Acousto-optic element, acousto-optic element array, and display apparatus including the acousto-optic element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10353268-B2
Application number	US-201715641687-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 5, 2017
Priority date	Dec 9, 2013
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

Provided are an acousto-optic element, an acousto-optic element array, and a display apparatus including the acousto-optic element array. The acousto-optic element includes: an acousto-optic modulator which includes an acousto-optic layer formed of an acousto-optic material; a light supplier which supplies light to the acousto-optic modulator in a first direction; a first sound-wave modulator which applies first elastic waves to the acousto-optic modulator in a second direction; and a second sound-wave modulator which applies second elastic waves to the acousto-optic modulator in a third direction. The light supplied from the light supplier to the acousto-optic modulator is deflected by diffraction caused by the first elastic waves applied from the first sound-wave modulator and diffraction caused by the second elastic waves applied from the second sound-wave modulator, and is output from the acousto-optic modulator through a front side of the acousto-optic modulator.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An acousto-optic element array comprising a plurality of acousto-optic elements, wherein the plurality of acousto-optic elements comprise:
at least three acousto-optic modulators comprising an acousto-optic layer formed of an acousto-optic material;
a light supplier which supplies light to the at least three acousto-optic modulators in a first direction;
a first sound-wave modulator which applies first elastic waves to the at least three acousto-optic modulators in a second direction; and
a second sound-wave modulator which applies second elastic waves to the at least three acousto-optic modulators in a third direction,
wherein the light supplied from the light supplier to the at least three acousto-optic modulators is deflected by diffraction caused by the first elastic waves applied from the first sound-wave modulator and diffraction caused by the second elastic waves applied from the second sound-wave modulator, and is output from the acousto-optic modulators through a front side of the acousto-optic modulator,
wherein the at least three acousto-optic modulators are arranged in at least one line in a direction perpendicular to the first direction in which the light is supplied to the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

2. The acousto-optic element array of claim 1 , wherein the at least one line is a single line.

3. The acousto-optic element array of claim 2 , wherein the light supplier, the first sound-wave modulator, and the second sound-wave modulator of each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements are disposed at different positions of a front end, a rear end, a side, and an other side of the single line of the least three acousto-optic modulators.

4. The acousto-optic element array of claim 3 , wherein one of the light supplier, the first sound-wave modulator, and the second sound-wave modulator which is disposed at the side or the other side of the single line of the at least three acousto-optic modulators is formed to extend along the single line and is commonly used for the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

5. The acousto-optic element array of claim 3 , wherein one of the light supplier, the first sound-wave modulator, and the second sound-wave modulator which is disposed at the side or the other side of the at least one line of the at least three acousto-optic modulators is individually provided for each of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

6. The acousto-optic element array of claim 3 , wherein one of the light supplier, the first sound-wave modulator, and the second sound-wave modulator which is disposed at the front end or the rear end of the at least one line of the at least three acousto-optic modulators is commonly used for the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

7. The acousto-optic element array of claim 1 , wherein the at least three acousto-optic modulators are arranged in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows.

8. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the light supplier of the plurality of acousto-optic elements extends along an outer side of one of outermost columns of the plurality of columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

9. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the light supplier of the plurality of acousto-optic elements extends along sides of the respective columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

10. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the first sound-wave modulator of the plurality of acousto-optic elements extends along an outer side of one of outermost rows of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

11. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the first sound-wave modulator included in each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements is arranged along an outer side of one of outermost rows of the at least three acousto-optic modulators, so as to be respectively disposed at the plurality of columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

12. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the first sound-wave modulator included in each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements is formed to extend along sides of the respective rows of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

13. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the first sound-wave modulator included in each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements is individually arranged at sides of the respective rows of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

14. The acousto-optic element array of claim 8 , wherein the second sound-wave modulator of the plurality of acousto-optic elements extends along the outer side of an other of the outermost columns of the plurality of columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

15. The acousto-optic element array of claim 8 , wherein the second sound-wave modulator included in each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements is arranged along the outer side of an other of the outermost columns of the plurality of columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators, so as to be respectively disposed at the rows of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

16. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the second sound-wave modulator included in each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements is formed to extend along sides of the respective columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

17. The acousto-optic element array of claim 7 , wherein the second sound-wave modulator included in each of the plurality of acousto-optic elements is individually arranged at sides of the respective columns of the at least three acousto-optic modulators.

18. A display apparatus comprising a display panel comprising an acousto-optic element array, the acousto-optic element array comprising a plurality of acousto-optic elements, wherein the plurality of acousto-optic elements comprise:
at least three acousto-optic modulators comprising an acousto-optic layer formed of an acousto-optic material;
a light supplier which supplies light to the at least three acousto-optic modulators in a first direction;
a first sound-wave modulator which applies first elastic waves to the at least three acousto-optic modulators in a second direction; and
a second sound-wave modulator which applies second elastic waves to the at least three acousto-optic modulators in a third direction,
wherein the light supplied from the light supplier to the at least three acousto-optic modulators is deflected by diffraction caused by the first elastic waves applied from the first sound-wave modulator and diffraction caused by the second elastic waves applied from the second sound-wave modulator, and is output from the at least three acousto-optic modulators through a front side of the at least three acousto-optic modulators,
wherein the at least three acousto-optic modulators are arranged in at least one line in a direction perpendicular to the first direction in which the light is supplied to the at least three acousto-optic modulators,
wherein a plurality of images are displayed by controlling at least one of directions, phases, and intensities of light output from front sides of the at least three acousto-optic modulators 2-dimensionally arranged in the display panel.

19. The display apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the display apparatus displays 2-dimensional images having a single viewpoint regardless of the directions of the light output from the display panel.

20. The display apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the display panel

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
• Univ Ajou Ind Academic Coop Found

Inventors

• Han Seung-Hoon
• Seo Won-Taek
• Oh Hae-Kwan
• Lee Hong-Seok
• Cho Eun-Hyoung
• Lee Kee-Keun

Classifications

• G02B1/005

  made of photonic crystals or photonic band gap materials (photonic band-gap structures or photonic lattices in integrated optics G02B6/1225; photonic band-gap structures or photonic lattices in optical fibres G02B6/02295) · CPC title

• G02F1/332 Primary

  comprising a plurality of transducers on the same crystal surface, e.g. multi-channel Bragg cell · CPC title

• G03H2001/0224

  Active addressable light modulator, i.e. Spatial Light Modulator [SLM] · CPC title

• G02F2202/32

  Photonic crystals · CPC title

• G03H2225/21

  Acousto-optic SLM [AO-SLM] · CPC title