JPH02235017A - Optical shutter array and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily obtain an inexpensive shutter array which securely operates with a low driving voltage by providing plural individual electrodes on one surface of a substrate with electrooptic effect and a common electrode on the other surface, and sandwiching the individual electrodes between the substrate and a supporting member. CONSTITUTION:Two shutter arrays 1 are joined by making their common electrodes 4 opposite each other to form one block. Each shutter array is formed by providing plural individual electrodes 3 on one surface of a substrate 2 with electrooptic effect and a common electrode 4 on the other surface and sandwiching the individual electrodes 3 between the substrate 2 and a supporting member 5. Then terminal electrodes 6 are connected to the individual electrodes 3 individually and terminal electrodes 7 are formed on the common electrodes 4 and 4. The individual electrodes 3 formed on the supporting members 5 and 5 are arranged zigzag on the optical shutter arrays 1 and 1 and an electric field is applied between an optional electrode 3 and one common electrode 4 to put, for example, a shutter part A-1 in operation, thereby passing the light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an optical shutter array and a method for manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical shutter array using the electro-optic effect and a method for manufacturing the same. (Prior art) It is known that the electro-optic effect is a phenomenon in which the birefringence of a medium changes in response to an applied electric field.Using this phenomenon, by controlling the applied electric field, light can be transmitted through the medium. An optical shutter array that performs a light-shielding operation has been proposed in the past.This optical shutter array has thin electrodes arranged in a comb-like shape on a plate-shaped electro-optic material such as PLZT. By controlling this voltage, PLZ
A predetermined electric field is applied to T. electric j
The flio1 has conventionally been formed on the surface of the PLZT 102 by aluminum vapor deposition and etching. For example,
Figure 3 (A) 4:l: As shown 4:l: PLZTIQ2
or as shown in Figure 3 (B).
It can be installed on both sides of LZT102 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-421
No. 20), P LZT102 as shown in Figure 3 (C).
The electrode 10 is grooved in the depth direction of the PLZT102.
It is arranged so that part of 1 is embedded. (Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the t-pole 101 is formed on the surface of a substance 102 having an electro-optic effect, it is difficult for the electro-optic effect to occur uniformly inside the substance. For this reason, the drive voltage must be increased. Also,! When a part of the pole is embedded in the material 102, it is difficult to process the narrow groove 103, and there is a problem in that the mechanical strength is poor due to this groove process. Furthermore, in the conventional shutter array described above, since the lead portion 104 of "S[it01" is also formed on the material 102 having an electro-optic effect, it needs to be wider than the actual shutter portion, which increases the cost. An object of the present invention is to provide a shutter array that is inexpensive and operates reliably with a low driving voltage.The present invention also provides a manufacturing method that can easily manufacture such an elliptical shutter array. (Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the optical shutter array of the present invention includes a substrate having an electro-optic effect, and a plurality of shutters provided on one surface of the substrate. individual electrodes, a common diameter provided on the other surface of the substrate, a support member sandwiching the individual electrodes between the substrate, and a support member provided on the support member for each individual t-pole. The optical shutter array of the present invention also includes a step of forming a plurality of mutually independent individual electrodes on one surface of a substrate having an electro-optic effect. , a step of forming a common electrode on the other surface of the substrate, a step of laminating a supporting member on the individual electrode side of the substrate, and a step of laminating the substrate, the individual electrode, the common electrode, and the supporting member. a step of joining a set of blocks so that the common electrodes face each other back to back to form one block; a step of slicing this block in a plane perpendicular to the stacking direction; It is manufactured by a process of forming a corresponding terminal electrode to be connected to.

<<Operation>> Therefore, an electric field is applied between the individual electrodes and the common electrode formed on the plane parallel to the light transmission direction of the electro-optic effect element, and the electro-optic effect appears uniformly in the thickness direction.

(Example) Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be explained in detail based on an example shown in the drawings. Figures 1(A) and 1(B) show an embodiment of the optical shutter array of the present invention. In this embodiment, two sets of shutter arrays 1 and 1 are joined back to back so that their common terminals &4 face each other to form one block.
