fabricated integrally from a polymer on a wafer using ultraviolet (UV) imprint lithography. A key advantage of WLO is the ability to create small feature microlens arrays (MLAs) and accurately align multiple WLO microlens array layers together or with optoelectronic devices such as CMOS sensors or QPIs. . The alignment accuracy that can be achieved by typical WLO fabrication techniques can be less than 1 micron. By combining the addressability of individual pixels of the QPI emitting microemitter pixel array with a WLO microlens array (MLA) that can be accurately aligned with the QPI microemitter array, it is directionally selective in the system. While eliminating the need faced in the prior art to have a filter, the narrow spectral bandwidth requirement at the light source is relaxed, reducing the volume, complexity and cost of the system. In some embodiments of the invention, directional modulation of the emitted light is achieved by light divergence realized by WLO, and in other embodiments, light divergence realized by WLO and articulation of the entire assembly. It is realized by the combination.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, each of the microlens elements 400 constituting the two-dimensional microlens array MLA 220 is individually addressable group of QPI pixels (p ₁ , p ₂ ,..., P _n ). , So that the light emitted from each pixel in this pixel group has a unique direction (d ₁ , d ₂ ,...) Within the numerical aperture (angle range) of the associated microlens element. d _n ). The entire micropixel array of QPI device 210 includes a number of QPI pixel groups (G ₁ , G ₂ ,..., G _n ), also referred to herein as pixel modulation groups, so that each modulation group G _i is Associated with one of the lens elements of the two-dimensional array MLA 220, this pixel modulation group (G ₁ , G ₂ ,..., G _n ) is collectively referred to as the spatial optical directional light modulation of the present invention. To represent a spatial modulation array of instruments. 12 shows temporal articulation, and each pixel in each pixel group _{(p 1, p 2, ...} , p n) and the outgoing light direction _{(d 1, d 2, ...} , d n) , The spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention conceptually shown in FIG. 12 can be used in each pixel group (G ₁ , G ₂ ,..., G _n ). Of pixels (p ₁ , p ₂ ,..., P _n ) by temporally addressing a number of temporally multiplexed directions (d _1i , d _2i , each individually addressable. , ..., d _ni ); i = 1, 2,. . . , Can be associated with each of the pixel groups G _i . As a result, a number of QPI pixel groups (G ₁ , G ₂ ,..., G _n ) associated with the two-dimensional array MLA 220 of FIG. Representing an array and temporally multiplexed directions (d _1i , d _2i ,..., D _ni ); i = 1, 2,. . . , Represents a number of light modulation directions that can be individually addressed through the temporal addressability of the pixels (p ₁ , p ₂ ,..., P _n ) of the QPI device 210 including each pixel modulation group. Become. In other words, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator spatially modulates light through the addressability of the QPI pixel groups (G ₁ , G ₂ ,..., G _n ), and includes pixels that include each group. Through the temporal addressability of (p ₁ , p ₂ ,..., P _n ), the light emitted from each pixel group is directed (d _1i , d _2i ,..., D _ni ); , 2,. . . , Can be modulated in the direction. Accordingly, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator shown in FIG. 12 can generate light that can be spatially and directionally modulated, and thus, through the addressability of the pixel group, the QPI pixel group (G ₁ , G ₂ ,..., G _n ) light emitted from each of the spatial locations equal to the light emitting region can be individually addressed and through the temporal addressability of individual pixels within each pixel group It can also be addressed directionally.

FIG. 5 illustrates the principle of spatial and directional modulation of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a number of QPI device pixel groups G ₁ , G ₂ ,... Each associated with one microlens of a wafer level microlens array (MLA). . . , G _N is shown. Individual pixels p ₁ , p ₂ ,. . . , P _n and the direction of outgoing light d ₁ , d ₂ ,. . . , D _n makes it possible for the light emitting device shown in FIG. 5 to generate light that can be spatially and directionally modulated. Therefore, the pixel groups G ₁ , G ₂ ,. . . , _GN can emit light from each of the spatial locations within the light emitting region, and this light can be individually addressed through the addressability of the pixel group and can be an individual pixel within each pixel group. Can also be addressed directionally through the addressability capability. Individual pixels of the QPI device can be modulated such that each lens in the MLA can emit light in multiple directions simultaneously. With individual pixel control, the light amplitude, emission duration, specific light direction, and total number of light directions emitted from each microlens can be individually adjusted through the individual addressability of the pixels of the QPI device. .

  It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that directional modulation by the lens can be performed on a single axis or on two axes by selecting the lens type (ie, lenticular lens array or biaxial lens array). Until now, however, the precise alignment of the lens array with the pixelated light source and the feasibility of a small pixel size (on the order of a few microns, or even 10 microns or less) has been achieved with high definition 3D displays. This has hindered the realization of a directional light modulator capable of producing the directional light modulation capability necessary for forming the directional light. In the present invention, high pixel resolution is achieved by utilizing the light emitting micropixel array of the QPI device, which can achieve a pixel pitch of less than 10 microns, and by wafer level optics can be less than 1 micron. It is possible to position the lens array with high accuracy. This allows the spatial optical light modulator to achieve sufficient spatial and directional modulation resolution to achieve a high definition 3D display.

6 and 7 show an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 6 illustrating this exemplary embodiment, the light emitted from each individual pixel in the pixel group G _i is separated from the light emitting surface of the QPI device by three optical elements 610, 620 and Proceed to the exit hole of the microlens containing 630. The light emitted from each individual pixel in the pixel group Gi is collimated and expanded to fill the exit hole of the WLO microlens array 220 and traverse in a specific direction within an angle divergence of Θ = ± 15 °. become. Basically, the WLO microlens array 220 has a three-dimensional structure in which light emitted from individual pixels of the two-dimensional pixel group Gi including the QPI device is determined by an angle divergence of Θ = ± 15 ° of the WLO microlens array 220. Map to individual directions within the volume.

As can be seen with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, which illustrate exemplary embodiments, a number of optical elements 610, 620, and 630 are connected to each other and to the QPI device pixel groups G ₁ , G ₂ ,. . . They are made to form a microlens array layer 710, 720 and 730 are accurately aligned with respect to the relevant array of G _N. The exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 7 also includes a QPI device 210 and an associated QPI device cover glass 760. In designing the optical systems 610, 620, and 630, the thickness and optical characteristics of the QPI device cover glass 760 are taken into account in order to acquire an image of the light emitting surface of the QPI device cover glass 760. The exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 shows a complete assembly of a spatial optical directional light modulator. The typical overall thickness of this exemplary embodiment of the inventive spatial optical directional light modulator shown in FIG. 7 is less than 5 millimeters. Such compactness of directional light modulators is probably not achievable with prior art directional light modulation techniques.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show the operating principle of the spatial optical directional light modulator. FIG. 8 shows a modulation group composed of an (n × n) two-dimensional array of light-emitting pixels of a QPI device, which is selected so that the size along one axis of the pixel group Gi is n = 2 ^m for convenience. It illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the G _i. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 8, the directional modulation addressability that can be achieved by the pixel group Gi is the address of the pixel containing the modulation group Gi using an m-bit word along each of the two axes x and y. Realized through designated ability. FIG. 9 shows the three-dimensionality defined by the angular divergence ± Θ of the associated WLO microlens, such as exemplary embodiment 600, of light emitted from (n × n) pixels including the pixel group Gi of the QPI device. A mapping to individual directions within the volume is shown. As an illustrative example, a pixel array in which the individual pixel dimensions of the QPI device are (5 × 5) microns and the pixel group of the QPI device is (n × n) = (2 ⁸ × 2 ⁸ ) = (256 × 256). And the associated WLO microlens has an angle divergence of Θ = ± 15 °, the QPI device's two-dimensional modulation pixel group G of size (1.28 × 1.28) millimeters at the light emitting surface of the QPI device. _From each of _i , it is possible to generate (256) ² = 65,536 individually addressable directional light beams spanning an angular divergence of Θ = ± 15 °, thereby producing 65, The light generated in the 536 direction can also be modulated individually with its color and intensity, typically using a relatively high frequency pulse width modulation of the color components of each pixel, but proportionally as needed. Use other control methods such as It is also possible to.

