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2. A method, comprising: receiving an electromagnetic wave having a first property at an optical transport, said transport having a waveguiding region and one or more guiding regions coupled to said waveguiding region; and affecting a second property of said transport using a transport influencer coupled to said optical transport and having at least a portion integrated with one or more guiding regions of said one or more guiding regions, wherein said second property influences said first property of said wave.
3. A radiation wave intensity modulator, comprising: a first element for producing a wave component from a radiation wave, said wave component having a polarization property wherein said polarization property is one polarization from a set of orthogonal polarizations; an optical transport for receiving said wave component, said transport having a waveguiding region and one or more guiding regions coupled to said waveguiding region; a transport influencer, operatively coupled to said optical transport and having at least a portion integrated with one or more guiding regions of said one or more guiding regions, for affecting said polarization property of said wave component responsive to a control signal; and a second element for interacting with said affected wave component wherein an intensity of said wave component is varied responsive to said control signal.
4. A radiation wave intensity modulating method, the method comprising: producing a wave component from a radiation wave, said wave component having a polarization property wherein said polarization property is one polarization from a set of orthogonal polarizations; receiving said wave component by a transport having a waveguiding region and one or more guiding regions coupled to said waveguiding region; affecting said polarization property of said wave component responsive to a control signal using an influencer having at least a portion integrated with one or more guiding regions of said one or more guiding regions; and interacting with said affected wave component wherein an intensity of said wave component is varied responsive to said control signal.
5. A display assembly, comprising: a plurality of radiation wave modulators, each modulator including: a first element for producing a wave component from a radiation wave, said wave component having a polarization property wherein said polarization property is one of a set of orthogonal polarizations; an optical transport for receiving said wave component; a transport influencer, operatively coupled to said optical transport, for affecting said polarization property of said wave component responsive to a control signal; and a second element for interacting with said affected wave component wherein an intensity of said wave component is varied responsive to said control signal; a radiation source for producing said radiation wave for each said modulator; and a controller, coupled to said modulators, for selectively asserting each said control signal to independently control said intensity of each said modulator.
6. A display method, the method comprising: producing a radiation wave for each of a plurality of modulators, each modulator including: a first element for producing a wave component from said radiation wave, said wave component having a polarization property wherein said polarization property is one of a set of orthogonal polarizations; an optical transport for receiving said wave component; a transport influencer, operatively coupled to said optical transport, for affecting said polarization property of said wave component responsive to a control signal; and a second element for interacting with said affected wave component wherein an intensity of said wave component is varied responsive to said control signal; and asserting selectively each said control signal to independently control said intensity of each said modulator.
7. A transport, comprising: a waveguide including a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region; and a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide.
8. A transport manufacturing method, the method comprising: (a) forming a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region; and (b) disposing a plurality of constituents in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide.
9. A radiation switching array, comprising: a first radiation wave modulator and a second radiation wave modulator proximate said first modulator, each said modulator including: a transport for receiving a wave component, said transport including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions; and a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in said waveguide; and an influencer, operatively coupled to said transport and responsive to a control signal, for affecting a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of said wave component by inducing said influencer response in said waveguide as said wave component travels through said transport; and a controller, coupled to said modulators, for selectively asserting each said control signal to independently control said amplitude-controlling property of each said modulator.
10. A switching method, the method comprising: (a) receiving a wave component at each of a plurality of transports proximate each other, each transport including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions with a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in said waveguide; and (b) affecting independently a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of each said wave component as it travels through each said waveguide.
11. A waveguide, comprising: a waveguide including a channel region defining a waveguide axis and one or more bounding regions; and a plurality of magnetic constituents disposed in at least one of said regions for producing a magnetic field substantially perpendicular to said waveguide axis.
12. A method for operating a waveguide to transmit a radiation signal, the method comprising: (a)transmitting the radiation signal through the waveguide, the waveguide including a channel region defining a waveguide axis and one or more bounding regions; and (b) producing a magnetic field substantially perpendicular to said waveguide axis using a plurality of magnetic constituents disposed in at least one of said regions.
13. A waveguide, comprising: a waveguide including a channel region defining a transmission axis and one or more bounding regions; and a plurality of magnetic constituents disposed in at least one of said regions for producing a holding magnetic field substantially parallel to said transmission axis.
14. A method for operating a waveguide, the method comprising: (a)propagating a radiation signal through the waveguide generally along a transmission axis, the waveguide including a channel region defining said transmission axis and one or more bounding regions; and (b) inducing a holding magnetic field substantially perpendicular to said transmission axis using a plurality of magnetic constituents disposed in at least one of said regions wherein said holding magnetic field influences a polarization rotational change of said propagating radiation signal.
15. A multicolor picture element for a display, comprising: a number N of radiation sources for producing N number of input wave components, at least one input wave component for each primary color in a color model; a number M of modulators proximate one another, where M is greater than or equal to N, each said modulator including: a transport for receiving one of said input wave components, said transport including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions; and a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in said waveguide; and a transport influencer, operatively coupled to said transport and responsive to a control signal, for affecting a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of said input wave component by inducing said influencer response in said waveguide as said input wave component travels through said transport; a controller, coupled to said modulators, for selectively asserting each said control signal to independently control said amplitude-controlling property of each said modulator; and an amplitude-modulating system, coupled to said modulators, for producing an output wave component from each said input wave component, said output wave component having an amplitude varying responsive to an interaction of said amplitude-controlling-property and said amplitude modulating system.
16. A method, the method comprising: a) producing an N number of input wave components, at least one input wave component for each primary color in a color model; and b) producing a plurality of output wave components from said input wave components, each said output wave component provided from a number M of modulators proximate one another, where M is greater than or equal to N, each said modulator including: a transport for receiving one of said input wave components, said transport including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions; and a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in said waveguide; and a transport influencer, operatively coupled to said transport and responsive to a control signal, for affecting a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of said input wave component by inducing said influencer response in said waveguide as said input wave component travels through said transport.
17. An influencer structure, comprising: a conductive element disposed in one or more radiation-propagating dielectric structures of a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions, said conductive element responsive to an influencer signal to influence an amplitude-controlling property of said waveguide; and a coupling system for communicating said influencer signal to said conductive element.
18. A method of operating a waveguide, the method comprising: a) communicating an influencer signal to a conductive element disposed in one or more radiation-propagating dielectric structures of a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions; and b) influencing, responsive to said influencer signal, an amplitude-controlling property of said waveguide.
19. A transport, comprising: a waveguide including a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, said waveguide including an input region and an output; a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide; and a polarization system coupled to said input region, said input polarizer system producing a wave component having a supported polarization disposed at a predetermined angular orientation at said input from an input radiation source including a set of source wave components each having one of a set orthogonal polarizations wherein said input polarizing system operates on said source wave components to pass source wave components having polarizations matching said supported polarization.
20. A transport manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, said waveguide including an input region and an output; b) disposing a plurality of constituents in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide; and c) coupling a polarization system to said input region, said input polarizer system producing a wave component having a supported polarization disposed at a predetermined angular orientation at said input from an input radiation source including a set of source wave components each having one of a set orthogonal polarizations wherein said input polarizing system operates on said source wave components to pass source wave components having polarizations matching said supported polarization.
21. A transport, comprising: a waveguide including a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, said waveguide including an input region and an output; and a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide, wherein said output is configured to enhance a viewing angle of emitted radiation.
22. A transport manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, said waveguide including an input region and an output; b) disposing a plurality of constituents in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide; and c) altering said output to enhance a viewing angle of emitted radiation.
23. A faceplate for an optical system including a plurality of waveguided radiation channels, comprising: a plurality of waveguide channels, at least one for each channel of the plurality of waveguided radiation channels; and a support, coupled to each of said waveguide channels, for arranging each said waveguide channel in optical communication with one or more of the channels of the plurality of waveguided radiation channels.
24. A faceplate manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) aggregating a plurality of waveguide channels, at least one for each channel of a plurality of waveguided radiation channels of an optical system; and b) arranging each said waveguide channel in optical communication with one or more of said channels of said plurality of waveguided radiation channels.
25. An apparatus, comprising: a waveguide having an outer surface layer, said waveguide including a structure underlying said outer surface layer and a waveguide portion proximate said structure, said waveguide portion including a contact region; and an element disposed within said contact region and functionally communicated to said structure.
26. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) locating a contact region relative to a waveguide portion of a waveguide, said waveguide having an outer surface layer and including a structure underlying said outer surface layer wherein said waveguide portion is proximate said structure; b) disposing an element within said contact region; and c) communicating said element to said structure.
27. A transport, comprising: a waveguide including a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, said waveguide including an input region and an output; a plurality of constituents disposed in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide; and an excitation system coupled to said guiding region, said excitation system increasing said influencer response attribute of said waveguide.
28. A transport manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, said waveguide including an input region and an output; b) disposing a plurality of constituents in said waveguide for enhancing an influencer response attribute of said waveguide; and c) coupling an excitation system to said guiding region, said excitation system increasing said influencer response attribute of said waveguide.
29. A componentized display system, comprising: an illumination module for generating a plurality of input wave_components; a modulating system for receiving said input wave_components and producing a plurality of output wave_components collectively defining successive image sets; and a first communicating system including one or more waveguiding channels propagating said input wave_components from said illumination module to said modulating system.
