Patent attributes
A spatial light modulator is provided that uses light modulation structures at each pixel to employ electromagnetic interference to modulate the intensity and/or phase of the transmitted and/or reflected light from the pixel. The use of the modulation structures enables the independent and dynamic changing of the intensity and/or phase of the reflected and/or transmitted light at each pixel. The modulation structure can incorporate a plate with a semi-reflective surface that is separated from a substrate having either a reflective or semi-reflective surface. The modulation structure can have actuators positioned between the substrate and the plate to control the separation distance between the plate and the substrate. By controlling the separation distance, the amount of light reflected by and/or transmitted through the surfaces of the plate and substrate can be controlled. The separation distance can be related to the resulting interference applied to particular wavelengths of the light.