Any desired spatial and directional modulation capability of a QPI device based spatial optical directional light modulator uses an (N × M) array of directional modulation groups Gi as described in previous design examples. It becomes possible. For example, if it is necessary to form a spatial optical directional light modulator having a spatial modulation resolution of N = 320 × M = 240 resulting in a directional modulation resolution of (256) ² = 65,536, this The spatial optical directional light modulator includes an array of (320 × 240) directional modulation groups, and when using a QPI device having a pixel size of (5 × 5) microns, the spatial optical directional light modulator. The overall size of the modulator will be about 41 × 31 cm. Light emitted from such a spatial optical directional light modulator is within the angular divergence ± Θ associated with the WLO microlens array (eg, Θ = ± 15 ° for the exemplary embodiment 600) ( 320 × 240) and spatially modulated with 65,536 resolution, and the color and intensity in each direction can be modulated.

The resolution of the directional modulation of the light modulator in terms of the number of individually addressable directions within the angular divergence ± Θ of the wafer level microlens array selects the pixel pitch of the light emitting microemitter array QPI device. Or by selecting the lens pitch of the wafer-level microlens array, or a combination of the two. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a lens system such as that shown in FIG. 6 can be designed to allow for wider or narrower angular divergence ± Θ. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the number of pixels in each modulation group G _i can be reduced or increased to produce any desired directional modulation resolution.

  Such a spatial optical directional light modulator can be implemented using a tiled array including a number of QPI devices, depending on the total pixel resolution of the QPI device used. For example, when using a QPI device with a pixel resolution of (1024 × 1024), each such QPI device can be used to realize an array of (2 × 2) modulation groups Gi, and FIG. Using a tiled array (3 × 3) of such QPI devices shown in FIG. 4, a spatial optical directional light having a spatial light modulation resolution of (6 × 6) and a directional light modulation resolution of 65,536 A modulator is realized.

  Tiling of an array of QPI devices that implement a spatial optical directional light modulator is made possible by the compactness that can be achieved by a light emitting QPI device and its associated WLO. For example, an implementation such as that shown in FIG. 7 may produce a QPI device / WLO assembly having a width, height and thickness of 5.12 × 5.12 × 5 millimeters as shown in FIG. (2 × 2) modulation group spatial optical directional light modulator can be realized. It is also possible to implement such a QPI device / WLO assembly with a microball grid array (MBGA) located on the opposite side of the light emitting surface as an electrical interface, so that the entire top surface of the QPI device / WLO assembly is It is possible to configure the light emitting surface of the device so that many such QPI devices / WLO assemblies can be seamlessly tiled to implement any desired size spatial optical directional light modulator. It becomes possible further. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the tiling of multiple QPI devices / WLO assemblies to implement any size spatial optical directional light modulator.

The operation principle of the spatial optical directional light modulator will be described with reference to the explanatory diagrams of FIGS. Figure 8 uses a resolution of m bits in the direction modulation, it shows a two-dimensional addressing capability of each modulation group G _i. As described above, the light emitted from (2 ^m × 2 ^m ) individual pixels in the n × n array of modulation group G _i is caused by its associated WLO element to cause the angular divergence of the associated WLO microlens. It is mapped to the light direction of 2 ^{2 m} within ± Θ. Using the (x, y) dimensional coordinates of the individual pixels in each modulation group G _i , the angular coordinates (θ, φ) of the emitted light beam are given by

Where the angles (θ, φ) are spherical coordinates whose polar axis at θ = 0 is parallel to the z axis of the light emitting surface of the modulation group G _i , and m = log ₂ n is the x and x of the modulation group G _i The number of bits used to represent the pixel resolution of y.

The spatial resolution of the spatial optical type directional light modulator is simply defined by the individual each of the coordinates of the modulation group G _i in a two-dimensional array of modulating groups include the entire spatial optical type directional light modulator. Of course, there is some crosstalk between one group of pixels and an adjacent group of microlenses. However, this crosstalk is substantially reduced by the following design aspects. First, due to the essentially parallel emission of the QPI device, the light emitted from the pixels of the QPI device typically has a ± 17 ° conical shape if the QPI device pixel is a light emitting diode, or QPI When the pixel of the device is a laser diode, it is limited to a cone of ± 5 °. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the collimating lens element of the wafer level optics (WLO) is arranged in the vicinity of the cover glass 660 of the QPI device, most of the light emitted from the edge pixel of each modulation group is related to it. The WLO lens element 600 is limited. Second, as a further measure, a small number (some) edge pixels in each pixel group are turned off to further avoid light leakage (crosstalk) between adjacent lenses of the WLO microlens array. For example, if the light emission of a QPI device whose pixel is a light-emitting diode is limited to ± 17 °, and the first microlens elements are arranged close to each other as shown in FIG. It has been found that a dark ring around the outer edge of a modulation group containing only pixels reduces crosstalk to less than 1%. If the pixels of the QPI device are laser diodes, the pixel emission of the QPI device is limited to a narrower ± 5 ° cone so that the number of pixels that need to be turned off is further reduced and not necessary. There are even cases. Eventually, some (few) inactive, blank or permanently extinguished pixel locations may occur between active pixels in the QPI devices in the array. Of course, baffles and / or band limiting optical dispersers can be used if desired, but these tend to complicate the design of the light modulator and cause excessive light loss.

  FIG. 10 shows an exemplary embodiment of a data processing block diagram of the spatial optical directional light modulator of the present invention. The input data to the spatial optical directional light modulator is formatted with a plurality of bit words, whereby each input word is stored in a modulation group array in which one field includes the spatial optical directional light modulator. The address of the modulation group Gi, the remaining two data fields will contain three data fields that provide a data representation of the light emitted from that modulation group in terms of color, intensity and direction. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 10, data processing block 120 decodes the modulation group address field of the input data and routes the optical modulation data field to the QPI device associated with the specified modulation group. Data processing block 130 decodes the routed modulation group address field and maps it to the address of the designated modulation group. Data processing block 140 decodes the directional modulation data field and maps it to the address of the designated pixel address in the modulation group. Data processing block 150 binds the resulting pixel address to the associated light intensity and color data field of the input data. The data processing block 160 decodes the specified pixel address and routes the light modulation data to the specified pixel in the specified QPI device that includes the spatial optical directional light modulator.

  When 16 bits are used to represent directional modulation and 24 bits are used to represent the modulated light intensity and color in each direction, the total number of bits representing the modulation data word for each modulation group is 40 bits. become. In order to continuously address the modulation groups that make up the spatial optical directional light modulator, such a 40-bit word is input to the spatial optical directional light modulator, that is, using continuous addressing. Assuming that a 40-bit word of modulation group data is input without loss of generality, block 120 of FIG. 10 is responsible for routing this continuously input data word to a designated QPI device. Come to bear. Block 130 of FIG. 10 is responsible for routing the modulation data to the designated modulation group. Block 140 of FIG. 10 is responsible for mapping the 16-bit directional modulation data field to the specified pixel address along with the specified modulation group. Block 150 of FIG. 10 will be responsible for linking the 24-bit light intensity and color data to the mapped pixel group address. Block 160 of FIG. 10 will be responsible for routing the 24-bit light intensity and color modulation data to a designated pixel in a designated QPI device that includes a spatial optical directional light modulator. In this exemplary data processing flow for continuous data input of 40-bit words, a spatial optical directional light modulator encodes the intensity, color, and direction of light emitted from the aperture into the input data. Modulate based on the information. As an example, light intensity and color modulation are performed by controlling the average intensity of light by pulse width modulating the on / off time of multicolor pixels, and controlling the intensity of each color component constituting the resulting color. There may be, but other control methods may be used as required. In any case, direction and intensity are controlled, and in a multicolor system, color, direction and intensity are controlled.

Possible uses:
The spatial optical directional light modulator of the present invention can be used as a backlight of a liquid crystal display (LCD) for mounting a 3D display. This spatial optical directional light modulator can be used alone to implement any size 3D display implemented as a tiled array of multiple QPI devices / WLO assemblies, for example as shown in FIG. . The light modulator can also operate as a 2D high resolution display. In this case, the individual pixels of the QPI device are used to modulate the color and intensity, and the integrated WLO is used to fill the viewing angle of the display. It is also possible to switch the light modulator from 2D display mode to 3D display mode by adapting the format of the input data of the light modulator to match the desired mode of operation. When the light modulator is used as a 2D display, the angular divergence of the light is related to the WLO microlens array ± Θ and achieves high spatial resolution utilizing the pixel resolution of the individual modulation groups Gi.