30. A display manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) assembling an illumination module for generating a plurality of input wave_components; b) assembling, discrete from said illumination module, a modulating system for receiving said input wave_components and producing a plurality of output wave_components collectively defining successive image sets; and c) coupling said illumination module to said modulating system using a first communicating system including one or more waveguiding channels propagating said input wave_components from said illumination module to said modulating system.
31. A unitary display system, comprising: an illumination system for generating a plurality of input wave_components in a first plurality of waveguide channels; and a modulating system, integrated with said illumination system, for receiving said plurality of input wave_components in a second plurality of waveguide channels and producing a plurality of output wave_components collectively defining successive image sets.
32. A display manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming an illumination system for generating a plurality of input wave_components in a first plurality of waveguide channels; and b) forming a modulating system, integrated with said illumination system, for receiving said plurality of input wave_components in a second plurality of waveguide channels and producing a plurality of output wave_components collectively defining successive image sets.
33. A method of operating a switching matrix including a plurality of arranged waveguides each having an associated influencer structure for independently influencing an amplitude-effecting attribute of radiation propagating through a corresponding waveguide wherein the attribute includes a first mode for an “OFF” propagation mode with an exit amplitude substantially extinguished level and a second mode for an “ON” propagation mode with the exit amplitude at a substantially fully illuminated level, the method comprising: a) establishing an “OFF” characteristic for the amplitude-effecting attribute to set the first mode; b) setting an “ON” characteristic for the amplitude-effecting attribute that does not match said second mode and establishes an intermediate propagation mode between the OFF propagation mode and the ON propagation mode; and c) adjusting a second attribute of radiation propagating through the waveguide so that the exit amplitude in said intermediate propagation mode substantially equals the fully illuminated level.
34. A method of operating a switching matrix including a plurality of arranged waveguides each having an associated influencer structure for independently influencing an amplitude-effecting attribute of radiation propagating through a corresponding waveguide wherein the attribute includes a first mode for an “OFF” propagation mode with an exit amplitude substantially extinguished level and a second mode for an “ON” propagation mode with the exit amplitude at a substantially fully illuminated level, the method comprising: a) establishing an “OFF” characteristic for the amplitude-effecting attribute to set the first mode; b) setting an “ON” characteristic for the amplitude-effecting attribute to set the second mode; and c) adjusting the amplitude-effecting attribute of each waveguide between the OFF characteristic and the ON characteristic using a relative adjustment of each waveguide attribute from one video frame to a succeeding video frame.
35. A transport, comprising: a waveguide including a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, a portion of said waveguide defining a plurality of voids; and a gas disposed in said plurality of voids to enhance an influencer response attribute of said waveguide.
36. A transport manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of transmitted radiation within said guiding region, a portion of said waveguide defining a plurality of voids; and b) disposing a gas in said plurality of voids to enhance an influencer response attribute of said waveguide.
37. An apparatus, comprising: a first waveguiding channel having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions coupled to said guiding region, said first waveguiding channel including a first lateral guiding port in a portion of said bounding regions, said lateral guiding port responsive to an attribute of radiation propagating in said channel to selectively pass a portion of said radiation therethrough; and an influencer, coupled to said first waveguiding channel, for controlling said attribute of said radiation.
38. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming a first waveguiding channel having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions coupled to said guiding region, said first waveguiding channel including a first lateral guiding port in a portion of said bounding regions, said lateral guiding port responsive to an attribute of radiation propagating in said channel to selectively pass a portion of said radiation therethrough; and b) disposing an influencer proximate to said first waveguiding channel for controlling said attribute of said radiation responsive to a control signal.
39. An apparatus, comprising: a semiconductor substrate, said substrate supporting: a plurality of integrated waveguide structures, each waveguide structure including a guiding channel and one or more bounding regions for propagating a radiation signal from an input to an output; and an influencer system, responsive to a control and coupled to said waveguide structures for independently controlling an amplitude of said radiation signal at said output.
40. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) disposing a plurality of waveguide structures into a substrate, each waveguide structure including a guiding channel and one or more bounding regions for propagating a radiation signal from an input to an output; b) proximating an influencer system, responsive to a control, to said waveguide structures for independently controlling an amplitude of said radiation signal at said output; and c) arranging said outputs of said plurality of waveguide structures into a presentation matrix.
41. An apparatus, comprising: a semiconductor substrate including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions coupled to said guiding region; a first PN junction disposed in said substrate and coupled to one or more of said one or more bounding regions; and dopant atoms disposed within said semiconductor substrate at said PN junction.
42. A memory device, comprising: a waveguide having a guiding region for propagating a radiation signal; an influencer, coupled to said waveguide, for controlling a characteristic of said radiation signal propagating in said waveguide between a first mode and a second mode; and a latching layer, coupled to said guiding region and responsive to said influencer, for retaining said characteristic of said radiation signal for a memory cycle.
43. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) forming a semiconductor substrate including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions coupled to said guiding region; b) disposing a first PN junction in said substrate and coupled to one or more of said one or more bounding regions; and c) disposing dopant atoms within said semiconductor substrate at said PN junction.
44. An apparatus, comprising: a plurality of waveguides disposed within a woven structure; and an influencer system, coupled to said plurality of waveguides, for independently influencing a characteristic of radiation propagating through one or more of said plurality of waveguides.
45. A switching matrix, comprising: a plurality of waveguides having generally parallel transmission axes, each waveguide including an integrated influencer responsive to a control signal applied to a first contact and a second contact of said influencer; a conductive X addressing filament woven among said waveguides and electrically communicated to said first contacts; and a conductive Y addressing filament disposed among said waveguides and electrically communicated to said second contacts wherein said addressing filaments provide an addressing grid to independently control any of said influencers.
46. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) weaving a plurality of waveguides having integrated influencer elements and a plurality of conductive filaments to produce a textile fabric wherein said filaments produce an addressing grid coupled to each influencer; and b) producing a planar matte from said fabric wherein said waveguides each have an output contributing to a collective presentation matrix established by an arrangement of said waveguides in said fabric.
47. An electronic goggle apparatus, comprising: one or more semiconductor substrate, each said substrate supporting: a plurality of integrated waveguide structures, each waveguide structure including a guiding channel and one or more bounding regions for propagating a radiation signal from an input to an output; and an influencer system, responsive to a control and coupled to said waveguide structures for independently controlling an amplitude of each said radiation signal at said output; a display system for arranging said outputs of said plurality of waveguide structures into a presentation matrix; and a head-mounted eyewear structure for positioning said presentation matrix in a field-of-view of a user.
48. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) disposing a plurality of waveguide structures into one or more substrates, each waveguide structure including a guiding channel and one or more bounding regions for propagating a radiation signal from an input to an output; b) proximating an influencer system, responsive to a control, to said waveguide structures for independently controlling an amplitude of said radiation signal at said output; c) arranging said outputs of said plurality of waveguide structures into a presentation matrix; and d) positioning said presentation matrix in a field-of-view of a user.
49. A transport, comprising: a semiconductor substrate, said substrate supporting: an integrated waveguide structure, said waveguide structure including a guiding channel and one or more bounding regions for propagating a radiation signal from an input to an output; and an influencer system, responsive to a control and coupled to said waveguide structure for independently controlling an amplitude-influencing attribute of said radiation signal within an influencing zone; and a recursion system for periodically returning said radiation signal into said influencing zone for periodically influencing said amplitude influencing attribute of said radiation signal.
50. A manufacturing method, the method comprising: a) disposing a waveguide structure into a substrate, said waveguide structure including a guiding channel and one or more bounding regions for propagating a radiation signal from an input to an output; b) proximating an influencer system, responsive to a control, to said waveguide structure for independently controlling an amplitude influencing attribute of said radiation signal within an influencing zone; and c) arranging a pathway of said waveguide structure to recurse said radiation signal through said influencing zone for periodically influencing said amplitude influencing attribute of said radiation signal.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/544,591 filed 12 Feb. 2004, and is a Continuation-In-Part of each of the following U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/812,294, 10/811,782, and 10/812,295 (each filed 29 Mar. 2004); and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/011,761, 11/011,751, 11/011,496, 11/011,762, and 11/011,770 (each filed 14 Dec. 2004); and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/906,220, 10/906,221, 10/906,222, 10/906,223, 10/906,224, 10/906,226, and 10/906,226 (each filed 9 Feb. 2005); and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/906,255, 10/906,256, 10/906,257, 10/906,258, 10/906,259, 10/906,260, 10/906,261, 10/906,262, and 10/906,263 (each filed 11 Feb. 2005). The disclosures of which are each incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a transport for propagating radiation, and more specifically to a waveguide having a guiding channel that includes optically-active constituents that enhance a responsiveness of a radiation-influencing property of the waveguide to an outside influence.
The Faraday Effect is a phenomenon wherein a plane of polarization of linearly polarized light rotates when the light is propagated through a transparent medium placed in a magnetic field and in parallel with the magnetic field. An effectiveness of the magnitude of polarization rotation varies with the strength of the magnetic field, the Verdet constant inherent to the medium and the light path length. The empirical angle of rotation is given by:
β= VBd, (Eq. 1)
-
- where V is called the Verdet constant (and has units of arc minutes cm-1 Gauss-1), B is the magnetic field and d is the propagation distance subject to the field. In the quantum mechanical description, Faraday rotation is believed to occur because imposition of a magnetic field alters the energy levels.
