Mirror Shutter Array Irregular Grid Diffraction Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mirror shutter arrays suffer from diffraction artifacts and ghost images due to their regular optical grid structure, leading to inhomogeneous light modulation and blurred views.
Innovation Solution
Designing a mirror shutter array with microelements that form an irregular or unstructured grid, featuring varying hinge section widths and orientations, and a layer structure with compressive and tensile layers to minimize diffraction effects and suppress ghost images, resulting in a more homogeneous light modulation and clearer view.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a regular optical grid structure is used in mirror shutter arrays, then manufacturing and control are simplified, but diffraction artifacts and ghost images occur leading to inhomogeneous light modulation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by designing microelements with irregular polygonal contours instead of regular shapes, and by varying the orientation and size of individual microelements within the array. This asymmetric design disrupts the periodic structure that causes diffraction, thereby reducing diffraction artifacts and ghost images while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through standardized fabrication processes
2Ease of operation
If microelements are arranged in a regular grid, then addressing and control are simplified, but ghost images and diffraction effects degrade optical imaging quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by assigning different orientations, sizes, and shapes to individual microelements or small groups of microelements within the array. Each local region has microelements with specific properties optimized for that position, which collectively eliminate the global periodicity that causes diffraction while allowing for systematic control through localized addressing schemes
3Manufacturing precision
If an irregular grid structure is used to minimize diffraction, then optical imaging quality improves, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the mirror shutter array into multiple independently controllable fields or zones. Each field contains microelements with irregular arrangements, but the overall system maintains manageability through field-by-field addressing. This segmentation reduces the complexity of controlling the entire irregular array as a unified system
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Significantly reduces diffraction artifacts and ghost images, achieving more homogeneous light modulation and improved optical imaging quality by creating an asymmetrical, unstructured grid that minimizes parallel and equidistant structures, enhancing the viewer's experience.
Implementation Method 1
each microelement having a layer structure which comprises at least one compressively stressed layer and one tensile-stressed layer
Implementation Method 2
an intermediate hinge section, which has a residual stress-induced curvature
Implementation Method 3
each microelement has an opaque sheet which is arranged in a hinge-like manner on a translucent base plate
Implementation Method 4
Significantly reduces diffraction artifacts and ghost images, achieving more homogeneous light modulation
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a mirror-shutter array (100) comprising a plurality of microelements (1) configured as micromirrors and/or microshutters, wherein each microelement (1) has an opaque surface body which is hinged to a translucent base plate (2) of the mirror-shutter array (100) by means of an edge-side mounting section (11), such that each microelement (1) is pivotable between an opaque closed position and at least one translucent open position. According to the invention, the entirety of the microelements (1) forms an irregular or unstructured grid in the respective closed position.