FIG. 12 conceptually shows a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator which is another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, this directional light modulator is composed of a light emitting microarray QPI device 210 in which a WLO microlens array (MLA) 220 is directly mounted on a light emitting surface, and the entire assembly is centered on at least one axis. Preferably, the articulation is performed temporally about the x and y axes by an angle within a range of ± α _x and ± α _y . The articulation of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 as shown in FIG. 12 can be accomplished by placing the entire assembly on a two-axis gimbal so that the x-axis of the gimbal is actuated over time by an angle within a range of ± α _x. This is accomplished by operating the y-axis of the time by an angle in the range of ± α _y . The x-axis and y-axis temporal articulation achieved by the two-axis gimbal is provided by the MLA 220 microlens element (see FIG. 4), the directional modulation angle of the light emitted from the QPI / MLA assembly 230. Beyond the angular range, it expands in time by 2α _x around the x axis and by 2α _y around the y axis. In this specification, the terms gimbal and two-axis gimbal are used in a general sense and always allow rotation through at least a limited angle about one or both of any two orthogonal axes. Means any structure that does. The definition thus includes concentric rings, ball joints and any other structure that provides this capability.

The light emitted in the directions (d ₁ , d ₂ ,..., D _n ) by the x-axis and x-axis joint movement of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 as shown in FIG. A number of light directions (d _1i , d _2i ,..., D _ni ) extending to a range of 2α _{x in} the x direction and 2α _y in the y direction, i = 1, 2,. . . Are multiplexed in time. This is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 13A, which shows the temporal expansion of the angular emission range of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 along one articulation axis. In FIG. 13A, the angle Θ represents the angle range of one lens element of the MLA 220, and the angle α is the joint motion of the gimbal by angles α _x (t) and α _y (t) about the x-axis and y-axis, respectively. As a result, the instantaneous complex joint motion angle of the lens element is represented. Due to the articulation of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 shown in FIG. 12 and illustrated by FIG. 13A, the pixels in the light emitting microscale array of the QPI device 210, individually addressable through the QPI drive circuit, are spatial, chromatic and directional. The angle range of the directionally modulated light exceeds the angle range Θ (or numerical aperture) of the lens element of the MLA 220 and the angle 2α _x and _{x in the} x direction. It is expanded in time in the y direction by an angle 2α _y . Furthermore, the number of light directions (d ₁ , d ₂ ,..., D _n ) modulated by the temporal joint movement of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator 200 is (Θ + α _x ) (Θ + α _y ). In each articulation direction, expressed as / Θ ₂ , increases in time by the rate at which the angular range expands.

The biaxial articulation of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator 200 may be temporally continuous or discontinuous (stepwise). FIG. 13B shows the combined temporal articulation angle α (t) of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 in one axis when the articulation is continuous in time 1310 and when the actuation is discontinuous in time 1320. Are shown for illustrative purposes. If the temporal articulation of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator 200 is discontinuous or stepped (1320), the typical angular step size is the angular range Θ of the MLA 220 and the QPI / MLA assembly 230. It is preferable to be proportional to the ratio with the spatial resolution. As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the temporal articulation of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator is typically repetitive (or periodic) about each of the two axes. It will be alone. Usually, the repetitive period of articulation of the spatio-temporal optical modulator is synchronized with this in proportion to the duration of the input data frame of the display (for reference, image input data to a typical display is 60 per second. Coming in frames, often referred to as 60Hz frame rate input). The extended angle range provided by the spatio-temporal optical modulator is determined by the maximum value ± α _xmax of the temporal joint motion shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, and the angle range of the lens element of the MLA 220 is Θ. It is obtained by ± (Θ + α _xmax ). Typically, the x-axis and y-axis articulation periodicity is such that the temporal range of the desired expanded angular range of the spatio-temporal directional light modulator 200 is within the required display input frame rate. Are selected together.

12, 13 and 14 show an angular range cross-section 510 of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator 200 composed of multiple temporal angular range cross-sections 520 of MLA lens elements. Show. Multiple temporal multiplexing of lens elements of MLA 220 with appropriately selected temporal articulations α _x (t) and α _y (t) about the x and y axes of QPI / MLA assembly 230, respectively. An angle range composed of the set angle ranges is generated. The cross-sectional shape of this angular range can adapt the aspect ratio according to the magnitude of angular joint motions α _x and α _y about the x-axis and y-axis of the QPI / MLA assembly 230. The joint motion speed around the x and y directions has a suitable duty cycle (modulation duration) in which the light direction within this angular range generated in time fits within the modulation frame of the input image data. It will be sufficient to ensure. For example, if the modulation frame of the input image data is 60 image frames / second, generally called a 60 Hz image frame rate, each light direction within each temporal angle range shown in FIG. 14 needs to be modulated once per frame. Therefore, the articulation speed required to generate the angular range shown in FIG. 14 is at least 180 Hz both about the x-axis or the y-axis. In other words, in the example of the angle range shown in FIG. 14, the size of the temporal angle range is three times the size of the angle range on each axis, and the joint is centered on the x direction or the y direction in the explanatory diagram of FIG. 14. The motion speed needs to be at least three times the input image data frame rate. The angular ranges of the MLA lens elements may or may not overlap. In general, the articulation speed about the x-axis or y-axis of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 is the size of the angular range along each axis (in degrees) and the size of the angular range along the same axis (in degrees). Must be at least equal to the product of the modulation frame rate of the input image data.

  Referring to FIG. 14, the QPI / s of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator 200 having a range of angles and including a number of directionally modulated outgoing lights corresponding to the number of pixels comprising the QPI device 210. In the temporal articulation of the MLA assembly 230, when some of the light beams are reduced in time, a new set of directionally modulated light beams can be used to expand the space-time optical directional light modulator 200. It is continuously added in a pipeline fashion until all the angle ranges covered are covered. When a given direction remains in time within the articulated opening, all the light emitting openings of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 are utilized at a given moment and the desired light beam in this direction. Accumulate (modulate) intensity (usually done by pulse width modulation, but proportional control can be used if desired). As a result of the spatio-temporal optical pipelining of this number of directionally modulated light beams, the response time of the spatio-temporal optical modulator is matched to the image data input speed with minimal latency. Can do. The duration that this given direction stays within the angular range determines the modulation time available to modulate the light intensity in that direction, so that the direction in the peripheral region of the extended angular range is corrected If not done, the intensity can be lower than the inner region of the angular range. The effect of the taper of the intensity edge is somewhat similar to the Fresnel loss that generally occurs at the edge of an optical system except in the case of a spatio-temporal optical modulator. Correction can be made by appropriate selection of the rate of temporal articulation of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 of the modulator 200.

As an option, again, using a 3 × 3 example, the angle range (half angle) around the x-axis of one lens element is Θ _x, and the angle range around the y-axis of one lens element is Θ If the _y, alpha if _x is equal alpha _y in 2 [Theta] _x equal to 2 [Theta] _y, the total angular range including the articulating 3 times or 2 [Theta] _y triple (2 [Theta] _x angular range of one microlens element 3 times). As an example, for the x-axis, these three consecutive angular ranges are:
(−α _x −Θ _x ) to (−Θ _x ),
(−Θ _x ) to (Θ _x ), and (Θ _x ) to (Θ _x + α _x ).
Each angular range also constitutes an angular increment of articulation.