It is known to use discrete materials (e.g., iron-containing garnet crystals) having a high Verdet constant for measurement of magnetic fields (such as those caused by electric current as a way of evaluating the strength of the current) or as a Faraday rotator used in an optical isolator. An optical isolator includes a Faraday rotator to rotate by 45° the plane of polarization, a magnet for application of magnetic field, a polarizer, and an analyzer. Conventional optical isolators have been of the bulk type wherein no waveguide (e.g., optical fiber) is used.
In conventional optics, magneto-optical modulators have been produced from discrete crystals containing paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials, particularly garnets (yttrium/iron garnet for example). Devices such as these require considerable magnetic control fields. The magneto-optical effects are also used in thin-layer technology, particularly for producing non-reciprocal devices, such as non-reciprocal junctions. Devices such as these are based on a conversion of modes by Faraday Effect or by Cotton-Moutton effect.
A further drawback to using paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials in magneto-optic devices is that these materials may adversely affect properties of the radiation other than polarization angle, such as for example amplitude, phase, and/or frequency.
The prior art has known the use of discrete magneto-optical bulk devices (e.g., crystals) for collectively defining a display device. These prior art displays have several drawbacks, including a relatively high cost per picture element (pixel), high operating costs for controlling individual pixels, increasing control complexity that does not scale well for relatively large display devices.
FIG. 1 (consisting of FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C) is an illustration of a conventional discrete component Faraday rotator and attenuator device 100 used in fiber communications systems. FIG. 1A is side view of device 100 , FIG. 1B is a top view of device 100 , and FIG. 1C is a perspective view of device 100 as further described below. Device 100 includes an optical fiber 105 transmitting an input beam 110 to a coupling lens 115 , then to a first polarizer 120 to form a beam of polarized light 125 . Polarized beam 125 is input to an optically active discrete crystal 130 surrounded by a permanent magnet 135 having a winding 140 . A polarization-rotation beam 145 is produced from crystal 130 with a polarization-rotation differing from that of beam 125 based upon a current through winding 140 . Beam 145 is then directed to an analyzer polarizer 150 , then into a coupling lens 155 to fiber optic 160 to produce an output beam 165 . An amplitude of output beam 165 depends upon a relative polarization angle between beam 145 and polarizer 150 : as crystal 130 varies the angle of rotation of the polarization of beam 145 (typically only a few degrees though Faraday isolators will vary the polarization rotation by a fixed amount equal to 45 degrees).
Conventional imaging systems may be roughly divided into two categories: (a) flat panel displays (FPDs), and (b) projection systems (which include cathode ray tubes (CRTs) as emissive displays). Generally speaking, the dominant technologies for the two types of systems are not the same, although there are exceptions. These two categories have distinct challenges for any prospective technology, and existing technologies have yet to satisfactorily conquer these challenges.
A main challenge confronting existing FPD technology is cost, as compared with the dominant cathode ray tube (CRT) technology (‘flat panel’ means ‘flat’ or ‘thin’ compared to a CRT display, whose standard depth is nearly equal to the width of the display area).
To achieve a given set of imaging standards, including resolution, brightness, and contrast, FPD technology is roughly three to four times more expensive than CRT technology. However, the bulkiness and weight of CRT technology, particularly as a display area is scaled larger, is a major drawback. Quests for a thin display have driven the development of a number of technologies in the FPD arena.
High costs of FPD are largely due to the use of delicate component materials in the dominant liquid crystal diode (LCD) technology, or in the less-prevalent gas plasma technology. Irregularities in the nematic materials used in LCDs result in relatively high defect rates; an array of LCD elements in which an individual cell is defective often results in the rejection of an entire display, or a costly substitution of the defective element.
For both LCD and gas-plasma display technology, the inherent difficulty of controlling liquids or gasses in the manufacturing of such displays is a fundamental technical and cost limitation.
An additional source of high cost is the demand for relatively high switching voltages at each light valve/emission element in the existing technologies. Whether for rotating the nematic materials of an LCD display, which in turn changes a polarization of light transmitted through the liquid cell, or excitation of gas cells in a gas plasma display, relatively high voltages are required to achieve rapid switching speeds at the imaging element. For LCDs, an ‘active matrix,’ in which individual transistor elements are assigned to each imaging location, is a high-cost solution.
As image quality standards increase, for high-definition television (HDTV) or beyond, existing FPD technologies cannot now deliver image quality at a cost that is competitive with CRT's. The cost differential at this end of the quality range is most pronounced. And delivering 35 mm film-quality resolution, while technically feasible, is expected to entail a cost that puts it out of the realm of consumer electronics, whether for televisions or computer displays.
For projection systems, there are two basic subclasses: television (or computer) displays, and theatrical motion picture projection systems. Relative cost is a major issue in the context of competition with traditional 35 mm film projection equipment. However, for HDTV, projection systems represent the low-cost solution, when compared against conventional CRTs, LCD FPDs, or gas-plasma FPDs.
Current projection system technologies face other challenges. HDTV projection systems face the dual challenge of minimizing a depth of the display, while maintaining uniform image quality within the constraints of a relatively short throw-distance to the display surface. This balancing typically results in a less-than-satisfactory compromise at the price of relatively lower cost.
A technically-demanding frontier for projection systems, however, is in the domain of the movie theater. Motion-picture screen installations are an emerging application area for projection systems, and in this application, issues regarding console depth versus uniform image quality typically do not apply. Instead, the challenge is in equaling (at minimum) the quality of traditional 35 mm film projectors, at a competitive cost. Existing technologies, including direct Drive Image Light Amplifier (‘D-ILA’), digital light processing (‘DLP’), and grating-light-valve (‘GLV’)-based systems, while recently equaling the quality of traditional film projection equipment, have significant cost disparities as compared to traditional film projectors.
Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier is a reflective liquid crystal light valve device developed by JVC Projectors. A driving integrated circuit (‘IC’) writes an image directly onto a CMOS based light valve. Liquid crystals change the reflectivity in proportion to a signal level. These vertically aligned (homeoptropic) crystals achieve very fast response times with a rise plus fall time less than 16 milliseconds. Light from a xenon or ultra high performance (‘UHP’) metal halide lamp travels through a polarized beam splitter, reflects off the D-ILA device, and is projected onto a screen.
At the heart of a DLP™ projection system is an optical semiconductor known as a Digital Micromirror Device, or DMD chip, which was pioneered by Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments in 1987. The DMD chip is a sophisticated light switch. It contains a rectangular array of up to 1.3 million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors; each of these micromirrors measures less than one-fifth the width of a human hair, and corresponds to one pixel in a projected image. When a DMD chip is coordinated with a digital video or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, its mirrors reflect an all-digital image onto a screen or other surface. The DMD and the sophisticated electronics that surround it are called Digital Light Processing™ technology.
A process called GLV (Grating-Light-Valve) is being developed. A prototype device based on the technology achieved a contrast ratio of 3000:1 (typical high-end projection displays today achieve only 1000:1). The device uses three lasers chosen at specific wavelengths to deliver color. The three lasers are: red (642 nm), green (532 nm), and blue (457 nm). The process uses MEMS technology (MicroElectroMechanical) and consists of a microribbon array of 1,080 pixels on a line. Each pixel consists of six ribbons, three fixed and three which move up/down. When electrical energy is applied, the three mobile ribbons form a kind of diffraction grating which ‘filters’ out light.
Part of the cost disparity is due to the inherent difficulties those technologies face in achieving certain key image quality parameters at a low cost. Contrast, particularly in quality of ‘black,’ is difficult to achieve for micro-mirror DLP. GLV, while not facing this difficulty (achieving a pixel nullity, or black, through optical grating wave interference), instead faces the difficulty of achieving an effectively film-like intermittent image with a line-array scan source.
Existing technologies, either LCD or MEMS-based, are also constrained by the economics of producing devices with at least 1 K×1 K arrays of elements (micro-mirrors, liquid crystal on silicon (‘LCoS’), and the like). Defect rates are high in the chip-based systems when involving these numbers of elements, operating at the required technical standards.
It is known to use stepped-index optical fibers in cooperation with the Faraday Effect for various telecommunications uses. The telecommunications application of optical fibers is well-known, however there is an inherent conflict in applying the Faraday Effect to optical fibers because the telecommunications properties of conventional optical fibers relating to dispersion and other performance metrics are not optimized for, and in some cases are degraded by, optimizations for the Faraday Effect. In some conventional optical fiber applications, ninety-degree polarization rotation is achieved by application of a one hundred Oersted magnetic field over a path length of fifty-four meters. Placing the fiber inside a solenoid and creating the desired magnetic field by directing current through the solenoid applies the desired field. For telecommunications uses, the fifty-four meter path length is acceptable when considering that it is designed for use in systems having a total path length measured in kilometers.
Another conventional use for the Faraday Effect in the context of optical fibers is as a system to overlay a low-rate data transmission on top of conventional high-speed transmission of data through the fiber. The Faraday Effect is used to slowly modulate the high-speed data to provide out-of-band signaling or control. Again, this use is implemented with the telecommunications use as the predominate consideration.
In these conventional applications, the fiber is designed for telecommunications usage and any modification of the fiber properties for participation in the Faraday Effect is not permitted to degrade the telecommunications properties that typically include attenuation and dispersion performance metrics for kilometer+−length fiber channels.