One set of shutter arrays 1 includes a substrate 2 made of a substance having an electro-optic effect, a plurality of individual t-poles 3, ..., 3 provided on one surface of the substrate 2, and a pond on the substrate 2. A common electrode 4 provided on one side, and the individual electrodes 3,...
3 between the substrate 2 and the terminal electrodes 6 provided on the support member 5 and individually connected to the individual electrodes 3, . It consists of 6. These two sets of shutter arrays 1, 1 are arranged between each common ti 4, 4 facing each other and between each individual t'i
Insulating layers 8 and 9, which also serve as adhesives of S i 02 and low melting point glass, are formed between b 4 and support member 5, and are hardened to form one block. Further, individual electrodes 3, . . . , formed on each support member 5, 5,
3 are arranged in a staggered manner such that the individual poles 3, . . . , 3 on one side are located between the individual t poles on the other side. The individual electrodes 3, . . . , 3 have corresponding terminal electrodes 6, .
・．． 6 are respectively formed on the support member 5 and connected to each other so that each individual electrode can be controlled individually. Further, one terminal electrode 7 is simultaneously connected to the common t-poles 4, 4, which are bonded via an adhesive 8 such as low melting point glass or S i 02. Note that the electrodes 3.4 are made of an electrode material such as aluminum, and are formed into a desired shape and thickness by vacuum evaporation or the like. In addition, the common electrode 4 is not a single electrode covering the entire surface of the substrate 2 as shown in the figure, but individual electrodes 3...
・, 3 may be formed as multiple electrodes. The substrate 2 having an electro-optic effect is a medium exhibiting a phenomenon in which birefringence changes in response to an applied electric field, such as PLZT.
It is preferable to use PLZT is (Pb, La) (Zr
, Ti) is a ceramic represented by the chemical formula Oa. This P L Z T has high transmittance, a large electro-optic coefficient, a fast response speed, and no moving parts, making it advantageous as a high-speed optical shutter. Further, as the support member 5, ceramics, aluminum, a composite material thereof, etc. can be used, and preferably a composite material of aluminum and ceramics is used. The shutter array configured as described above operates as an optical shutter as follows. If a predetermined voltage is applied between any individual electrodes 3,..., 3 and the common electrode 4 to form an electric field, the PLZT between them will cause birefringence, and a light plate will appear before and after that. When configured with Shinkoko and analyzer, it operates as a shutter. For example, in FIG. 1, if the upper right-most individual electrode 3 is energized in (A>), the shutter portion A-1 of ρLZT2 between them operates to allow light to pass through. -2, . It is fixed by vacuum evaporation or the like to form a thin film 10 of a constant thickness [FIG. 2(A)].

Striped individual electrodes 3, . . . , 3 are formed on the AI thin layer by photolithography [Fig.
)]. Photolingraphi is a method in which, for example, a positive-type photoresist is applied onto a thin WA10 electrode material, ultraviolet rays are irradiated through a photomask so that the light is applied only to areas that do not require the electrode material, and then the photoresist is applied with a developer. The photosensitizer is removed, and the electrode material 10 is partially removed by etching using the remaining photosensitizer as a protective film. Afterwards, the photosensitizer is removed.
In addition, Aj! on the other surface (back surface) of the PLZT substrate 2. A common electrode 4 is formed on the entire surface by fixing electrode materials such as the following by vacuum evaporation or the like [FIG. 2(C)]. In this case, separate poles 3.
