Abstract: The present invention provides a spatial light modulator, comprising: a plurality of pixel elements wherein each of the pixel elements comprises at least a switching element; a plurality of control lines connected to at least one of the switching elements; and a controller for generating and transmitting a control signal through the control line for controlling the switching element, wherein the controller starts transmitting the control signal to a first switching element through a first control line before the control signal applied to a second switching element through a second control line is turned off at a low voltage level.

Abstract: A mirror device comprises: an electrode which is covered with a protective film made of a material containing a semiconductor material and is placed on a substrate; a mirror placed above the electrode; and an electrically conductive hinge placed between the mirror and the electrode, wherein an opening part is formed in a part of the protective film, and the hinge penetrates the protective film in the opening part thereof.

Abstract: A micromirror device includes an elastic hinge for supporting a mirror on a substrate, and an address electrode for deflecting the mirror. The device further includes a protective layer and an oriented monolayer laid to cover a stopper also functioning as an address electrode provided below the mirror and between the mirror and the substrate.

Abstract: A micromirror device, which makes an image display with digital image data, comprises pixel elements which are arranged in the form of a matrix and each of which modulates incident light by using an ON state for deflecting incident light to projection optics, an OFF state for deflecting incident light to a direction different from the projection optics, and an oscillation state where a mirror oscillates between the ON and the OFF state, and a timing controller for performing a timing control for loading the image data into the pixel elements arranged in the form of the matrix. Each of the pixel elements has a mirror, and at least one memory cell. The pixel elements arranged in the form of the matrix are grouped into a plurality of subsets. The timing controller performs a timing control for loading the image data at independent timing for each of the plurality of subsets.

Abstract: The present invention provides a mirror device, comprising: a plurality of deflectable mirrors; an elastic member for supporting the mirror and to deflect the mirror to a range of deflecting angles; a drive electrode for driving the mirror; a control circuit for giving electric charge to the drive electrode and controlling the deflecting direction of the mirror; and a substrate on which the drive electrode and the elastic member, wherein the drive electrode is placed within an area on the substrate the mirror is projected on, has an outer form constituted by sides approximately in parallel to the outer peripheral lines of the present mirror and by sides approximately parallel to the deflection axis of the present mirror, or a form obtained by dividing the aforementioned outer form into a plurality thereof, and also fills the role of a stopper for regulating the deflection angle of the mirror.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image projection system comprising a spatial light modulator (SLM) comprises a plurality of pixel elements, wherein each of the pixel elements further comprises a deflectable mirror, and at least a first electrode and a second electrode for controlling the deflectable mirror to deflect to different tilt angles to reflect and modulate an illumination light for displaying an image; and a controller for applying a voltage to the second electrode wherein the voltage applied in an initial operation period is different from the voltage applied in an image display period.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image display system implemented with a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device formed and supported on a substrate functioning as a spatial light modulator wherein the MEMS device further comprises a drive circuit disposed on the substrate; a micromirror functioning as a movable electrode supported on a deflectable hinge extended from the substrate; a stationary electrode disposed on the substrate and connected to the drive circuit to receive signals therefrom, wherein the stationary electrode comprises a first electrode, a second electrode and an insulation layer, wherein the insulation layer is disposed between the first electrode and second electrode.

Abstract: The present invention provides a display apparatus, comprising: a light source or light sources for emitting a luminous flux or luminous fluxes having a plurality of colors; a spatial light modulator for modulating the luminous flux(es) having a plurality of colors incoming from the light sources; and controller for processing video image input data, which is input, and controlling the light source(s) and the spatial light modulator, wherein the controller generates a plurality of video image signals of colors constituting a video image based on the video image input data, and controls the light source(s) so as to cause the light source(s) having at least two colors, from among the light source(s) having a plurality of colors, to perform pulse emission in sequence and modulate the pulse emission during a period shorter than a modulation period controlled under the spatial light modulator is with the video image signal of one color from among the video image signals.

Abstract: The present invention provides a projection apparatus, comprising: a light source; a spatial light modulator for modulating the incident light emitted from the light source; a spatial light modulator control unit for generating, from an inputted image signal, a control signal for driving the spatial light modulator; and a light source control unit for receiving data corresponding to the control signal for controlling the light source to operate in one of three states consisted of a driven state, a stopped state and a standby state on the basis of the data.

Abstract: The present invention provides a projection apparatus, comprising: a light source; at least one spatial light modulator for modulating illumination light from the light source by a plurality of pixel elements by using different modulation states; a light source control unit performing a modulation control of the light source; and a spatial light modulator control unit generating, from an input image signal, a control signal for driving the spatial light modulator, wherein: the light source control unit has a function of receiving data corresponding to the control signal generated by the spatial light modulator control unit, controlling a parameter of an emission pulse of the illumination light emitted from the light source, and thereby adjusting an emission intensity of the illumination light.