Once acceptable levels were achieved for the performance metrics of optical fibers to permit use in telecommunications, optical fiber manufacturing techniques were developed and refined to permit efficient and cost-effective manufacturing of extremely long-lengths of optically pure and uniform fibers. A high-level overview of the basic manufacturing process for optical fibers includes manufacture of a perform glass cylinder, drawing fibers from the preform, and testing the fibers. Typically a perform blank is made using a modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) process that bubbles oxygen through silicon solutions having a requisite chemical composition necessary to produce the desired attributes (e.g., index of refraction, coefficient of expansion, melting point, etc.) of the final fiber. The gas vapors are conducted to an inside of a synthetic silica or quartz tube (cladding) in a special lathe. The lathe is turned and a torch moves along an outside of the tube. Heat from the torch causes the chemicals in the gases to react with oxygen and form silicon dioxide and germanium dioxide and these dioxides deposit on the inside of the tube and fuse together to form glass. The conclusion of this process produces the blank preform.
After the blank preform is made, cooled, and tested, it is placed inside a fiber drawing tower having the preform at a top near a graphite furnace. The furnace melts a tip of the preform resulting in a molten ‘glob’ that begins to fall due to gravity. As it falls, it cools and forms a strand of glass. This strand is threaded through a series of processing stations for applying desired coatings and curing the coatings and attached to a tractor that pulls the strand at a computer-monitored rate so that the strand has the desired thickness. Fibers are pulled at about a rate of thirty-three to sixty-six feet/second with the drawn strand wound onto a spool. It is not uncommon for these spools to contain more than one point four (1.4) miles of optical fiber.
This finished fiber is tested, including tests for the performance metrics. These performance metrics for telecommunications grade fibers include: tensile strength (100,000 pounds per square inch or greater), refractive index profile (numerical aperture and screen for optical defects), fiber geometry (core diameter, cladding dimensions and coating diameters), attenuation (degradation of light of various wavelengths over distance), bandwidth, chromatic dispersion, operating temperature/range, temperature dependence on attenuation, and ability to conduct light underwater.
In 1996, a variation of the above-described optical fibers was demonstrated that has since been termed photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). A PCF is an optical fiber/waveguiding structure that uses a microstructured arrangement of low-index material in a background material of higher refractive index. The background material is often undoped silica and the low index region is typically provided by air voids running along the length of the fiber. PCFs are divided into two general categories: (1) high index guiding fibers, and (2) low index guiding fibers.
Similar to conventional optic fibers described previously, high index guiding fibers are guiding light in a solid core by the Modified Total Internal Reflection (MTIR) principle. Total internal reflection is caused by the lower effective index in the microstructured air-filled region.
Low index guiding fibers guide light using a photonic bandgap (PBG) effect. Light is confined to the low index core as the PBG effect makes propagation in the microstructured cladding region impossible.
While the term ‘conventional waveguide structure’ is used to include the wide range of waveguiding structures and methods, the range of these structures may be modified as described herein to implement embodiments of the present invention. The characteristics of different fiber types aides are adapted for the many different applications for which they are used. Operating a fiber optic system properly relies on knowing what type of fiber is being used and why.
Conventional systems include single-mode, multimode, and PCF waveguides, and also include many sub-varieties as well. For example, multimode fibers include step-index and graded-index fibers, and single-mode fibers include step-index, matched clad, depressed clad and other exotic structures. Multimode fiber is best designed for shorter transmission distances, and is suited for use in LAN systems and video surveillance. Single-mode fiber are best designed for longer transmission distances, making it suitable for long-distance telephony and multichannel television broadcast systems. ‘Air-clad’ or evanescently-coupled waveguides include optical wire and optical nano-wire.
Stepped-index generally refers to provision of an abrupt change of an index of refraction for the waveguide—a core has an index of refraction greater than that of a cladding. Graded-index refers to structures providing a refractive index profile that gradually decreases farther from a center of the core (for example the core has a parabolic profile). Single-mode fibers have developed many different profiles tailored for particular applications (e.g., length and radiation frequency(ies) such as non dispersion-shifted fiber (NDSF), dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) and non-zero-dispersion-shifted fiber (NZ-DSF)). An important variety of single-mode fiber has been developed referred to as polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber. All other single-mode fibers discussed so far have been capable of carrying randomly polarized light. PM fiber is designed to propagate only one polarization of the input light. PM fiber contains a feature not seen in other fiber types. Besides the core, there are additional (2) longitudinal regions called stress rods. As their name implies, these stress rods create stress in the core of the fiber such that the transmission of only one polarization plane of light is favored.
As discussed above, conventional magneto-optical systems, particularly Faraday rotators and isolators, have employed special magneto-optical materials that include rare earth doped garnet crystals and other specialty materials, commonly an yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) or a bismuth-substituted YIG. A YIG single crystal is grown using a floating zone (FZ) method. In this method, Y 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 are mixed to suit the stoichiometric composition of YIG, and then the mixture is sintered. The resultant sinter is set as a mother stick on one shaft in an FZ furnace, while a YIG seed crystal is set on the remaining shaft. The sintered material of a prescribed formulation is placed in the central area between the mother stick and the seed crystal in order to create the fluid needed to promote the deposition of YIG single crystal. Light from halogen lamps is focused on the central area, while the two shafts are rotated. The central area, when heated in an oxygenic atmosphere, forms a molten zone. Under this condition, the mother stick and the seed are moved at a constant speed and result in the movement of the molten zone along the mother stick, thus growing single crystals from the YIG sinter.
Since the FZ method grows crystal from a mother stick that is suspended in the air, contamination is precluded and a high-purity crystal is cultivated. The FZ method produces ingots measuring 012×120 mm.
Bi-substituted iron garnet thick films are grown by a liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) method that includes an LPE furnace. Crystal materials and a PbO—B 2 O 3 flux are heated and made molten in a platinum crucible. Single crystal wafers, such as (GdCa) 2 (GaMgZr) 5 O 12 , are soaked on the molten surface while rotated, which causes a Bi-substituted iron garnet thick film to be grown on the wafers. Thick films measuring as much as 3 inches in diameter can be grown.
To obtain 45° Faraday rotators, these films are ground to a certain thickness, applied with anti-reflective coating, and then cut into 1-2 mm squares to fit the isolators. Having a greater Faraday rotation capacity than YIG single crystals, Bi-substituted iron garnet thick films must be thinned in the order of 100 μm, so higher-precision processing is required.
Newer systems provide for the production and synthesis of Bismuth-substituted yttrium-iron-garnet (Bi—YIG) materials, thin-films and nanopowders. nGimat Co., at 5313 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Atlanta, Ga. 30341 uses a combustion chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) system for production of thin film coatings. In the CCVD process, precursors, which are the metal-bearing chemicals used to coat an object, are dissolved in a solution that typically is a combustible fuel. This solution is atomized to form microscopic droplets by means of a special nozzle. An oxygen stream then carries these droplets to a flame where they are combusted. A substrate (a material being coated) is coated by simply drawing it in front of the flame. Heat from the flame provides energy that is required to vaporize the droplets and for the precursors to react and deposit (condense) on the substrate.
Additionally, epitaxial liftoff has been used for achieving heterogeneous integration of many III-V and elemental semiconductor systems. However, it has been difficult using some processes to integrate devices of many other important material systems. A good example of this problem has been the integration of single-crystal transition metal oxides on semiconductor platforms, a system needed for on-chip thin film optical isolators. An implementation of epitaxial liftoff in magnetic garnets has been reported. Deep ion implantation is used to create a buried sacrificial layer in single-crystal yttrium iron garnet (YIG) and bismuth-substituted YIG (Bi—YIG) epitaxial layers grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG). The damage generated by the implantation induces a large etch selectivity between the sacrificial layer and the rest of the garnet. Ten-micron-thick films have been lifted off from the original GGG substrates by etching in phosphoric acid. Millimeter-size pieces have been transferred to the silicon and gallium arsenide substrates.
Further, researchers have reported a multilayer structure they call a magneto-optical photonic crystal that displays one hundred forty percent (140%) greater Faraday rotation at 748 nm than a single-layer bismuth iron garnet film of the same thickness. Current Faraday rotators are generally single crystals or epitaxial films. The single-crystal devices, however, are rather large, making their use in applications such as integrated optics difficult. And even the films display thicknesses on the order of 500 μm, so alternative material systems are desirable. The use of stacked films of iron garnets, specifically bismuth and yttrium iron garnets has been investigated. Designed for use with 750-nm light, a stack featured four heteroepitaxial layers of 81-nm-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) atop 70-nm-thick bismuth iron garnet (BIG), a 279-nm-thick central layer of BIG, and four layers of BIG atop YIG. To fabricate the stack, a pulsed laser deposition using an LPX305i 248-nm KrF excimer laser was used.
As seen from the discussion above, the prior art employs specialty magneto-optic materials in most magneto-optic systems, but it has also been known to employ the Faraday Effect with less traditional magneto-optic materials such as the non-PCF optical fibers by creating the necessary magnetic field strength—as long as the telecommunications metrics are not compromised. In some cases, post-manufacturing methods are used in conjunction with pre-made optical fibers to provide certain specialty coatings for use in certain magneto-optical applications. The same is true for specialty magneto-optical crystals and other bulk implementations in that post-manufacture processing of the premade material is sometimes necessary to achieve various desired results. Such extra processing increases the final cost of the special fiber and introduces additional situations in which the fiber may fail to meet specifications. Since many magneto-applications typically include a small number (typically one or two) of magneto-optical components, the relatively high cost per unit is tolerable. However, as the number of desired magneto-optical components increases, the final costs (in terms of dollars and time) are magnified and in applications using hundreds or thousands of such components, it is imperative to greatly reduce unit cost.