Three consecutive individual angle ranges in each direction can be considered as a two-dimensional angle range matrix as follows.
1, 2, 3
4, 5, 6
7, 8, 9

  This option is a discontinuous method, i.e. displays angular range 1 over the assigned time, advances by one angular increment around the first axis, displays angular range 2 over the same assigned time, and advances by one angular increment. , After displaying the angular range 3 over the allocated time, advance one angle increment on the other axis to display the range 6 over the allocated time, return on this axis by one angular increment, display the angular range 5 over the allocated time, The same applies hereinafter. After displaying the angular range 9 at the allocation time, 9 can be repeated (and continue to display for twice the allocation time), but then go back to avoid more than one angular increment simultaneously on one axis. In this way, flicker is expected to occur unless a higher speed is used. A better way is to go from angle range 9 to angle range 1, i.e. jump on the two axes simultaneously by two angle increments. However, in a two-angle increment jump on two axes, the x-axis and y-axis are independent of each other, and all changes include angular deceleration after angular acceleration, so a change of two angular increments is a change of one angular increment. The average speed should be faster than that and should not be twice as long as the angular change in one angular increment on one axis. Further options can include a combination of discontinuous and continuous methods. In short, there are many options, all within the scope of the present invention.

  One embodiment of the present invention, referred to herein as 1500, is shown in FIG. 15, which includes isometric, top and side views of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator has a biaxial gimbal assembly 1520 formed using a plurality of silicon substrate layers, that is, a hinge layer 1521, a spacer layer 1528, and a base layer 1530. This is accomplished by combining the QPI / MLA assembly 230 (shown in FIG. 12). As shown in FIG. 15, the hinge layer 1521 of the biaxial gimbal assembly 1520 is composed of an outer frame 1522, an inner ring 1523, and an inner segment 1525 to which the QPI / MLA assembly 230 is coupled (hereinafter 1525 is synonymous). Also referred to as device bonding pad 1525). The gap between the outer frame 1522, the inner ring 1523, and the inner segment 1525 is etched using standard semiconductor lithography methods. Inner segment 1525 is physically connected to inner ring 1523 along the x-axis by two silicon hinges 1524, each typically about 0.3-0.5 mm wide, which silicon hinges 1524 are It acts as an x-axis hinge and also defines a neutral x-axis position for the gimbal and acts as a mechanical resistance spring for x-axis articulation. The inner ring 1523 is connected to the outer frame 1522 along the y-axis by two silicon hinges 1526, each typically about 0.3-0.5 mm wide, which are connected to the y-axis hinges 1526. And the neutral y-axis position of the gimbal is also determined, and it acts as a mechanical resistance spring for y-axis articulation. The two pairs of silicon hinges 1524 and 1526 constitute a pivot axis of a two-axis gimbal serving as a center where the x-axis and y-axis articulations are performed. The inner segment 1525 of the hinge layer 1521 of the biaxial gimbal assembly 1520 includes multiple contact pads to which the QPI / MLA assembly 230 is coupled using standard soldering techniques such as flip chip solder balls, and thus the inner segment 1525. Becomes a bonding pad to which the QPI / MLA assembly 230 is coupled. On the inner segment 1525 of the hinge layer 1521 of the biaxial gimbal assembly 1520, a series of contact pads on the upper surface of the inner segment 1525 are arranged along the periphery of the outer frame 1522 via x-axis and y-axis silicon hinges 1524 and 1526. A number of metal rails that connect to a series of device contact pads 1527 are embedded. A series of contact pads on the top surface of the inner segment 1525 are contact pads that make electrical and physical contact with the back surface of the QPI / MLA assembly 230.

  Referring to the side view of FIG. 15, QPI / MLA assembly 230 is shown coupled to the top surface of inner segment 1525. As described above, this bond is an electrical and physical connection between the contact pad on the top surface of the inner segment 1525 and the contact pad on the back surface of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 using a solder or eutectic ball grid array type bond. Contact coupling. The side view of FIG. 15 also shows a spacer layer 1528 bonded at the wafer level to the top surface of the base layer 1530 and the back surface of the hinge layer using benzocyclobutene (BCB) polymer adhesion or the like. The height (or thickness) of the spacer layer 1528 is selected to correspond to the vertical displacement at the maximum operating angle of the inner segment 1525 and the corners of the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230. When the inner segments 1525 are both 5 mm diagonal and the maximum articulation angle at the corner is 15 °, the thickness of the spacer layer 1528 is to accommodate the vertical displacement at the maximum articulation at the corner of the inner segment 1525. Should be about 0.65 mm.

As can be seen with reference to the side view of FIG. 15, the articulation of the inner segment 1525 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 includes a set of electromagnets 1535 located at the four corners on the back of the inner segment 1525, and the inner This is done using a set of permanent magnets 1536 aligned with the four corners of the back side of the segment 1525 and placed on the top surface of the base layer 1530. The electromagnet 1535 is a coil having a metal core formed at the wafer level using multilayer imprint lithography on the back surface of the inner segment 1525. The permanent magnet 1536 is typically a thin magnetic strip such as a neodymium magnet (Nd ₂ F ₁₄ B). As described above, articulation of inner segment 1525 and coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 causes electromagnet set 1535 to articulate inner segment 1525 and coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 in time as described above. This is done by driving the electromagnet set 1535 with an electrical signal having a temporal amplitude variation suitable to affect the appropriate temporal variation of the magnetic force between the magnet and the permanent magnet 1536. The electrical drive signals for the electromagnet set 1535 generated by the QPI device 210 and supplied to the electromagnet set 1535 via the metal rails and contacts incorporated in the inner segment 1525 described above are derived from the pixel array of the QPI device 210. Synchronized with pixel modulation performed by the QPI device 210 to the extent that allows desired direction modulation of the emitted intensity and color modulated light. The temporal variation of the electrical drive signal for the electromagnet set 1535 allows for temporal angular articulation about the x and y axes of the inner segment 1525 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 as shown in FIG. Selected to do. Typically, the maximum value ± α _max of the temporal angular joint motion α (t) shown in FIG. 13B that can be realized by the embodiment 1500 of the present invention is selected by the thickness of the silicon substrate of the hinge layer 1521 and the silicon hinges 1524 and 1526. ± 15 ° to ± 17 ° depending on the width.

  The electric drive signal for the electromagnet set 1535 generated by the QPI device 210 and supplied to the electromagnet set 1535 via the metal rails and contacts incorporated in the inner segment 1525 is composed of a basic component and a correction component. Is done. The basic component of the electrical drive signal for electromagnet set 1535 represents a nominal value, and the correction component is the angle generated by the set of four sensors aligned with silicon hinges 1524 and 1526 and placed on the back of inner segment 1525. Derived from joint motion error values. These sensors are an array of infrared (IR) detectors positioned on the back surface of the inner segment 1525 aligned with four IR emitters positioned on the top surface of the base layer 1530. The output values of these four IR detector arrays are routed to the QPI device again through the metal rails and contacts incorporated in the inner segment 1525 described above to obtain the derived articulation angle and actual articulation. And is incorporated into the electromagnet set 1535 as a correction to the drive signal supplied by the QPI. The sensor located on the back surface of the inner segment 1525 can also be a microscale gyro that is correctly aligned to detect the operating angle along each of the two axes of the gimbal.

  Another embodiment of the present invention, referred to herein as 1600, is shown in FIG. FIG. 16 includes an isometric view and a side view of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, embodiment 1600 of the present invention comprises a biaxial gimbal assembly 1620 with a QPI / MLA assembly 230 coupled to the top. FIG. 16 also shows an exploded isometric view of the embodiment 1600 showing the layers of the biaxial gimbal assembly 1620 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator is formed on the upper surface of a biaxial gimbal assembly 1620 made using a plurality of silicon substrate layers, that is, a pad layer 1621, a spring layer 1625, and a base layer 1630. This is accomplished by combining the QPI / MLA assembly 230 (shown in FIG. 12). The top surface of the pad layer 1621 includes a number of contact pads to which the QPI / MLA assembly 230 is coupled using standard soldering techniques such as flip chip solder balls, and thus the top surface of the pad layer 1621 includes the QPI / MLA assembly. 230 becomes a bonding layer / contact pad 1623 to be bonded. The back surface of the pad layer 1621 includes a spherical pivot 1635 formed by embossing a polycarbonate polymer on the back surface of the pad layer 1621 using UV imprint lithography or the like. The pad layer 1621 and the spherical pivot 1635 embossed on the back side thereof are called hinge pads 1621/1635. The height of the center of the spherical pivot 1635 determines the height of the x-axis and y-axis of angular deflection. The top surface of base layer 1630 includes a spherical socket 1636 formed by embossing a polycarbonate polymer with a wafer on the top surface of base layer 1630. The base layer 1630 and the spherical socket 1636 embossed on the top surface thereof are referred to as a pedestal 1630/1636. The surface curvature of the spherical pivot 1635 included on the back surface of the pad layer 1621 and the spherical socket 1636 included on the top surface of the base layer 1630 is such that when the hinge pad 1621/1635 is placed on top of the pedestal 1630/1636, ± to be adapted. The embossed surfaces of the spherical pivot 1635 and the spherical socket 1636 are of optical quality when viewed from a surface with a surface roughness on the order of several nanometers RMS, but the friction that can occur between the two surfaces due to the joint motion is the spherical pivot. It is reduced by coating the surface of 1635 and spherical socket 1636 with a thin layer of graphite (50-100 nm).