Abstract: A method for controlling a light source of a video image display apparatus, comprising: projecting illumination lights to a first spatial light modulator (SLM) and a second SLM, and changing over a wavelength of one of the illumination lights projected to the second SLM in a sequence during a period when the wavelength of another one of the illumination lights projected to the first SLM is controlled to have a flexibly adjustable wavelength.

Abstract: This invention provides a display system that receives an image signal containing a binary data of N bits, wherein N is a positive integer, for displaying an image with a grayscale corresponding to the binary data. The display system further includes a data converter for converting M-bit of the N bits of the binary data into a non-binary data, wherein M is a positive integer and N?M, for applying the non-binary data as a sub-frame in controlling the gray scale in displaying the image. In an exemplary embodiment, the data converter converts consecutive M-bit of the N bits of the binary data into the non-binary data. The display system further includes a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a plurality of pixel elements and the SLM receiving the non-binary data of M bits for controlling the pixel elements.

Abstract: The present invention discloses an image display system implemented with a spatial light modulator (SLM) having a plurality of pixel elements wherein each of the pixel elements further comprises an electrode having a structural body comprising: a first electrically conductive layer; a second electrically conductive layer; and a semiconductor layer disposed adjacently to the first electric conductive layer and second electric conductive layer and the semiconductor layer further comprises a doped conductive area for electrically connecting the first electric conductive layer and second electric conductive layer.

Abstract: A mirror device, comprising: a mirror; an electrode which is placed on a substrate and on which surface a cavity is formed; and a hinge placed between the mirror and electrode, wherein the hinge is connected to the cavity of the electrode.

Abstract: A micromirror device, which makes an image display with digital image data, comprises pixel elements each of which makes pulse width modulation for incident light depending on the deflection state of light and which are arranged in the form of a matrix. Each of the pixel elements has a mirror, and at least one memory cell comprising a transistor and a capacitor. In such a micromirror device, the total value of the propagation delay time of a ROW line, which connects all of transistors of memory cells arranged successively in a ROW direction, and the switching time of each transistor is smaller than the driving interval of the ROW line driven in the minimum display duration of the micromirror device.

Abstract: A micromirror device, which makes an image display with digital image data, comprises pixel elements each of which makes pulse width modulation for incident light depending on the deflection state of light and which are arranged in the form of an array. The array of the pixel elements is composed of B subsets each including pixel elements of Ms (COLUMNs)×Ns (ROWs) (Ms, Ns, and B are natural numbers). Each of the pixel elements has a mirror, and at least one memory cell. The memory cell has a transistor of an input gate capacity Ct[F]. Each memory cell is connected by a ROW line having a wiring resistance R[?], and a wiring capacity C[F]. When a gray scale display of 10 [bits] or more for each color is made with a color sequential display of C0 colors, Ms, Ns, B, Ct, R, C, and C0 have a relationship of R*(Ct+C)<(1.63*10?5*B)/[Co*Ms*Ns*(Ms+1)].

Abstract: The present invention provides a spatial light modulator, comprising: a plurality of pixel units configured as a pixel array wherein each of the pixel units further comprises a memory circuit. The spatial light modulator further includes a bit line for transmitting a data signal to the memory circuit. The spatial light modulator further includes a word line for selecting and writing the data signal to the selected memory circuit. The spatial light modulator further includes a plate line for controlling the memory; and an address decoder for selecting the plate line, wherein the address decoder comprises an address judgment unit constituted by a plurality of first judgment units and further includes a second judgment unit for changing an output from the second judgment unit depending on a result generated by the first judgment unit.

Abstract: A micromirror device, which makes an image display with digital image data, comprises pixel elements each of which makes pulse width modulation (PWM) for incident light depending on the deflection state of light and which are arranged in the form of a matrix. Each of the pixel elements has a mirror, at least one memory cell comprising a transistor and a capacitor, and an electrode connected to each transistor. Memory cells arranged successively in a ROW direction are connected by a ROW line. The image data is loaded at a time interval during which the voltage of the electrode can hold the deflection state of a pixel element.

Abstract: An image display apparatus is disclosed in this invention. The image display apparatus includes a light source for emitting an illumination light, at least one spatial light modulator for receiving and applying an image signal for modulating illumination light from the light source, and a control circuit for controlling the light source and/or the spatial light modulator to project a modulated light for image display having different gray scale characteristics between at least two successive frames.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a spatial light modulator includes a plurality of pixel elements disposed on a substrate. Each of the pixel elements comprises a deflectable micromirror. Specifically, instead of SRAM, the spatial light modulator is implemented with a DRAM in each of the pixel elements. The DRAM in each of the pixel elements has a smaller number of transistors than SRAM. The spatial light modulator can be manufactured with smaller pixel size and circuit configuration with improved withstand voltage. Further improvements can also be achieved for manufactured the spatial light modulator with smaller capacitor with better layout configuration for wire connections and control signal transmissions.