What is needed is an alternative waveguide technology that offers advantages over the prior art to enhance a responsiveness of a radiation-influencing property of the waveguide to an outside influence while reducing unit cost and increasing manufacturability, reproducibility, uniformity, and reliability.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Disclosed is an apparatus and method for a radiation switching array, including a first radiation wave modulator and a second radiation wave modulator proximate the first modulator, each the modulator having a transport for receiving a wave component, the transport including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions; and a plurality of constituents disposed in the waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in the waveguide; and an influencer, operatively coupled to the transport and responsive to a control signal, for affecting a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of the wave component by inducing the influencer response in the waveguide as the wave component travels through the transport; and a controller, coupled to the modulators, for selectively asserting each the control signal to independently control the amplitude-controlling property of each the modulator. A switching method including (a) receiving a wave component at each of a plurality of transports proximate each other, each transport including a waveguide having a guiding region and one or more bounding regions with a plurality of constituents disposed in the waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in the waveguide; and (b) affecting independently a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of each the wave component as it travels through each the waveguide.
It is also a preferred embodiment of the present invention for a switching matrix manufacturing method, the method including: a) producing a plurality of transports, each transport including a waveguide having a waveguiding channel and one or more bounding regions associated with the waveguiding channel wherein the transports include a plurality of constituents disposed in the waveguide for enhancing an influencer response in the waveguide; and b) proximating a plurality of modulators, each modulator including one or more transports and one or more influencers coupled to the transports and responsive to one or more control signals, for affecting a radiation-amplitude-controlling property of the wave component by inducing the influencer response in the waveguide as the wave component propagates through the one or more transports, the plurality of modulators forming a collective information presentation system contributing information from each of the transports responsive to the one or more control signals from a control system.
The apparatus, method, computer program product and propagated signal of the present invention provide an advantage of using modified and mature waveguide manufacturing processes. In a preferred embodiment, waveguide are an optical transport, preferably an optical fiber or waveguide channel adapted to enhance short-length property influencing characteristics of the influencer by including optically-active constituents while preserving desired attributes of the radiation. In a preferred embodiment, the property of the radiation to be influenced includes a polarization state of the radiation and the influencer uses a Faraday Effect to control a polarization rotation angle using a controllable, variable magnetic field propagated parallel to a transmission axis of the optical transport. The optical transport is constructed to enable the polarization to be controlled quickly using low magnetic field strength over very short optical paths. Radiation is initially controlled to produce a wave component having one particular polarization; the polarization of that wave component is influenced so that a second polarizing filter modulates an amplitude of emitted radiation in response to the influencing effect. In the preferred embodiment, this modulation includes extinguishing the emitted radiation. The incorporated patent applications, the priority applications and related-applications, disclose Faraday structured waveguides, Faraday structured waveguide modulators, displays and other waveguide structures and methods that are cooperative with the present invention.
Leveraging the mature and efficient fiber optic waveguide manufacturing process as disclosed herein as part of the present invention for use in production of low-cost, uniform, efficient magneto-optic system elements provides an alternative waveguide technology that offers advantages over the prior art to enhance a responsiveness of a radiation-influencing property of the waveguide to an outside influence while reducing unit cost and increasing manufacturability, reproducibility, uniformity, and reliability.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is side view of a conventional Faraday rotator device;
FIG. 1B is a top view of the device shown in FIG. 1A;
FIG. 1C is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 1A;
FIG. 2 is a basic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention demonstrating a pixel system having three subpixels (R, G, and B for example) used to produce a single pixel structure:
FIG. 3 is an alternative preferred embodiment for a pixel system similar to the system shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an alternative preferred embodiment for a pixel system similar to the system shown in FIG. 2 and the system shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a general schematic diagram of a simplified unitary panel waveguide-based display according to the preferred embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a detailed schematic diagram of the display shown in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a general schematic of a componentized display system according a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment for an implementation of a componentized display system as a specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9A is a preferred embodiment for a modulator that includes an optically active guiding core and one or more bounding regions for enhancing containment of radiation within the modulator as it propagates along a transmission axis;
FIG. 9B is an illustration pair of representative relationships for the modulator shown in FIG. 9A, including a view and a graph;
FIG. 9C is an illustration of a representative fiber/subpixel-implemented modulator in horizontal cross-section;
FIG. 10 is a generalized schematic diagram of a waveguide including a twisted fiber structure and coilform;
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a first specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 38 including a conductively coated preform and a superficial helical cut;
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a second specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 38 including a partially conductively coated preform without a superficial helical cut;
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a third specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 38 including a conductive element embedded/applied into/onto a preform;
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a fourth specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 38 including a thinfilm epitaxially wrapped around a waveguide channel;
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a fifth specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 38 including a disposition of a coilform on a waveguide channel using dip-pen nanolithography;
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a sixth specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 38 including a disposition of a conductive element on a waveguide channel using a wrapping procedure;
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an ‘X’ ribbon structural fiber system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a ‘Y’ ribbon structural fiber system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 19 is a schematic three-dimensional representation of a textile matrix useable as a display, display element, logic device, logic element, or memory device and the like as described and suggested herein and in the incorporated patent applications;
FIG. 20A is view of channel 2000 perpendicular to a propagation axis adjacent to an integrated influencer (e.g., a coilform) structure;
FIG. 20B is a cross-section of the waveguide channel shown in FIG. 20A, in process, parallel to the propagation axis, after an initial diameter cut;
FIG. 20C is a cross-section of the waveguide preform shown in FIG. 20B, in process, parallel to the propagation axis, after an initial diameter cut and contact layer is deposited;
FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of an alternate preferred embodiment of the present invention for a modulator;
FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a modulator including an alternate preferred embodiment for an excitation system using optical pumping;
FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment for an implementation of the componentized display system shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of an addressing grid according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment for a modular switching matrix used in the display shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6;
FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a first alternate preferred embodiment for a modular switching matrix used in the display shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6;
FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of a second alternate preferred embodiment for a modular switching matrix used in the display shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6;
FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of a third preferred embodiment for a modular switching matrix used in the display shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6;
FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment for an implementation of the componentized display system shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8;
FIG. 30 is an alternative preferred embodiment of a system in which an element of an excitation system is disposed within a core;
FIG. 31A is an exploded view of an array illustrating an arrangement of modulator strips;
FIG. 31B is a detailed schematic diagram of a portion of one modulator strip shown in FIG. 31A;
FIG. 32A is an alternate preferred embodiment for a display system implementing a semiconductor waveguide display/projector as a vertical solution using vertical waveguide channels in the semiconductor structure;
FIG. 32B is an illustration showing the two-layers that successively alternatingly constitute the ‘coilform’ pattern: a partial circle, defining a cylinder wall, on the first layer, the terminus connecting vertically in the same conductive material to a very thin second layer deposited above and used in FIG. 32A;
FIG. 33 is an alternate preferred embodiment for a display system implementing a semiconductor waveguide display/projector as a planar solution using planar waveguide channels in a semiconductor structure
FIG. 34A is a cross-section of a transport/influencer system integrated into the semiconductor structure for propagating a radiation signal, combined with a deflecting mechanism that re-directs light ‘valved’ by the waveguide/influencer from the horizontal plane to the vertical;
FIG. 34B illustrates a preferred embodiment for an optional implementation of a waveguide pathing structure in a system;
FIG. 35 is a schematic illustration of display system shown in FIG. 33 further illustrating three subpixel channels producing a single pixel;
FIG. 36 is a general schematic diagram of a transverse integrated modulator switch/junction system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 37 is a general schematic diagram of a series of fabrication steps for the transverse integrated modulator switch/junction shown in FIG. 36;
FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram of a generic waveguide processing system for producing conformed waveguides according to the various disclosed embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of an alternate system for structuring and propagating multiple channels of controllable radiation to produce a pixel/sub-pixel;
FIG. 40 is an end view schematic of the system shown in FIG. 39 further illustrating the presence of an optional center core;
FIG. 41 is a schematic diagram of an alternate preferred embodiment for a modulator having multiple channels;
FIG. 42 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment for an electronic goggle system using substrated waveguide display systems;
FIG. 43 is a side perspective view of the electronic goggle system shown in FIG. 42.
FIG. 44 is a general schematic block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention for a macroscopic component system;
FIG. 45 is a general schematic plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 46 is a detailed schematic plan view of a specific implementation of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 45;
FIG. 47 is an end view of the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 46;
FIG. 48 is a schematic block diagram of a preferred embodiment for a display assembly;
FIG. 49 is a view of one arrangement for output ports of the front panel shown in FIG. 48;
FIG. 50 is a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention for a portion of the structured waveguide shown in FIG. 46;
FIG. 51 is a schematic block diagram of a representative waveguide manufacturing system for making a preferred embodiment of a waveguide preform of the present invention; and
FIG. 52 is a schematic diagram of a representative fiber drawing system for making a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an alternative waveguide technology that offers advantages over the prior art to enhance a responsiveness of a radiation-influencing property of the waveguide to an outside influence while reducing unit cost and increasing manufacturability, reproducibility, uniformity, and reliability. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
In the following description, three terms have particular meaning in the context of the present invention: (1) optical transport, (2) property influencer, and (3) extinguishing. For purposes of the present invention, an optical transport is a waveguide particularly adapted to enhance the property influencing characteristics of the influencer while preserving desired attributes of the radiation. In a preferred embodiment, the property of the radiation to be influenced includes its polarization rotation state and the influencer uses a Faraday Effect to control the polarization angle using a controllable, variable magnetic field propagated parallel to a transmission axis of the optical transport. The optical transport is constructed to enable the polarization to be controlled quickly using low magnetic field strength over very short optical paths. In some particular implementations, the optical transport includes optical fibers exhibiting high Verdet constants for the wavelengths of the transmitted radiation while concurrently preserving the waveguiding attributes of the fiber and otherwise providing for efficient construction of, and cooperative affectation of the radiation property(ies), by the property influencer.