  The hinge pad 1621/1635 is held in place within the surface curvature of the pedestal 1630/1636 by a spring layer 1625 that includes a single helical spring 1626 etched into the spring layer 1625 at each of the four corners. Is done. As shown in the isometric exploded view of FIG. 16, the inner end of each of the four helical springs includes an inner bonding pad 1627 corresponding to the same contact pad 1622 located on the back surface of the pad layer 1621. Embedded in the helical spring 1626 is a plurality of metal rails that are used to route electrical interface signals from the inner bonding pad 1627 to a series of edge contacts / pads 1628 located at the periphery of the back surface of the spring layer 1625. It is. The edge contact / pad 1628 on the back surface of the outer edge of the spring layer 1625 corresponds to a matching bonding pad set 1629 located at the periphery of the base layer 1630. Edge contacts on the top surface of base layer 1630 are connected to a set of device contact pads 1631 located on the back surface of base layer 1630 via metal rails embedded in the base layer. In the final assembly of embodiment 1600 of the present invention shown in the side view of FIG. 16, the back side of the edge contact / pad 1628 of the spring layer 1625 is bonded to the top bonding pad 1629 of the base layer 1630 and the inner bonding pad 1627 of the helical spring 1626. Are coupled to corresponding contact pads 1622 on the back side of the pad layer 1621, the four helical springs 1626 are expanded. As explained above, when the spring layer 1625 is bonded to the back surface of the pad layer 1621 and the top surface of the helical spring 1626 of the base layer 1630, the four helical springs are fully expanded, and in their fully expanded configuration, (1) creating the spring load resistance necessary to hold the spherical pivot 1635 within the spherical socket 1636; (2) creating the mechanical balance necessary to maintain the neutral position of the hinge pad 1621/1635; And (3) the multiple purposes of routing electrical interface signals from the device contact pads 1631 to the bonding layer / contact pads 1623 of the QPI / MLA assembly 230. Referring to the side view of FIG. 16, QPI / MLA assembly 230 is shown coupled to the top surface of bonding layer / contact pad 1623 of pad layer 1621. This bond is an electrical and physical contact bond between the bond layer / contact pad 1623 using a solder or eutectic ball grid array type bond and the contact pad on the backside of the QPI / MLA assembly 230. In this operational configuration, the entire device assembly 1600 is bonded to the substrate using contact pads 1631 located on the backside of the base layer, or to the printed circuit board using solder or eutectic ball grid array type bonding.

  The side view of FIG. 16 also shows the enlarged height of the spherical socket 1636 selected to accommodate vertical displacement at the maximum operating angle of the corners of the hinge pad 1621/1635 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230. Show. For example, if the diagonal of hinge pad 1621/1635 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 is 5 mm and the maximum working angle at the corner is ± 30 °, the expanded height thickness of the spherical socket 1636 is Should be about 1.25 mm to accommodate vertical displacement at the maximum operating angle of the corners of hinge pad 1621/1635 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230.

  Actuation of the pad layer 1621 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 is performed using a set of electromagnets embedded in a spherical pivot 1635 and a set of permanent magnets embedded in a spherical socket 1636. In order to affect the actuation behavior described in the previous paragraph, an actuation electrical drive signal is routed to the electromagnet embedded in the spherical pivot 1635. The fundamental component of the actuation electrical drive signal for the electromagnet embedded in the spherical pivot 1635 represents a nominal value, and the correction component derived from angular joint motion is generated by a set of four sensors located on the back side of the pad layer 1621. Error value. These sensors are an array of infrared (IR) detectors positioned on the back side of the pad layer 1621 aligned with four IR emitters located on the top surface of the base layer 1630. The output values of these four IR detector arrays are again routed to the QPI device via the metal rails and contacts incorporated in the pad layer 1621 described above to derive the derived articulation angle and actual articulation. Is used to calculate an error estimate of the angle, and is incorporated into the set of electromagnets embedded in the spherical pivot 1635 as a correction to the drive signal supplied by the QPI device. The sensor located on the back side of the pad layer 1621 can also be a microscale gyro that is correctly aligned to detect the operating angle along each of the two axes of the gimbal.

The permanent magnet embedded in the spherical socket 1636 is typically a thin magnetic rod or wire, such as a neodymium magnet (Nd ₂ Fe ₁₄ B), shaped to provide a uniform magnetic field across the curved cavity of the spherical socket 1636. Is done. Actuation of pad layer 1621 and coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230, as described above, is embedded in a spherical pivot 1635 that articulates pad layer 1621 and coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 in time as described above. Embedded in the spherical pivot 1635 with an electrical signal having a temporal amplitude variation suitable to affect the appropriate temporal variation in magnetic force between the set of electromagnets and the permanent magnet embedded in the spherical socket 1636 This is done by driving a set of electromagnets. The electrical drive signals for the set of electromagnets embedded in the spherical pivot 1635, which are generated by the QPI device 210 and routed through the metal rails and contacts embedded in the pad layer 1621, are derived from the pixel array of the QPI device. Synchronized with pixel modulation performed by the QPI device to the extent that allows desired directional modulation of the emitted intensity and color modulated light. The temporal variation of the electrical drive signal for the set of electromagnets embedded in the spherical pivot 1635 is the time along both the x-axis and y-axis of the pad layer 1621 and the coupled QPI / MLA assembly 230 as shown in FIG. Selected to allow for proper angular joint movement. The maximum value ± α _max of the temporal angular joint motion α (t) shown in FIG. Depending on the expanded height of the spherical socket 1636 defining the displacement, it will be ± 30 ° to ± 35 °.

  One skilled in the art will appreciate that the gimbal actuators of embodiments 1500 and 1600 of the present invention described in the above paragraph can be implemented to achieve substantially the same purpose by exchanging the positions of the electromagnet and the permanent magnet. Will.

The two exemplary embodiments 1500 and 1600 of the present invention mainly include the maximum value ± α _{max of} the temporal angular joint motion α (t) each can achieve, and each embodiment defines the boundaries of the QPI / MLA assembly 230. The required external area is different. First, in the embodiment 1600 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 16, the biaxial gimbal is completely accommodated in the occupied area of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 (hereinafter referred to as the zero edge feature). In the embodiment 1500 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 15, the biaxial gimbal is accommodated on the outer periphery of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 outer boundary. Second, the maximum value ± α _max of the temporal angular joint motion α (t) that can be achieved by the embodiment 1600 can probably be twice that which the embodiment 1500 can achieve. Of course, the large maximum ± α _max of temporal angular joint motion α (t) that can be achieved by the embodiment 1600 is obtained at the expense of requiring a greater vertical height than the embodiment 1500. The zero edge feature of embodiment 1600 is suitable for tiling to form a large area display, and the low profile (low height) feature of embodiment 1500 makes a compact display for mobile applications. Suitable for forming.

