Transmission type spatial light modulator and transmission type spatial light modulation array device
View Patent ↗A transmission type spatial light modulatoris equipped with a minute transparent optical member for deflecting light in a direction different from an incident direction of incident light and emitting the light, a support member for supporting the minute transparent optical member at a midair position so that the light emission face can be inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a travel direction of incident light L 1 , and a driving member for obliquely displacing the minute transparent optical member by an electrical mechanical operation to vary the emission direction of light from the minute transparent optical member.
1. A transmission type spatial light modulator comprising:
an optical member that deflects and emits light in a direction different from an incident direction of incident light;
a support member that supports the optical member in a midair position so that a light emission face thereof can be inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to a travel direction of the light incident direction; and
driving member that obliquely displaces the optical member to vary the light emission direction from the optical member.
2. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the optical member is a minute transparent optical member.
3. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the driving member controls the driving member by an electrical mechanical operation.
4. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , which further comprises a light shielding member that is disposed ahead of the light emission face of the optical member and shields any emission light in a direction-variable range of light emitted from the optical member.
5. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 4 , wherein the driving member obliquely displaces the optical member to displace the emission light with respect to the light shielding member, thereby varying an amount of transmission light of the emission light.
6. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the optical member has a refractive index larger than 1, and a light incident surface and a light emission surface have non-parallel faces to each other.
7. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the optical member has a refractive index distribution different in refractive index in accordance with the light travel direction, and a light deflection direction based on the refractive index distribution is different from the light travel direction.
8. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the optical member has a total reflection face that totally reflects the incident light.
9. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 8 , wherein the optical member is obliquely displaced by the driving member to transmit or totally reflect the incident light.
10. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 9 , which further comprises an optical path correcting member that is disposed ahead of the light emission face of the optical member to make an incident angle and an emission angle substantially coincident with each other.
11. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 8 , wherein the optical member has a prism-shape.
12. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 8 , wherein at least a part of the light incident face or light emission face of the optical member has a curved-surface shape.
13. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , which further comprises:
a first prism member that receives a emission light when the optical member is obliquely displaced by the driving member and the emission light is emitted from the optical member in a predetermined direction, and emits the emission light as effective light while deflecting the emission light in a first direction; and
a second prism member that receives a emission light when the optical member is obliquely displaced by the driving member and the emission light is emitted from the optical member in a direction different from the predetermined direction, and deflects the emission light as unnecessary light in a second direction different from the first direction.
14. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the driving member obliquely displaces the optical member by electrostatic force.
15. A transmission type spatial light modulation array device comprising transmission type spatial light modulators according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission type spatial light modulators are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally.
16. The transmission type spatial light modulation array device according to claim 15 , wherein a micro-lens array having a plurality of micro-lenses disposed in connection with the respective transmission type spatial light modulators is disposed so as to confront the light incident face.
17. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the light emission direction is in the travel direction of the light incident direction.
18. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the optical member is a transmission type light deflector, wherein the incident light and emission light exist at different sides with respect to the optical member.
19. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the driving member rotates the optical member in the midair position about an axis orthogonal to the travel direction of the incident light.
20. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the optical member is transparent to the incident light.
21. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 1 , further including an air gap below a light incident face, wherein the incident light passes through the air gap.
22. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 4 , wherein the light shielding member only shields emission light having an emission angle within a predetermined range.
23. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 4 , wherein the light shielding member shields emission light by absorption.
24. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 7 , wherein the refractive index distribution includes a plurality of refractive indices, distributed within the optical member in accordance with the light travel direction.
25. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 7 , wherein the refractive index is continuously varied within the optical member.
26. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 8 , wherein the total reflection face is an inner face of a light emission surface.
27. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 8 , wherein the incident light is totally reflected at an inner face of the optical member.
28. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 9 , wherein the optical member is obliquely displaced to switch between a transmission state and a total reflection state of the incident light.
29. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 28 , wherein during the transmission state, deflected light is emitted from an opposite side to the light incident face of the optical member, and during the total reflection state, reflected light is emitted from a light incident face side of the optical member.
30. The transmission type spatial light modulator according to claim 10 , wherein an emitted light of the correcting member and the incident light are substantially parallel to each other.