The property influencer is a structure for implementing the property control of the radiation transmitted by the optical transport. In the preferred embodiment, the property influencer is operatively coupled to the optical transport, which in one implementation for an optical transport formed by an optical fiber having a core and one or more cladding layers, preferably the influencer is integrated into or on one or more of the cladding layers without significantly adversely altering the waveguiding attributes of the optical transport. In the preferred embodiment using the polarization property of transmitted radiation, the preferred implementation of the property influencer is a polarization influencing structure, such as a coil, coilform, or other structure capable of integration that supports/produces a Faraday Effect manifesting field in the optical transport (and thus affects the transmitted radiation) using one or more magnetic fields (one or more of which are controllable).
The structured waveguide of the present invention may serve in some embodiments as a transport in a modulator that controls an amplitude of propagated radiation. The radiation emitted by the modulator will have a maximum radiation amplitude and a minimum radiation amplitude, controlled by the interaction of the property influencer on the optical transport. Extinguishing simply refers to the minimum radiation amplitude being at a sufficiently low level (as appropriate for the particular embodiment) to be characterized as ‘off’ or ‘dark’ or other classification indicating an absence of radiation. In other words, in some applications a sufficiently low but detectable/discernable radiation amplitude may properly be identified as ‘extinguished’ when that level meets the parameters for the implementation or embodiment. The present invention improves the response of the waveguide to the influencer by use of optically active constituents disposed in the guiding region during waveguide manufacture.
The present invention includes preferred embodiments for various display devices using an array of modulators (also sometimes referred to herein as Faraday Attenuators based upon the preferred influencing mechanism) to produce a pixel/subpixel array that forms images through efficient and precise waveguiding processes and structures.
A major subclass of these embodiments of the present invention propose assembly and arrangement, as described more fully below, of an array of ‘Faraday Attenuators' functioning as variable-intensity light-valves on an array of light-channels, in the form of optical fibers, semiconductor waveguides, waveguiding holes, or other optical channels and the like, such an array terminating in a display or projection surface.
To repeat the definition provided earlier, waveguiding includes the confinement of light to controlled channels, typically by means of a difference in index of diffraction between a ‘core’ in which light travels and a ‘cladding’ which effectively reflects scattering light, at its boundary with the core, back into the core; but other mechanisms, including photonic band-gap coupling, may also be provided as a ‘waveguiding structure or method.’ Waveguiding, thus, is a process of controlling light, in which optical channels (including fibers such as standard solid-core and photonic crystal), semiconductor waveguides, and other light-channeling or light-confining structures or regions are implementing components, methods and mechanisms.
To many, a significance of implementing a magneto-optic display through waveguiding processes and structures may not be apparent. But the significance is fundamental and cannot be overemphasized. For it is akin to the development that optical communications went through when it passed from the basic concept of pulsed laser light, point-to-point, through free space and manipulated by various opto-electronic components in a physical sequence that implemented the crude concept of transmitting data optically—that is, un-waveguided, without controlling and channeling light through optical structures—to the implementation in systems based on and composed of practical waveguiding processes and components, such as optical fibers and semiconductor optical waveguides.
It is the systems based on and composed of waveguiding processes and structures that enabled transmission across great distances without attenuation and precision control and manipulation through the fundamental principle of guiding and controlling a path of light through solid-state integrated structures. Overall, it is an implementation through waveguiding that was a starting point in achieving a practical, lost cost, efficient implementation of a basic concept of pulsing coherent laser light from one point and receiving and transducing those pulses into electronic signals. Improving waveguiding is an ongoing process, and it defines a nature of photonics and electro-photonics and advances in the field, including the ultimate implementation of optical computing. Without a first step of waveguiding and practical, inventive solutions to the implementation of waveguiding as the mechanism to realizing a principle of pulsed-light optical communications, we would not have the optical communications systems as they exist today.
Systematic implementation of waveguiding versions of the basic concepts involved—whether in optical-communications and pulsed light as a mode of data transmission, or visual display devices based on the Faraday Effect as a light valve. Waveguiding, systematically implemented through further inventive solutions as disclosed herein, solves many of the problems of the prior art.
Such is the case with many of the embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein, a system of inventive solutions to the leap of implementing the Faraday-effect light-valve concept through integrated waveguiding processes and structures.
FIG. 2 is a basic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention demonstrating a pixel system 200 having three subpixels (R, G, and B for example) 205 used to produce a single pixel structure 210 . System 200 includes one or more sources of light 215 , one or more waveguide channels 220 , an initial polarizer 225 , integrated influencer elements 230 , and an analyzer polarizer 235 .
FIG. 3 is an alternative preferred embodiment for a pixel system 300 similar to system 200 shown in FIG. 2. System 300 uses a balanced white light source 305 that is decomposed into desired color frequencies using color filters 310 . Color filters 310 may be discrete filtering systems or they may be integrated into waveguide channels 220 .
FIG. 4 is an alternative preferred embodiment for a pixel system 400 similar to system 200 shown in FIG. 2 and system 300 shown in FIG. 3. System 400 uses semiconductor ‘bulk’ or substrated waveguide channels fabricated in semiconductor structures 405 (vertical or planar) as further explained below.
Many of the preferred embodiments, regardless of their wide range of difference in detail, possess the following components and general schematic of one of the systems described above in connection with FIG. 2, FIG. 3 or FIG. 4.
Standard components and standard options include:
I. Light Source: Either unitary balanced-white or separate RGB/CMY tuned sources. Remote from input ends of light channels, adjacent input ends, or integral to the light channels.
II. Light Channels. The preferred embodiments include light channels in the form of waveguides such as optical fibers. But semiconductor waveguide, waveguiding holes, or other optical waveguiding channels, including channels or regions formed through material ‘in depth,’ are disclosed by embodiments of the present invention. These waveguiding elements are fundamental imaging structures of the display and incorporate, integrally, intensity modulation mechanisms and color selection systems.
III. Initial Polarization of Light Passing Into Light Channels. Various polarization implementations may also be employed that permit passage of light of a single polarization angle into the light channels; most typical will be a thinfilm deposited epitaxially on an ‘input’ end of the light channels. In regard to efficient input of all light from the light source(s), any illumination source may include a cavity, to allow repeated reflection of light of the ‘wrong’ initial polarization; thereby all light ultimately resolves into the admitted or ‘right’ polarization. Optionally, especially depending on the distance from an illumination source to the Faraday attenuators section of the waveguide structures, polarization-maintaining waveguides (fibers, semiconductor) may be employed.
IV. Optional Decomposition of Light Into Separate Polarization Components and Dual Light Channels for Each Polarization. Preferably such decomposition is performed through a fused-fiber polarization splitter, but other ways are known. According to this option, there are two channels carrying oppositely-polarized light for each subpixel or pixel. This may provide more energy and heat-efficient utilization of all light polarizations from source(s).
V. Integrated Color Selection. The preferred implementation of integrating color in the waveguide elements is via RGB (or CYM) dye-doping of the waveguide cores, but other convenient methods are known.
VI. Faraday-effect Attenuators, Integrated in Waveguides, Vary the Intensity of the Light, from fully ‘off’ to fully ‘on.’ When separate dye-doped fibers are employed, a Faraday Attenuator for each fiber is sufficient. Alternatively, a single fiber structure may be fabricated with multiple helical-superficial or other multiple color channels, each dye-doped. In all embodiments, drive circuit may employ capacitors.
VII. Structure and Assembly of Switching Matrix. There are a number of advantageous systems of construction and assembly of the switching ‘matrix’ that structurally combines and holds the waveguide elements, and electronically addresses each subpixel or pixel. In the case of optical fibers, inherent in the nature of a fiber component is the potential for an all-fiber, textile construction and addressing of the fiber elements. Flexible meshes or solid matrixes are alternative structures, with attendant assembly methods.
VII. Modification of the Output Ends of the Light Channels. The output ends of the waveguide structures, particularly optical fibers, may be heat-treated and pulled to form tapered ends or otherwise abraded, twisted, or shaped for enhanced light scattering at the output ends, thereby improving viewing angle at the display surface.
IX. ‘Analyzer’ or Offset-Polarizer Component. This is a ‘polarization filter’ element that is 90 degrees offset from the orientation of the first polarization ‘filter’ element. This is preferably a thin-film deposited epitaxially on either the optical glass or the output/display end of the waveguide array.
X. Optional Re-combination of differently polarized light channels. Groups of RGB light channels and optional white-light light channels, preferably two channels per color element (to carry the differently polarized light decomposed by the polarization-splitting element) may be recombined prior to terminating at the display or projector surface, depending on the requirements of varying embodiments for surface area of display or projector surface. Channels may be joined by fiber fusing, insertion, waveguide merger, and other methods.