The angular range Θ of the microlens systems 610, 620 and 630 of the MLA 220 is illustrated in FIG. 6 through an appropriate design choice of refractive surfaces of the microlens systems 610, 620 and 630, or by increasing or decreasing the number of optical elements thereof. It can be larger or smaller than ± 15 ° of a typical embodiment. However, for a given resolution in terms of the number of pixels in the pixel modulation group G _i , changing the angular range Θ of the MLA220 microlens system changes the QPI of the spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention. The angular resolution (separation) between the directionally modulated light beams emitted by the / MLA assembly 230 will change. For example, in the angle range of Θ = ± 15 ° of the exemplary embodiment described above, when the pixel group G _{i includes} (128 × 128) pixels, the QPI of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention. The angular resolution between the directionally modulated light beams emitted by the / MLA assembly 230 is approximately δΘ = 0.23 °. The same angular resolution value of the [Delta] [theta] = 0.23 ° is reduced to MLA220 microlens an angular range Θ = ± 7.5 ° of the system, the number of pixels constituting the pixel group G _i in (64 × 64) pixels Can also be achieved. In general, a high F / # (i.e., smaller angle range of values theta) by the microlenses system MLA220 With, to achieve a given angular resolution value using a more size smaller pixel modulation group G _i can, as a result, becomes available more pixels by to form more pixel group G _i in the range of a given pixel resolution of the QPI device 210, thus the space-optic directional light when the present invention A spatial resolution higher than that achievable by the modulator QPI / MLA assembly 230 will be obtained. This design trade-off allows an appropriate balance to be chosen between the F / # of the design parameters of the MLA 220 microlens system and the spatial resolution that can be achieved by the QPI / MLA assembly 230. On the other hand, increasing the F / # of the MLA220 microlens system to increase the spatial resolution reduces the angular range that can be achieved by the QPI / MLA230 of the spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention. At this point, the maximum value α _max of the temporal angular joint motion α (t) becomes part of the design trade-off for recovering the angular range lost by choosing to increase the spatial resolution. In the above-described example, when the maximum value α _max of the joint motion angle is selected to be α _max = ± 7.5 °, the spatio-temporal optical directional modulator of the present invention has (64 × 64) pixels. The pixel group G _i can be used to achieve an extended angular range of (α _max + Θ) = ± 15 °. Basically, for a given angular resolution value of δΘ, the maximum joint angle α _max is a parameter that can be used to increase the angular range of directional modulation or spatial resolution that can be achieved by spatio-temporal optical directional modulators. It becomes a trade-off.

  The spatio-temporal optical modulator of the present invention uses a scanning mirror to modulate a light beam in a time direction in that it generates a number of directionally modulated light beams simultaneously at a given time. One very important aspect differs from the prior art. In the case of the spatio-temporal optical modulator of the present invention, the QPI / MLA assembly 230 with gimbal is articulated to expand the directional modulation resolution and angular range so that a number of directionally modulated light beams can be temporally modulated. Multiplexed. As described above (see FIG. 14), when the QPI / MLA assembly 230 with gimbal is articulated, a new set of directionally modulated light beams when some of the light beams are reduced in time. However, when part of it drops out in time, it is added in a pipeline manner until all of the extended angular range provided by the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator 200 of the present invention is covered. Thus, when a given direction remains in time within the articulated opening of the QPI / MLA assembly 230, all light emitting openings of the gimbaled QPI / MLA assembly 230 are utilized at a given moment. Then, the desired intensity in this direction is accumulated. As a result of the temporal pipelining of this large number of directionally modulated light beams, the spatio-temporal optical light modulator response time of the present invention is matched to the image data input rate with minimal latency. be able to. Further, the QPI / MLA assembly 230 with gimbal of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention performs joint movement in a non-stop pattern, so that the QPI / MLA assembly 230 with gimbal is the spatio-temporal optical light of the present invention. When articulating over the extended angular range of the modulator, blanking of the light emitting aperture is minimal or not at all. Thus, the spatio-temporal optical modulator of the present invention substantially eliminates all of the disadvantages of slow response time, inefficiency and volume size of prior art directional light modulators.

8 and 9 show the operation principle of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. FIG. 8 shows a pixel composed of an (n × n) two-dimensional array of light-emitting pixels of the QPI device 210 selected so that the size along one axis of the pixel group Gi is n = 2 ^m for convenience. It illustrates one exemplary embodiment of the group G _i. As can be seen with reference to FIG. 8, m direction modulation addressability achievable by the pixel group Gi is constituting the modulation groups G _i of (n × n) pixels, along each of two axes x and y This is accomplished through addressability using a word of bits. 9 shows, the angle of the associated MLA220 microlens element such as the exemplary embodiments which constitute the QPI pixel modulation groups G _i the light emitted from the (n × n) pixels shown in FIG. 6 It shows a mapping in individual directions within a three-dimensional volume defined by the range Θ. As an illustrative example, the size of each pixel of the QPI is (5 × 5) microns, and the QPI pixel group G _i is a pixel array of (n × n) = (2 ⁷ × 2 ⁷ ) = (128 × 128). Each configured QPI two-dimensional modulation pixel group Gi of size (0.64 × 0.64) millimeters on the light emitting surface of the QPI if the angle range of the configured MLA 220 microlens elements is Θ = ± 15 °. Can generate (128) ² = 16,384 individually addressable directional light beams spanning an angular range of Θ = ± 15 °, which in each 16,384 directions The light produced can also be individually modulated in color and intensity. As described above (see FIGS. 12 and 13A), the QPI / MLA assembly 230 is provided by the lens elements of the QPI / MLA assembly 230 when articulated using the biaxial gimbal of embodiments 1500 and 1600. The range of directional modulation angles is extended in time by the maximum articulation angle ± α _max provided by the gimbal. Accordingly, the range of directional modulation angles provided by the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention is expanded in time over a total angle range of ± (Θ + α _max ). For example, when the angle range of the lens element of the MLA 220 is Θ = ± 15 ° and the maximum joint motion angle is α _max = ± 30 °, the extended angle range provided by the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator (Θ + α _max ) = ± 45 °, the light modulation direction that this modulator can generate in time is [n (Θ + α _max ) / Θ] ² = 9 × QPI / MLA assembly 230 The number of directions (see FIG. 14), that is, 9 (128) ² = 147,456 light modulation directions. That is, the number of light modulation directions that can be generated by the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention is (3n × 3n), where (n × n) is the MLA 220 as viewed from the QPI pixel number. _Is the size of the pixel group G _i associated with one of the lens elements. Thus, in this example, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator provides extended directional modulation resolution to the directional modulation resolution provided by the 9 × QPI / MLA assembly 230. In general, the directional modulation resolution provided by a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator will be [n (Θ + α _max ) / Θ] ² within an angular range spanning ± (Θ + α _max ) angles.

If an (N × M) array of QPI pixel modulation groups G _i as described in the above design example is used, in addition to the directional modulation capability of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention, spatial modulation is also possible. It becomes possible. For example, it is necessary to form a directional light modulator of the present invention having N = 16 × M = 16 spatial modulation resolution that provides a directional modulation resolution of (9 × 128) ² = 147,456 in the above example. In some cases, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention includes an array of (16 × 16) directional modulation groups G _i and uses a QPI having a pixel size of (5 × 5) microns, The total size of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator is about 10.24 × 10.24 mm. Using the angle range values of the above example, the light emitted from the spatial optical type directional light modulator of the present invention is spatially modulated with a resolution of (16 × 16), and an angular range of ± 45 °. Are directionally modulated with a resolution of 147,456, and the color and intensity in each direction can also be modulated.

  As shown in the above example, the spatial and directional modulation resolution of a spatio-temporal optical modulator viewed from the standpoint of the number of individually addressable directions within a given angular range is It is determined by selecting 210 resolution and pixel pitch, MLA 220 lens element pitch, MLA 220 lens element angle range, and modulator gimbal maximum joint motion angle. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the MLA lens system has a wider or narrower angular range to form a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator that can achieve any desired spatial and directional modulation capability in accordance with the teachings set forth in the above description. The gimbal design can be selected to allow for wider or narrower articulation angles, so that fewer or more pixels are in each modulation group It is clear that you can choose.

