ABSTRACT

The Grating Light Valve (GLV) technology is a micromechanical phase

grating.Operation is based on electrically controlling the mechanical positions of grating
elements to modulate diffraction efficiency. Thus by providing controlled diffraction of
incident light, a GLV device will produce bright or dark pixels in a display system .With
pulse width modulation, a GLV device will produce precise gray-scale or color variations.
Built using micro electromechanical system (MEMS) technology, and designed to be
manufactured using mainstream IC fabrication technology, the GLV device can be made both
small and inexpensively. A variety of display systems can be built using GLV technology
each benefiting from the high contrast ratio, fill ratio, and brightness of this technology. In
addition, GLV technology can provide high resolution, low power consumption, and digital
gray-scale and color reproduction.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Fundamental Concepts

3. Diffraction Grating Analysis

4. Basic Optical System

5. Building The GLV Device

6. Controlling The GLV Device

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7. The Linear GLV Array

14

8. Optical System Architecture

16

9. Image Quality And System Performance

20

10. Comparing The GLV

22

11. Conclusion

23

12. References

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