XI. Display or Projector Surface. Light then passes from the output ends through the polarization system to the display or projector surface. This final surface element may be optical glass or other transparent optical material facing the polarization component.
XII. Geometry of Display or Projector Surface. The optical geometry of the display or projector surface may itself vary, as has been demonstrated in the prior art of fiber-optic faceplates, in which the fiber ends terminate to a curved surface, allowing additional focusing capacity in sequence with additional optical elements and lenses, of particular relevance to projection system embodiments.
The preferred Faraday Attenuators function by applying a variable drive circuit (preferably in pulse or digital form) to a field generating element—a coil or ‘coilform’ or strip or collar element surrounding a suitable material (for example, a doped fiber cladding or thin-film iron Garnet surrounding the channel), possessing a sufficiently high remnant flux between pulses. Such a variable field rotates the polarization angle of an incident beam of polarized light through a range of 90 degrees, from the black or ‘off’ position to the full intensity or ‘on’ position. Alternatively, one could reverse the default condition and have a pixel ‘on’ by default and require a signal to variably reduce it to zero; such an implementation is particularly relevant to some other applications of the same basic switched array.
In the case of optical fiber or semiconductor waveguide methods, the entire fiber or waveguide material may be doped with YIG, Tb, TGG or other elements to achieve a high Verdet constant. Given two rays of circularly polarized light, one with left-hand and the other with right-hand polarization, the one with the polarization in the same direction as the electricity of the magnetizing current travels with greater velocity. That is, the plane of linearly polarized light is rotated when a magnetic field is applied parallel to the propagation direction as described above in connection with Eq. 1 above.
Two-defect doping of fiber has also been shown to improve performance. The essence is to achieve high remnant flux following a pulse to reduce power consumption and achieve high switching speeds. (The recent employment of inert gases in a continuous flow with molten oxides has achieved the level of viscosity required for the pulling of optical fibers from oxide-doped silica). Permanent magnet elements may also be employed to magnetize the Faraday element in a direction perpendicular to the vector of the field generated by the variable Faraday rotation element, to saturate the element fully and thus reduce optical loss. Such permanent magnet elements, preferably dopants in a cladding layer, are preferably designed to have no effect on the angle of polarization directly, and thus would not compromise the display's contrast ratio.
The ‘attenuation curve’ associated with a particular use of materials and construction of the ‘Faraday-effect attenuator’ being a known quantity, the power-level for a given level of attenuation may be driven digitally in correspondingly (irregular or regular) increments to achieve a smooth attenuation curve for the device as a whole. In addition, when the original light is decomposed into separate polarizations, resulting in two light-channels per color, by choice of differing materials with differing curves for the separate polarizations provides another mechanism of smoothing the attenuation curve. Numbers of channels may be multiplied with differing materials, as needed, to achieve additional smoothing, when necessary or desirable.
Color selection is integrated into the intensity modulation system, by two primary classes of methods (those described below do not exhaust the possible methods covered by the invention):
First, in a class of methods utilizing optical fibers, separate dye-doped fibers (RGB or YCM) transmit light of a certain color to the display or projection face, and fiber segments are interrupted by Faraday Attenuator elements, which vary the intensity of the colored light passing through the dye-doped fibers, from the ‘off’ position through 90 degrees of Faraday rotation to the fully ‘on’ position. Also, fibers conveying balanced white light may be similarly configured with Faraday Attenuator elements. The ends of fiber(s) form pixel elements on the face of the display or projection surface.
This method further applies to an implementation in which fibers are doped with gas bubbles, as in the case of standard fiber that is doped and later heat-treated by established methods to form holes, thereby resulting in a cost-effectively manufactured PCF (photonic crystal fiber). Properly doped, rarified vapor gases are found in the resultant holes may be excited by optional electrodes in an implementation of the Faraday-Stark rotation, or optically pumped to achieve other non-linear Faraday rotation effects. Optionally, gas bubbles may be introduced in the fiber perform stage by pressure injection and methods known and established in glass fabrication.
In an embodiment integrating the illumination source with an optical fiber or semiconductor waveguide, gases in such holes may be also excited by RF transmitter(s) at varying frequencies, in a modification of RF-excited illumination devices. Multiple RF transmitters, at least one each for R, G, B or C, M, Y, cause gases to emit colored light (in non-dye-doped fiber) corresponding to the varying chemical composition of the gases contained in the bubbles or cavity. A sufficient length of fiber with a sufficient density of gas bubbles or length of cavity implements an integrated source illumination scheme into the fibers themselves, and further down the length of the fiber Faraday Attenuator elements adjust the intensity of the emitted light as described above.
Second, there is another class of methods which combines multiple waveguiding light channels in one composite waveguide structure, such that three RGB channels are combined in one structure. See, for example, FIG. 30 below for a structure that may be implemented having three RGB channels combined in one structure.
It is an object of a preferred embodiment of the invention that it possesses an inherent flexibility, such that it encompasses and engenders a variety of implementations, including:
I. The source illumination means may be remote from the ‘Faraday Attenuator’ sequence, which may itself be remote from the display or projector surface, connected by optical fibers.
II. Light channels contain separate colors, which are intensity-modulated by Faraday-effect attenuators.
III. Light channels may be formed by optical fibers, semiconductor waveguides, or waveguiding holes formed through layered materials, each with different performance characteristics.
IV. Different forms of light channel may be combined to form the separate stages or components of different embodiments. Fiber (including PCF) may convey light from the illumination source(s) to an array of semiconductor waveguide strips or a photonic crystal array of optical channels in thin-film layers for Faraday-attenuation, and then via another array of fiber bundles to a display or projector surface.
The requirements of each general class of embodiments tend to result in slightly different configurations and choices of alternative components in the apparatus: As other classes or types of systems are developed or are needed, additional configurations and choices of components, methods, and computer programs may be implemented.
FIG. 5 is a general schematic diagram of a simplified unitary panel waveguide-based display 500 according to the preferred embodiment. Display 500 includes a casing 505 housing an illumination source 510 , a switching matrix 515 , and a display surface 520 . Source 510 provides balanced white light or multiple channels of different colors/frequencies of a multicolor model (e.g., RGB sources). The preferred embodiment uses flexible waveguiding channels (e.g., optical fiber and the like) for source 510 , matrix 515 , and surface 520 integrated together as further explained below. Source 510 is either adjacent matrix 515 or faces matrix 515 . When adjacent, fiber bundles convey radiation to an input side of matrix 515 . Source 510 may include any of the radiation generation and characteristic/attribute control features set forth in the incorporated patent applications including polarization control.
Matrix 515 includes multiple waveguided channels for controlling an amplitude of radiation passing from its input proximate source 510 and an output proximate display surface 520 . The options for the construction and function of matrix 515 are disclosed in detail herein and in the incorporated patent applications. Matrix 515 may include optional tunable filters as well as influencer elements, some of which are integrated in-line or stacked. These waveguided channels may include fibers, waveguides, or other channelized materials made from conventional materials or photonic crystal. Any necessary channel isolation features are used, including lateral offset (staggering channels in three-dimensional space to sufficiently distance the individual channels or use of shielding structures for example). Matrix 515 may include any of the radiation generation and characteristic/attribute control features set forth in the incorporated patent applications including polarization analyzers on the output. In some implementations, an overlay sheet with periodic polarizer analyzer structures is used.
Display surface 520 may simply be a continuation of the waveguide channels of matrix 515 or a separate structure. Surface 520 has a range of implementations set forth in the incorporated patent applications including faceplate formation and use and channel-end modification for example. Structures at an input and/or output of surface 520 may include any of the radiation generation and characteristic/attribute control features set forth in the incorporated patent applications including thinfilms, optical glass or other optical material or structure.
FIG. 6 is a detailed schematic diagram of display 500 shown in FIG. 5. Illumination source 510 includes a light source 605 and a polarization system 610 . Matrix 515 includes an attenuator/modulator structure 615 having an integrated coilform with an input 620 and an output 625 . Display surface 520 includes an analyzer 630 , an optional modified channel output 635 and an optional display surface/protective coating 640 .
The preferred embodiment of the Faraday Attenuator switching matrix for flat panel displays is an assembled array (e.g., textile-assembled) of integrated optical fiber attenuator devices, being in effect a form of large integrated-optics device, see for example FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.
Fiber doped with appropriate elements, combined with thin-film epitaxy of conductive material alongside or around the fiber, or the employment of conductive polymers in outer fiber cladding, and other integrated fiber fabrication methods outlined in the embodiments disclosed by the present invention, mean that the size and power consumption of fiber/component embodiments have decreased and is expected to continue to decrease further.
To reduce the impact of added diameter around the fiber or waveguide (that results from the E-M-generating element around the fiber or waveguide), as well as to reduce the amount of shielding material required between adjacent Faraday attenuator elements, adjacent fibers or waveguides may be staggered along the z-axis, so that no E-M/Faraday attenuator element is directly adjacent to another.
A class of embodiments of the present invention may be termed ‘Faraday Attenuator Array on a Chip.’ Waveguides may be formed in semiconductor material on the surface (‘superficial’) or in depth (‘monolithic’). A preferred embodiment of the present invention achieves Faraday rotation in very short distances along a waveguide, and those distances may decrease as materials performance improves. A Faraday Attenuator Array itself may, therefore, only be a few millimeters in depth.