Any desired spatial and directional modulation capability can be achieved using the spatial optical directional light modulator of the present invention. In the above example, using a single 10.24 × 10.24 mm QPI device 210, the spatial optical directivity of the present invention having a spatial resolution of (16) ² and a directional resolution of (3 × 128) ² . We showed how the optical modulator can be implemented. In order to achieve high spatial resolution, the spatio-temporal optical modulator of the present invention should be implemented using a tiled array that includes a number of smaller spatio-temporal optical directional light modulators of the present invention. Can do. For example, when the (3 × 3) array of spatio-temporal optical directional light modulators in the above example is tiled as shown in FIG. 11, the resulting spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator is It will provide a spatial resolution of (3 × 16) ² and a directional resolution of (3 × 128) ² . The large number of spatio-temporal optical directional modulators of the present invention can be tiled to achieve a high spatial resolution version because of their compact volume dimensions. For example, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the above example using a single QPI device 210 with its own exemplary width, height and thickness of 10.24 × 10.24 × 5 mm, respectively. It can be used to form a further high resolution version shown in FIG. 11 with width, height and thickness dimensions of 3.07 × 3.07 × 0.5 cm each. For example, if this tile arrangement is expanded to include a (30 × 30) array of smaller resolution spatio-temporal optical directional light modulators, the resulting spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator is With a spatial resolution of (30 × 16) ² and a directional resolution of (3 × 128) ² , the width, height, and thickness are 30.07 × 30.07 × 0.5 cm, respectively. A number of spatio-temporal optical directional light modulators in the above example are coupled to the backplane using electrical contacts of a microball grid array (MBGA) located on the back surface of the present invention shown in FIG. It becomes possible to implement a high spatial resolution version of a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator, and given the zero edge feature of embodiment 1600, this allows a number of such directional light modulator devices to be implemented. It is possible to implement a space-time optical directional light modulator of any desired size by realizing a seamless tile arrangement. Of course, the size of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator array shown in FIG. 11 can be increased to the range necessary to achieve any desired spatial resolution. In order to increase the spatial resolution, it is possible to sacrifice the directional resolution of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator. For example, when reducing the size of the pixel modulation group (64 × 64), arrays, (3 × 32) ² spatial resolution and (3 × 64) ² in the direction resolution shown in FIG. 11 (3 × 3) Will come to bring. Of note, the array of spatio-temporal optical directional light modulators providing the expanded spatial aperture shown in FIG. 11 is the above-described embodiment 1600 of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention. This is made possible by the zero edge feature.

The operation principle of the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator will be described with reference to the explanatory diagrams of FIGS. FIG. 8 shows the two-dimensional addressability of each modulation group Gi that uses m-bit resolution for directional modulation. As described above, the light emitted from each (2 ^m × 2 ^m ) individual pixel of modulation group Gi is caused by its associated MLA 220 element to fall within the ± Θ angular range of the associated MLA microlens element. 2 ^2m mapped in the light direction. Using the (x, y) dimensional coordinates of the individual pixels in each of the modulation groups Gi, the angular coordinates (θ, φ) of the emitted light beam are given by:
In the equation, α _x (t) and α _y (t) are values of joint motion angles around the x axis and the y axis in the time epoch t, respectively, and the angles θ (t) and φ (t) are The polar axis at θ = 0 is the value of the directional modulation spherical coordinate at time epoch t, which is parallel to the z-axis of the light emitting surface of modulation group G _i , and m = log ₂ n is x and y in modulation group G _i The number of bits used to represent pixel resolution. The spatial resolution of the space-time-optic directional light modulator, each of the coordinates of each modulation group G _i in a two-dimensional array of modulating groups include all spatio-optic directional light modulator (x, y) Determined by. Basically, this spatio-temporal optical light modulator temporally generates (modulates) a light field described by spatial coordinates (x, y) and direction coordinates (θ, φ) defined by the modulation group array. The directional coordinates (θ, φ) are the spatio-temporal optical directivities defined by the values of the coordinates (x, y) of the luminescent pixels in the modulation group G _i and equations 3 and 4 above. It is determined by the time value of the joint motion angle of the light modulator.

  FIG. 10 shows an exemplary embodiment of a data processing block diagram of a spatial optical directional light modulator, which is applicable to the spatio-temporal optical embodiment of the present invention. The above description of using 16 bits to represent directional modulation and using typical 24 bits to represent the modulated light intensity and color in each direction is also applicable to the spatio-temporal optical embodiment of the present invention. Applicable.

Possible uses:
Any size 3D display implemented as a tiled array of multiple spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator devices, such as shown in FIG. 11, using the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention. Can be implemented. The extended angular range that can be achieved with this spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator enables the realization of a 3D display without using a large and costly optical assembly while providing a compact and wide viewing angle. . The compact volume level that can be achieved with this spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator enables the realization of desktop and possibly mobile 3D displays. Furthermore, this spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator has an angular resolution value of δΘ corresponding to the angular separation of the human visual system eye within its extended angular range due to its extended directional modulation capability. Multiple views can be modulated, thus resulting in a 3D display that does not require the use of glasses to view the 3D content to be displayed. In fact, considering the number of independently modulated light beams that can be generated by the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention, the spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator has a plurality of generated light beams. A 3D image can be modulated with sufficient angular resolution values between views, thereby eliminating convergence adjustment discrepancies (VAC) that generally interfere with 3D display performance and cause eye fatigue. In other words, the spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator of the present invention can generate a VAC-free 3D image that does not cause fatigue of the viewer's eyes due to its angular resolution. This spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator can also be the basis for a 3D light field display that can be used to implement a synthetic holographic 3D display due to its light field modulation capability.

This spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator can also be used as a backlight of a liquid crystal display (LCD) for mounting a 3D display. This spatiotemporal optical directional light modulator can also operate as a 2D high resolution display. In this case, the individual pixels of the QPI device 210 are used to modulate color and intensity, and the MLA 220 is used to fill the viewing angle of the display. It is also possible to switch the spatiotemporal optical light modulator from the 2D display mode to the 3D display mode by adapting the format of the input data of the spatiotemporal optical light modulator to match the desired operation mode. When using a spatio-temporal optical directional light modulator as a 2D display, the light angle range has a pixel resolution of the individual modulation group Gi used to achieve a high spatial resolution, the microlens element of the MLA 220 Is related to the gimbal joint motion angle ± (Θ + α _max ).

  Accordingly, there are many aspects to the present invention that can be practiced as desired either alone or in various combinations or subcombinations. Although certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed and described herein for purposes of illustration and not limitation, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the full scope of the following claims. It will be understood that various changes in form and detail may be made herein without departing from the scope.

d1 to d4 direction p1 to p4 pixels

Claims (36)

