Simple method to evaluate the pixel crosstalk caused by fringing field effect in liquid-crystal spatial light modulators

In this work we provide a simple experimental method to measure and evaluate the pixel crosstalk in phase-only liquid-crystal displays caused by the fringing field effect. The technique is a reverse engineering method that does not require information about the microscopic physical parameters of the liquid-crystal material or details of the fabrication and electronics of the display. Instead, it is based on the overall effect on the diffraction efficiency of displayed binary phase gratings as a function of the addressed gray level. We show how the efficiency of the zero (DC) and first diffraction orders provides valuable information enough to identify and quantify the pixel crosstalk. The technique is demonstrated with a modern phase-only liquid-crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator (SLM), illustrating the limitations that this effect imposes to the spatial resolution of the device and providing quantitative measurement of the impact on the diffraction efficiency.

A 2D Membrane MEMS Device Model with Fringing Field: Curvature-Dependent Electrostatic Field and Optimal Control

An important problem in membrane micro-electric-mechanical-system (MEMS) modeling is the fringing-field phenomenon, of which the main effect consists of force-line deformation of electrostatic field E near the edges of the plates, producing the anomalous deformation of the membrane when external voltage V is applied. In the framework of a 2D circular membrane MEMS, representing the fringing-field effect depending on |∇u|2 with the u profile of the membrane, and since strong E produces strong deformation of the membrane, we consider |E| proportional to the mean curvature of the membrane, obtaining a new nonlinear second-order differential model without explicit singularities. In this paper, the main purpose was the analytical study of this model, obtaining an algebraic condition ensuring the existence of at least one solution for it that depends on both the electromechanical properties of the material constituting the membrane and the positive parameter δ that weighs the terms |∇u|2. However, even if the the study of the model did not ensure the uniqueness of the solution, it made it possible to achieve the goal of finding a stable equilibrium position. Moreover, a range of admissible values of V were obtained in order, on the one hand, to win the mechanical inertia of the membrane and, on the other hand, to ensure that the membrane did not touch the upper disk of the device. Lastly, some optimal control conditions based on the variation of potential energy are presented and discussed.

Liquid-Crystal-on-Silicon for Augmented Reality Displays

In this paper, we review liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) technology and focus on its new application in emerging augmented reality (AR) displays. In the first part, the LCoS working principles of three commonly adopted LC modes—vertical alignment and twist nematic for amplitude modulation, and homogeneous alignment for phase modulation—are introduced and their pros and cons evaluated. In the second part, the fringing field effect is analyzed, and a novel pretilt angle patterning method for suppressing the effect is presented. Moreover, we illustrate how to integrate the LCoS panel in an AR display system. Both currently available intensity modulators and under-developing holographic displays are covered, with special emphases on achieving high image quality, such as a fast response time and high-resolution. The rapidly increasing application of LCoS in AR head-mounted displays and head-up displays is foreseeable.