An integrated-optics approach employing superficial waveguides may be accomplished by formation of fixed 45 degree reflection elements (or photonic crystal bends) at each pixel point. Thus, a section of extremely thin waveguide is formed in the semiconductor sandwich surface, which includes the Faraday Attenuator portion, addressed by the drive circuit, followed by the offset polarization method, and terminating in the reflection or bending means that deflects any light conveyed by the waveguide, traveling parallel to from the x-y surface of the semiconductor, to the z-axis. Thus, one semiconductor surface is fabricated and faces (is parallel to) the display or projection surface. The semiconductor is fabricated with multiple waveguides, arranged on the surface for optimal density, addressing a grid or array of 45 degree deflectors or bends that deflect light outward from the surface, forming an image.
A simple monolithic waveguide embodiment includes waveguides formed ‘in depth’ in varying regions of semiconductor material, with Faraday Attenuator components formed by semiconductor manufacturing techniques ‘in depth’ alongside the waveguide.
Single-chip embodiments will be practical for projection systems as well. In all of these semiconductor waveguide embodiments, optical fiber may be used to convey light to the waveguides from the illumination source(s), and optical fiber may be used to connect the Faraday Attenuator switching matrix (semiconductor waveguide) to the display or projector surface.
FIG. 7 is a general schematic of a componentized display system 700 according a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is a benefit of the preferred embodiment of the present invention for the special transports, modulators, switching matrices, and other components described above and in the incorporated patent application that display system may be designed and implemented in a modular and/or component fashion. As used herein, modularity and/or componentization refers to two distinct aspects of the preferred embodiment. The first is a feature wherein elements of the system may be combined and packaged into discrete units that are inter-communicated to produce the final system. This permits greater flexibility in designing and implementing systems for the wide-range of potential uses. The second aspect refers to a feature in which the elements of the system are designed so that they are composed of nearly identical sub-elements with the element intra-communicating among the sub-elements. Of course, some systems may implement both aspects without departing from the present invention.
System 700 is an example of the first aspect having an illumination module 705 coupled by a first communicating system 710 to a modulator system 715 that, in turn, is coupled by a second communicating system 720 to an output system 725 . In the present example, display system 700 is a projection system though the present invention is not so limited. Illumination module includes the radiation generating mechanisms for producing input wave_components having the desired characteristics. Illumination module 705 may include one or more radiation generating elements for producing uniform or multi-frequency wave_components. For example, illumination module 705 may produce balanced ‘white’ light or it may produce one or more sets of primary colors.
First communicating system 710 propagates the input wave_components and preferably system 710 is a simple conduit maintaining the desired characteristics of the input wave_components from illumination module 705 to modulator system 715 . In some implementations, communicating system 710 may participate in producing the desired characteristics for the input wave_components at an input into modulator system 715 (e.g., amplitude, frequency, polarization type, and polarization orientation may be processed). In the preferred embodiment, communicating system 710 includes a plurality of waveguiding channels such as optical fibers for example that permit isolation and/or separation of modulator system 715 and illumination module 705 . In some embodiments, radiation characteristics particular to individual wave_components do not require preservation during transit meaning that there may be a greater or fewer number of channels in communicating system 710 as compared to the resolution of picture elements (pixels) or sub-pixels of the modulating channels of modulator module 715 .
Modulator system 715 receives the input wave_component(s) and modulates them as described above and in the incorporated patent applications. In the preferred embodiment, modulator system 715 generates successive series of image units (e.g., video frames) from individually controlling each of a plurality of pixels and sub-pixels. The input wave_components are mapped to appropriate ones of the modulation channels so that an amplitude of the input wave_component(s) are processed to produce varying amplitudes for a plurality of output wave_components.
Second communicating system 720 propagates the output wave_components and preferably system 720 is a simple conduit maintaining the produced characteristics of the output wave_components from modulator system 715 to display system 725 . In some implementations, communicating system 720 may participate in producing the desired characteristics for the output wave_components at an input into display system 725 (e.g., amplitude and frequency may be processed). In the preferred embodiment, communicating system 720 includes a plurality of waveguiding channels such as optical fibers for example that permit isolation and/or separation of modulator system 715 and display system 725 . Radiation characteristics particular to individual output wave_components require preservation during transit. Additionally, each output wave_component channel is mapped to a specific location of a final display location and communicating system 720 does not disrupt this mapping.
Display system 725 may be adapted for direct viewing implementations or for projection implementations in which the viewing is indirect, such as a reflected/transmitted image relative to a screen. Display system 725 processes (e.g., converts and arranges) the output wave_components into the desired output arrangement by assembling them into the desired output pattern. This output pattern is typically a matrix having a plurality of rows and columns as shown in FIG. 49). Display system 725 may include optics and other elements to additionally shape, focus, and filter the propagating radiation.
The componentization and use of the communicating systems permits separation and isolation of the other elements. Besides the increased benefits to packaging and arranging the elements into a greater range of form factors, the benefits to isolation are important in some implementations. In such embodiments, illumination module 705 , modulator system 715 (e.g., a Faraday Attenuator switching matrix), and display system (e.g., a projection surface) may benefit from being housed in distinct modules or units, at some distance from each other.
Considering illumination module 705 , in some embodiments it is advantageous to separate it from modulator system 715 due to heat produced by high-intensity light that is typically required to illuminate a large theatrical screen or produce an image in daylight hours or other bright locations. Even when multiple radiation sources are used, distributing the heat output otherwise concentrated in, for instance, a single Xenon lamp, the heat output may still be large enough that the separation from the switching and display elements may be desirable. The radiation source(s) thus would be housed in an insulated case with a heat sink and other cooling elements. Communicating system 710 would then convey the light from the separate or unitary source.
The separation of the switching module from the projection/display surface may have its own advantages. Placing the illumination and switching modules in a projection system base (the same would hold true for an FPD) may reduce the depth of a projection TV cabinet. Or, the projection surface may be contained in a compact ball at the top of a thin lamp-like pole or hanging from the ceiling from a cable, in front projection systems employing a reflective fabric screen.
For theatrical projection, the potential to convey the image formed by the Faraday switching matrix module, by means of optical cables from a unit on the floor, up to a compact final-optics unit at the projection window area, suggests a space-utilization strategy to accommodate both a traditional film projector and a new FLAT projector in the same projection room, among other potential advantages and configurations. The Faraday Attenuator switching matrix in projection systems may utilize any of the embodiments described herein.
A monolithic construction of waveguide strips, each with multiple thousands of waveguides on a strip, arranged or adhered side by side, may accomplish hi-definition imaging. However, ‘bulk’ fiber optic component construction may also accomplish the requisite small projection surface area. Single-mode fibers (especially without the durability performance requirements of external telecommunications cable) have a small enough diameter that the cross-sectional area of a fiber Faraday array is quite small. In addition, integrated optics manufacturing techniques are expected to improve so that Faraday-attenuator arrays may be accomplished in the fabrication of a single semiconductor substrate or chip, massively monolithic or superficial.
In a fused-fiber projection surface, the fused-fiber surface may be then ground to achieve a curvature for the purpose of focusing an image into an optical array; alternatively, fiber-ends that are joined with adhesive or otherwise bound may have shaped tips and may be arranged at their terminus in a shaped matrix to achieve a curved surface, if necessary.
For projection televisions or other non-theatrical projection applications, the option of separating the illumination and switching modules from the projector surface suggests novel ways of achieving less-bulky projection television cabinet construction.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment for an implementation of a componentized display system 800 as a specific implementation of system 700 shown in FIG. 7. System 800 includes three component illumination sources (e.g., RGB sources) identified as source 805 R , source 805 G , and source 805 B as module 705 . The first communicating system of system 800 includes an input mechanism 810 (e.g., a fiber-optic faceplate or the like appropriate to the communicating medium/channel) and a bundle of individual optical channels 815 for each color. System 800 includes a modulating assembly 820 for each color, each corresponding to modulator system 715 . A second communicating system 825 includes a second plurality of individual optical channels carrying final imaging information, a bundle of such optical elements for each color. System 800 includes a final projection/display optics assembly 830 that merges the collective imaging information from the three bundles of second communicating system 825 .
The preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a novel class of magneto-optic displays, implemented through optical-waveguiding structures in the form of integrated Faraday-attenuator pixel elements. The preferred embodiment of the present invention also includes a system of inventive components, and which are fabricated individually and assembled as a novel display structure through a number of novel manufacturing processes, and that the system itself incorporates novel methods of display operation.
In the prior art of Faraday rotators, attenuators, isolators, circulators, and other variations of components employing the Faraday Effect for optical communications involving optical fiber, the devices are typically systems of discrete non-waveguide components that are interposed between extended optical fiber connections connecting nodes of optical communication networks (See, for example, FIG. 1C). They typically consist of crystals as the optically-active material, fabricated either as pieces of solid-growth crystal, or thin-film crystals or stacks of thinfilm crystals. Various solutions are employed to more effectively join the components to the extended optical fibers or waveguide structures in general, including involving the employment of micro-lenses and better bonding and assembling methods.
By contrast, the preferred embodiments of the present invention implements a magneto-optic display through integrated waveguiding processes and components, and includes embodiments of Faraday attenuators and Faraday attenuator processes combined with other wave manipulation processes that are realized as integrated elements of complex optical fibers.
In the prior art of Faraday rotators, attenuators, isolators, circulators and other variations of components employing the Faraday Effect for optical communications and optical switching implemented through semiconductor fabrication processes, semiconductor waveguides are the starting point for optical switching, but these structures do not