Display methods and apparatus

1. A display apparatus comprising:

an array of pixels including

a substrate having a plurality of apertures, and

a plurality of shutters corresponding to the plurality of apertures,

wherein a pixel in the array of pixels includes at least one aperture of the plurality of apertures and its corresponding shutter from the plurality of shutters; and

a control matrix connected to the substrate including, for the pixel, a switch, a shutter-open electrode and a shutter-close electrode for selectively moving the corresponding shutter transverse to the substrate to modulate light directed towards the pixel to form an image.

2. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the switch comprises a transistor.

3. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the switch comprises a diode.

4. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the switch comprises a varistor.

5. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the switch is configured to regulate an electric potential applied to the first actuator.

6. The display apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the control matrix comprises, for the pixel, a second switch configured to regulate an electric potential applied to the second actuator.

7. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the control matrix comprises, for the pixel, a write-enable interconnect and an actuation voltage interconnect.

8. The display apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the write-enable interconnect receives a write-enabling voltage.

9. The display apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the pixel includes a first capacitor corresponding to a first data interconnect and second capacitor corresponding to a second data interconnect.

10. The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the pixel includes a first resistor corresponding to the first data interconnect and second resistor corresponding to the second data interconnect.

11. The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the switch is electrically connected to the first data interconnect, the first capacitor, and the actuation voltage interconnect, and for the pixel, the control matrix comprises a second switch in electrical communication with the second data interconnect, the second capacitor, and the actuation voltage interconnect.

12. The display apparatus of claim 11 , wherein, in response to the application of a voltage to the switch by the first data interconnect, the switch facilitates discharging the first capacitor, thereby actuating the corresponding MEMS light modulator.

13. The display apparatus of claim 11 , wherein, in response to the application of a voltage to the second switch by the second data interconnect, the second switch facilitates discharging the second capacitor, thereby actuating the corresponding MEMS light modulator.

14. The display apparatus of claim 11 , wherein, in response to the application of a voltage to the switch by the first data interconnect, the switch facilitates charging the first capacitor, thereby actuating the corresponding MEMS light modulator.

15. The display apparatus of claim 11 , wherein, in response to the application of a voltage to the second switch by the second data interconnect, the second switch facilitates charging the second capacitor, thereby actuating the corresponding MEMS light modulator.

16. The display apparatus of claim 7 , comprising an actuation voltage source electrically connected to the actuation voltage interconnect and a data voltage source electrically connected to at least one of the first data interconnect and the second data interconnect, wherein the actuation voltage source outputs a voltage with a higher magnitude than is output by the data voltage source.

17. The display apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the actuation voltage source outputs a voltage having a magnitude at least about 5 times greater than is output by the data voltage source.

18. The display apparatus of claim 7 , wherein:

a plurality of pixels in the array of pixels are arranged in a scan line, and the pixels in the scan line share a common write-enable interconnect.

19. The display apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the pixel includes a memory element for storing a MEMS light modulator movement instruction.

20. The display apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the memory element comprises a capacitor.

21. The display apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the memory element comprises one of a SRAM circuit and a DRAM circuit.

22. The display apparatus of claim 19 , wherein application of a write enabling voltage to the write-enabling interconnect prepares the memory element to store the MEMS light modulator movement instruction.

23. The display apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the control matrix comprises a global actuation interconnect for initiating the substantially simultaneous execution of MEMS light modulator movement instructions stored in memory elements of a plurality of pixels in the array of pixels.

24. The display apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the pixels in the array of pixels are arranged in columns of pixels and the pixels in a particular one of the columns of pixels share at least one of a common first data interconnect and a second data interconnect.

25. The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the control matrix comprises a global actuation circuit for initiating substantially simultaneous actuation of a plurality of the plurality of MEMS light modulators.

26. A method of forming an image on a display, comprising:

selecting a scan-line of the display, wherein the scan line includes a plurality of pixels;

for a given pixel in the selected scan line,

applying a data voltage to a first data interconnect electrically connected to the given pixel, thereby controlling a corresponding switch in the given pixel to selectively regulate a voltage across a first actuator for opening a corresponding MEMS light modulator in the given pixel, thereby enabling the first actuator to open the corresponding MEMS light modulator in the given pixel; and

applying a data voltage to a second data interconnect electrically connected to the given pixel, thereby controlling a corresponding switch in the given pixel to selectively regulate a voltage across a second actuator for closing the corresponding MEMS light modulator in the given pixel, thereby enabling the second actuator to close the corresponding MEMS light modulator in the given pixel, wherein the first and second actuators correspond to a single pixel; and

wherein regulating the voltage comprises applying the data voltage having a first magnitude to the switch to regulate the application of a second electric potential with a substantially greater magnitude than the data voltage to the one of the first actuator and the second actuator, wherein the magnitude of the second electric potential is sufficiently large to actuate the one of the first actuator and the second actuator; and

directing light towards the plurality of pixels to form an image.

27. The method of claim 26 , wherein regulating the voltage across at least one of the first and second actuator comprises charging a capacitor.

28. The method of claim 26 , wherein regulating the voltage across at least one of the first and second actuator comprises discharging a capacitor.

29. The method of claim 28 comprising deselecting the selected scan line and recharging the discharged capacitor.

30. The method of claim 29 , comprising:

selecting a second series of pixels arranged in a second scan line, the second series of pixels having corresponding first energy stores and second energy stores;

for at least one of the pixels in the second scan line, enabling one of a third actuator and a fourth actuator to change the state of a corresponding second MEMS light modulator; and

applying a global actuation voltage, thereby initiating, substantially simultaneously, the transverse movement of the corresponding MEMS light modulator and the second corresponding MEMS light modulator.

31. The method of claim 30 , wherein selecting the first scan line comprises applying a write-enabling voltage to a write-enable interconnect shared among the pixels in the scan line.

32. The method of claim 30 , wherein at least one of the third actuator and fourth actuator comprises an electrostatic actuator.

33. The method of claim 26 , wherein regulating the voltage comprises storing a movement instruction on a memory element corresponding to the pixel.

34. The method of claim 33 , wherein the memory element comprises a capacitor.

35. The method of claim 33 , wherein the memory element comprises one of a SRAM circuit and a DRAM circuit.

36. The method of claim 26 , wherein enabling the one of the first actuator and the second actuator to move the corresponding MEMS light modulator comprises substantially reducing an additional minimum voltage change needed to actuate the one of the first actuator and the second actuator.

37. The method of claim 36 , comprising applying a global actuation voltage to the plurality of pixels to provide the additional minimum voltage change to actuate the pixels.

38. The method of claim 26 , wherein the first and second actuators are coupled to the corresponding MEMS light modulator.

39. The method of claim 26 , wherein the MEMS light modulator comprises a shutter.

40. The method of claim 26 , wherein at least one of the first actuator and second actuator comprises an electrostatic actuator.