Single-chip three color light modulator device
a projector or television set formed by an array of devices on a single chip, where the different devices form different color portions of a single image. For example, red, green and blue portions of the single image can be formed in different pixels on the chip. Each of the red green and blue portions are combined together to form the single image. The image may be a single field of a video sequence. Any video can be formed in this same way. In this way, the single chip can be logically divided where different portions of the same chip formed the different primary colors, which are combined together to form a single video or image.
1 . A method, comprising:
forming a plurality of light modulating elements on a single chip; and
using a first light modulating element that is on a first area of the chip, to project a first color of light towards a light receiving target and to form at least a first portion of a first color portion of an image on said light receiving target; and
using a second light modulating element that is on a second area of the chip different than the first area of the chip, to project a second color of light towards said light receiving target, and to form at least said first portion of a second color portion of said image on said light receiving target, where said first color portion and said second color portions are at the same location on said light receiving target.
2 . A method as in claim 1 , further comprising using a third light modulating element that is on a third area of the chip different than the first and second areas of the chip, to project a third color of light towards said light receiving target, and to form a third color portion of said at least first portion of the image, based on said third color of light on said light receiving target, and at the same location on said target as said first color portion and said second color portion.
3 . A method as in claim 2 , further comprising using a fourth light modulating element at a fourth area of the chip, to project said first color of light towards said light receiving target, and to form a different portion of the same image on the different area of the light receiving target.
4 . A method as in claim 1 , further comprising controlling said plurality of light modulating elements to modulate light positions in two orthogonal directions.
5 . A method as in claim 1 , further comprising controlling said plurality of light modulating elements to modulate light positions in a single direction.
6 . A method as in claim 5 , further comprising changing a transmitting direction for light from said first light modulating elements and changing a transmitting direction from said second light modulating elements.
7 . A method as in claim 6 , wherein said optical part also changes an orientation of the projected light by 90 degrees.
8 . A system comprising:
an array of light modulating elements, all on a single chip;
a controller for said array of light modulating elements, controlling a first light modulating element of said array to project a first color of light towards a first area of a light receiving target to form at least a first color portion of an image on a first portion of said light receiving target, and to control a second light modulating element of said array, where said second light modulating element of said array is at a different location than said first light modulating element of said array, to form a second color portion, which is a different color than said first color portion, on the same first portion of said light receiving target.
9 . A system as in claim 8 , wherein said controller also controls a third light modulating element of said array to project a third color of light towards said first portion, to form a third color portion on said first portion.
10 . A system as in claim 8 , wherein said controller also controls a plurality of additional light modulating elements to modulate said first color, and controls a plurality of additional light modulating elements to modulate said second color.
11 . A system as in claim 9 , wherein said light modulating elements are each capable of changing a position of display of light in two orthogonal dimensions.
12 . A system as in claim 9 , wherein said light modulating elements are each capable of changing the position of display of light in a single dimension.
13 . A system as in claim 12 , further comprising an optical system, having a first portion that receives and transports said first color of light in a first direction, and a second portion that receives and transports said second color of light in a second direction, different than said first direction.
14 . A system as in claim 13 , wherein said optical system also rotates by a specified angle.
15 . A system as in claim 8 , further comprising a light source with a prism, that divides an output of the light source into primary colors.
16 . A system comprising:
an contiguous array of digital micro mirror devices on a single chip;
a controller for said array of micro mirror devices that controls at least a first subset of said devices to project a first light, controls a second subset of said devices to project a second color of light, and controls a third subset of said devices to modulate a third color of light, where said control of first, second and third all occurs substantially simultaneously, so that three different colors of light frames are produced substantially simultaneously; and
an optical system, directing said three different colors of light frames to a common video target.
17 . A system as in claim 16 , wherein said optical system also changes an orientation of said light frames by 90°.
18 . A system as in claim 16 , further comprising a light source, and a device that divides the light source into multiple primary colors and provides each primary color to one of said subsets.
19 . A system as in claim 16 , wherein said three different colors additively combine.
20 . A method comprising:
forming an array of light modulating elements on a single chip; and
logically dividing said array into portions which handle different primary colors of the same video sequence; and
controlling said array to simultaneously form said different primary colors of the video sequence, all at the same time and all in the same chip.