Recent advances in a linear micromirror array for high-resolution projection

Francis Picard; Michel Doucet; Keith K. Niall; Carl Larouche; Maxime Savard; Silviu Crisan; Simon Thibault; Hubert Jerominek

doi:10.1117/12.525798

28 May 2004 Recent advances in a linear micromirror array for high-resolution projection

Francis Picard, Michel Doucet, Keith K. Niall, Carl Larouche, Maxime Savard, Silviu Crisan, Simon Thibault, Hubert Jerominek

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5289, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications X and Projection Displays X; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.525798
Event: Electronic Imaging 2004, 2004, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

The visual displays of contemporary military flight simulators lack adequate definition to represent scenes in basic fast-jet fighter tasks. For example, air-to-air and air-to-ground targets are not projected with sufficient contrast and resolution for a pilot to perceive aspect, aspect rate and object detail at real world slant ranges. Simulator display geometries require the development of ultra-high resolution projectors with greater than 20 megapixel resolution at 60 Hz frame rate. A new micromirror device has been developed to address this requirement; it is able to modulate light intensity in an analog fashion with switching times shorter than 5 μs. When combined with a scanner, a laser and Schlieren optics, a linear array of these flexible micromirrors can display images composed of thousands of lines at a frame rate of 60 Hz. Recent results related to evaluation of this technology for high resolution projection are presented. Alternate operation modes for light modulation with flexible micromirrors are proposed. The related importance of controlling the residual micromirror curvature is discussed and results of experiments investigating the use of the deposition pressure to achieve such control are reported. Moreover, activities aiming at minimizing the micromirror response time and, so doing, maximizing the number of image columns per image frame are discussed. Finally, contrast measurement and estimate of the contrast limit achievable with the flexible micromirror technology are presented. All reported activities support the development of a fully addressable 2000-element micromirror array.

Citation Download Citation

Francis Picard, Michel Doucet, Keith K. Niall, Carl Larouche, Maxime Savard, Silviu Crisan, Simon Thibault, and Hubert Jerominek "Recent advances in a linear micromirror array for high-resolution projection", Proc. SPIE 5289, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications X and Projection Displays X, (28 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.525798

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