A light emitting microemitter array device having a microarray of pixels;
WLO (wafer level optics) microlens array;
Comprising a microarray of the pixels includes a plurality of pixel groups composed of a plurality of pixels, the pixel group represents a spatial modulation array, each microlens in the microlens array, the pixels of the luminescent micro emitter array Across groups, whereby the microlenses in the microlens array direct illumination from each pixel in each pixel group in different directions,
An optical modulator characterized by that. Each pixel group is a two-dimensional pixel group.
The optical modulator according to claim 1. Each of the pixels of the light emitting microemitter array device is an individually addressable solid state light emitter selected from the group consisting of a light emitting diode and a laser diode.
The optical modulator according to claim 2. Each pixel of the light emitting microemitter array device can emit multiple colors of light, and each pixel can be individually addressed to emit light of a selected color and intensity.
The optical modulator according to claim 3. The pixels of the light emitting microemitter array device have a length dimension of 10 μm or less;
The optical modulator according to claim 3. The microlens array is composed of a plurality of laminated microlens arrays.
The optical modulator according to claim 3. The addressing capability of the light modulator direction, color and intensity specifies the direction of emitted light using at least one input data field for each specified pixel group address in the spatial array of pixel groups; Accomplished using a plurality of field data inputs to the light modulator that uses at least one field to specify the color and intensity of light emitted in the specified direction;
The optical modulator according to claim 4. Including a plurality of tiled arrays of light modulators,
The optical modulator according to claim 4. A plurality of collective sets of light modulators in the form of a tiled array, wherein each pixel of the light-emitting microemitter array device is a multicolor pixel, and the light of a selected color and intensity is included in each light modulator. Individually addressable to emit, and the microlens array comprises a plurality of stacked microlens arrays, each of the lenses of the microlens array being a respective one of the respective light emitting microemitter array devices Each lens is aligned and associated with a plurality of pixels in a pixel group, and each lens optically emits the light emitted from the plurality of pixels into a corresponding set of discrete directions within the numerical aperture of the lens The light and the light by allowing the color and intensity of the light emitted in each individual direction of the set of discrete directions to Modulator is throughout the opening over the set of collective optical modulator, color, it is possible to generate a strength and light modulated direction,
The optical modulator according to claim 4. The direction, color and intensity addressability of each pixel of the light modulator is determined by the spatial direction of the emitted light using at least one input data field for each designated pixel group address in the spatial array of pixel groups. And using a plurality of field data inputs to the individual light modulators to specify the color and intensity of light emitted in the specified direction using at least one field.
The optical modulator according to claim 4. It said optical modulator, by adapting to meet the format of the plurality of field data input to a Nozomu Tokoro operation mode can be switched to operate as a 3D display, or as a high-resolution 2D display,
The optical modulator according to claim 4. The liquid crystal display is included as a backlight of the liquid crystal display to form a 3D display or a 2D display.
The optical modulator according to claim 4. Different directions of illumination from the light emitting microemitter define an angular range, the light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array are assembled together and angularly articulated as a single assembly about at least one axis; Emitting light within the plane of the light emitting surface of the light emitting microemitter array and within the range of positive and negative maximum angular joint motion;
The optical modulator according to claim 1, wherein the optical modulator is a light modulator. The light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array are angularly articulated as a single assembly about each axis within a range of positive and negative maximum angular articulation about two orthogonal axes. Configured to
The optical modulator according to claim 13. The angular articulation is configured to increase the angular resolution between the different directions or to increase the angular range of the different directions of illumination from the light emitting microemitter.
The optical modulator according to claim 14. Adjacent light modulators in the tiled array have a number of inactive edge pixels between active pixels in adjacent pixel groups.
The optical modulator according to claim 13. The pixels of the light emitting microemitter array device are multicolor pixels and individually addressable to emit light of a selected color and intensity, the microlens array comprising a plurality of stacked microlens arrays Each of the lenses of the microlens array is aligned and associated with a plurality of pixels in a pixel group of the light emitting microemitter array device, and each lens is emitted from the respective plurality of pixels. Optically mapping the light into a corresponding set of discrete directions within the numerical aperture of the respective lens, and the light of the light emitted in each direction of the discrete direction set By enabling color and intensity, the light modulator can generate light that is modulated in color, intensity and direction.
The optical modulator according to claim 3. Including a plurality of tiled arrays of light modulators,
The optical modulator according to claim 1. It said optical modulator, by adapting to meet the format of the plurality of field data input to a Nozomu Tokoro operation mode can be switched to operate as a 3D display, or as a high-resolution 2D display,
The optical modulator according to claim 1. A two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device;
A microlens array of microlens elements;
The two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array are assembled together and angularly articulated as a single assembly about two axes, and in the plane of the light emitting surface of the light emitting microemitter array and Emit light within the range of positive and negative maximum angular joint motion in each respective axis ,
The two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array includes an array of pixels, each pixel being an individually addressable solid state light emitter,
The periodicity of each joint movement about the two axes is selected such that the temporal range of the maximum angular joint movement is within the frame rate of the input image data .
A directional light modulator characterized by that. Each pixel of the two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array has a size not exceeding 20 × 20 microns,
The directional light modulator according to claim 20 . Each pixel is individually addressable to modulate both the color and intensity of the light emitted by the pixel.
The directional light modulator according to claim 20 . The angular joint movement is performed by a gimbal support of the assembly of the two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array, and the angular range in each of the two axes by the angular joint movement of the gimbal support. , The set of light directions along each of the two axes is expanded in time.
The directional light modulator according to claim 20. The temporally expanding angular range is continuous or discontinuous in time and has a repetition rate synchronized with the frame rate of the image input data. The expanded angular range, angular coverage, shape and aspect ratio of the directional light modulator are determined by the maximum angular joint movement about each of the two axes;
The directional light modulator according to claim 23 . The angular joint movement about each of the two axes has a coefficient equal to at least the ratio of the enlarged angular range and the angular range along each respective axis to the frame rate of the input image data. Equal to the product multiplied,
25. The directional light modulator according to claim 24 . The addressing capability of each pixel specifies the direction of emitted light using at least one input data field for each specified pixel group address in the spatial array of pixel groups, and using at least one field, Accomplished using a plurality of field data inputs to the directional light modulator that specify the color and intensity of light emitted in the specified direction.
The directional light modulator according to claim 23 . A two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device;
A microlens array of microlens elements;
The two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array are assembled together and angularly articulated as a single assembly about two axes, and in the plane of the light emitting surface of the light emitting microemitter array and Emit light within the range of positive and negative maximum angular joint motion in each respective axis,
A directional light modulator characterized in that
Used as a display that can be switched to operate in 3D display mode or high-resolution 2D display mode by adapting the format of the input data to match the desired mode.
A directional light modulator characterized by that. A two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device;
A microlens array of microlens elements;
The two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array are assembled together and angularly articulated as a single assembly about two axes, and in the plane of the light emitting surface of the light emitting microemitter array and Emit light within the range of positive and negative maximum angular joint motion in each respective axis,
A directional light modulator characterized in that
Used as a backlight for a liquid crystal display (LCD) that can be switched to operate as a 3D display or a high-resolution 2D display;
A directional light modulator characterized by that. A two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device;
A microlens array of microlens elements;
The two-dimensional light emitting microemitter array device and the microlens array are assembled together and angularly articulated as a single assembly about two axes, and in the plane of the light emitting surface of the light emitting microemitter array and Emit light within the range of positive and negative maximum angular joint motion in each respective axis,
A directional light modulator characterized in that
Within an expanded angular range, a 3D display that modulates multiple views with angular resolution values commensurate with the angular separation of the eyes of the human visual system, thus eliminating the need to use glasses to view the 3D content to display Can become,
A directional light modulator characterized by that. A method of forming a directional light modulator comprising:
Providing a light emitting microemitter array device;
Providing a WLO (wafer level optics) microlens array of microlens elements;
The light emitting microemitter array device includes a two-dimensional array of microemitters, the two-dimensional array of microemitters includes a plurality of groups of a plurality of microemitters, the group representing a spatial modulation array,
Each microlens element of the microlens array is aligned and associated with a corresponding plurality of microemitters of the group in the two-dimensional array of microemitters of the light emitting microemitter array device, and the light emission of the light emitting microemitter array In the plane of the surface and within the maximum angle range of plus and minus, light is emitted around the two axes, whereby each microlens element emits light emitted from the corresponding plurality of microemitters. The microlens array is aligned with the light emitting microemitter array device so as to optically map to a corresponding set of discrete directions within an angular range defined by the numerical aperture of the element. An assembly step;
An angle at which the directional light modulator subassembly is articulated in time about at least a first axis in a plane of the assembly and includes the set of discrete directions in response to the angular articulation Extending the range ; and
Only including,
The periodicity of the temporal articulation about the first axis is selected such that the temporal range of angular articulation of the expanded angular range falls within the frame rate of the input image data. A method of forming a modulator. The directional light modulator subassembly also performs articulation about a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis in the plane of the assembly and is responsive to the angular articulation. Further expand the angular range containing the set of directions,
32. The method of claim 30 , wherein: Providing the light emitting microemitter array device includes providing a matrix-shaped microemitter array device on a single substrate;
The step of providing the microlens array includes:
Providing a matrix-like microlens array;
Mounting the matrix-like microlens array on the matrix-like microemitter array device to form a matrix-like directional light modulator;
Dicing the matrix directional light modulator to provide a plurality of individual directional light modulators;
including,
32. The method of claim 31 , wherein: The matrix microlens array is aligned with the matrix microemitter array device using a semiconductor wafer level alignment technique to form a matrix directional light modulator.
35. The method of claim 32 . Providing the matrix-shaped microlens array includes providing a plurality of microlens array layers, the microlens array layers being attached in a stack and aligned with each other to form the matrix-shaped microlens array. Form,
35. The method of claim 32 . Each microemitter is individually addressable to control the color and brightness of the microemitter.
35. The method of claim 32 . Light emitted from the corresponding plurality of microemitters to a corresponding set of discrete directions within an angular range defined by the numerical aperture of each microlens element forms a corresponding pixel group, By associating a pixel with a temporally extended direction set and the individual pixel addressability, the individual addressability of the temporally extended direction set is enabled, thereby A directional light modulator generates directionally modulated light in any of the directions including a set of temporally extended light directions;
36. The method of claim 35 .