..., 3 may be used to form the common @pole 4 only in the portion corresponding to the individual electrodes. If the common electrode 4 is individually provided at a position facing the individual electrodes 3, . . . , 3,
It is possible to reduce the risk that the common electrode and the SiO2 thin film will peel off due to the difference in expansion due to heat when the insulating layers 8 and 8 are bonded together, and the electro-optical effect can be horizontally removed at the common electrode. Since it does not spread, it has the effect of preventing crosstalk. Then, a thin film 8; 9 of S102 is formed by sputtering or the like so as to cover the electrodes 3, . . . , 3 and 4 on both sides of the substrate 2, and the block 1
1 [Figure 2 (D) J. Next, the two sets of blocks 11 described above are butted back to back so that the common electrodes 4, 4 face each other, and the individual poles 3 on one support member 5 are
,...,3 are the individual electrodes 3,... on the other support member 5
. , 3 in a staggered manner, and their common terminals. f! 4. Insert a subesa (not shown) between 4 and overlap. Furthermore, each individual electrode 3,... 31
Blocks made of ceramics or the like as support members are stacked on the FI via substrates (not shown). Thereafter, low melting point glass 12 is inserted under heating between the support member 5 and the insulating layer 9 on the individual electrode side and the insulating layer 8 on the common electrode side, and the whole is solidified into one block shape [Fig. (E)]
．． Next, this block 13 is sliced to a desired thickness on a plane perpendicular to the stacking direction, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the PLZT substrate 2 [FIG. 2(F)]. sliced block chip 1
4 is polished. Then, one side of the block chip 14 is coated with an electrode material such as aluminum in a thin film form by vacuum evaporation or the like, and desired terminal poles 6, . Common electrode 4.
A terminal electrode 7 is formed on 4 [Fig. 2 (G)]. The terminal poles 6,...,6 are connected to the corresponding individual poles 3,...,3, respectively, and the terminal voltage f! 7 is connected to the common pole 44 of both at the same time. (Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the optical shutter array of the present invention includes a substrate having an electro-optic effect, a plurality of individual electrodes provided on one surface of the substrate, and a plurality of electrodes on the substrate. a common electrode provided on one surface, a support member that sandwiches the individual electrodes with the substrate, and terminal electrodes provided on the support member and individually connected to each of the individual electrodes. As a result, an electric field is applied between the individual electrodes and the common electrode, which are formed on a plane parallel to the light transmission direction of the electro-optic effect element, and the electro-optic effect appears uniformly in the thickness direction and has a low It can be driven by voltage. Further, since a material having an electro-optic effect, such as PLZT, is used only in the shutter portion, and a separate ceramic member is used in the portion where the terminal electrodes are wired, the amount of PLZT used is small, and costs can be reduced. Furthermore, the optical shutter array of the present invention has two sets of blocks in which individual electrodes, a common electrode, and a support member are laminated on a substrate having an electro-optical effect, and are bonded back to back so that the common electrodes face each other to form a single block. A block is formed, and this block is sliced in a plane perpendicular to the stacking direction, and the terminals are connected to the individual electrodes and the common electrode! Since it is manufactured to form a pole, it can be manufactured using the planar method, improving mass production.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the optical shutter array of the present invention, in which (A) is a plan view and (B) is a sectional view taken along the line I=I.
FIGS. 2(A) to 2(G) are process diagrams showing an example of the manufacturing process of the optical shutter array according to the present invention. Figures 3 (A>.(B) and (C) are cross-sectional front views illustrating how to arrange electrodes of a conventional optical shutter array. 1...Shutter array, 2...Has an electro-optic effect Substrate, 3... Individual electrode, 4... Common pole, 5... Support member, 6, 7...
Terminal electrode, 11... A block formed by laminating a substrate and an electrode, 13... A block having two substrates, 14...
・Shutter array chip sliced from a block. Figure 3 (A) <))C +02 Patent applicant Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho Co., Ltd. Agent
Man

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A substrate having an electro-optic effect, a plurality of individual electrodes provided on one surface of the substrate, a common electrode provided on the other surface of the substrate, and a connection between the individual electrodes and the substrate. An optical shutter array comprising: a support member sandwiched between the support members; and terminal electrodes provided on the support member and individually connected to each of the individual electrodes. (2) An optical shutter array formed by connecting the optical shutter array according to claim 1 with the common electrodes facing each other back to back. (3) A step of forming a plurality of mutually independent individual electrodes on one surface of a substrate having an electro-optic effect, a step of forming a common electrode on the other surface of the substrate, and a step of forming a common electrode on the individual electrode side of the substrate. forming a single block by bonding two sets of blocks formed by laminating the substrate, individual electrodes, common electrode, and supporting member so that the common electrodes face each other back-to-back; an optical shutter array comprising the steps of: slicing the block in a plane perpendicular to the stacking direction; and forming corresponding terminal electrodes connected to each of the individual electrodes and the common electrode. Production method.