U.S. patent application number 10/700279 was filed with the patent office on 2006-07-13 for mems scanner with dual magnetic and capacitive drive.
Invention is credited to Vincenzo III Casasanta, Frank A. IV DeWitt, Selso H. Luanava, Clarence T. Tegreene, Hakan Urey, Christopher A. Wiklof, Jun Yan.
Application Number | 20060152106 10/700279 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36613739 |
Filed Date | 2006-07-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060152106 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yan; Jun ; et al. |
July 13, 2006 |
MEMS SCANNER WITH DUAL MAGNETIC AND CAPACITIVE DRIVE
Abstract
A MEMS scanning device includes more than one type of actuation.
In one approach capacitive and magnetic drives combine to move a
portion of the device along a common path. In one such structure,
the capacitive drive comes from interleaved combs. In another
approach, a comb drive combines with a pair of planar electrodes to
produce rotation of a central body relative to a substrate. In an
optical scanning application, the central body is a mirror. In a
biaxial structure, a gimbal ring carries the central body. The
gimbal ring may be driven by more than one type of actuation to
produce motion about an axis orthogonal to that of the central
body. In another aspect, a MEMS scanning device is constructed with
a reduced footprint.
Inventors: |
Yan; Jun; (Cincinnati,
OH) ; Casasanta; Vincenzo III; (Woodinville, WA)
; Luanava; Selso H.; (Woodinville, WA) ; Urey;
Hakan; (Istanbul, TR) ; DeWitt; Frank A. IV;
(Lima, NY) ; Tegreene; Clarence T.; (Bellevue,
WA) ; Wiklof; Christopher A.; (Everett, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Microvision, Inc.
PO Box 3008
Bothell
WA
98041
US
|
Family ID: |
36613739 |
Appl. No.: |
10/700279 |
Filed: |
November 3, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60423584 |
Nov 4, 2002 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
310/309 ;
359/200.7; 359/225.1; 359/291 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02B 26/085 20130101;
G02B 26/101 20130101; H02N 1/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
310/309 ;
359/225; 359/291 |
International
Class: |
G02B 26/08 20060101
G02B026/08; H02N 1/00 20060101 H02N001/00 |
Claims
1-7. (canceled)
8. A microelectromechanical resonant device, comprising: a base; a
movable body coupled to the base for resonant motion relative to
the base about a pivot axis; a comb drive coupled to the movable
body and oriented to produce a torque about the pivot axis; and a
magnetic coil carried by the movable body and oriented to produce a
torque about the pivot axis; wherein the base and movable body are
both formed from a semiconductor material.
9. The microelectromechanical resonant device of claim 8 further
including: a first substantially planar electrode carried by the
movable body; and a second electrode positioned to produce an
electrical field extending between the first and second
electrodes.
10. The microelectromechanical resonant device of claim 8 wherein
the movable body and a portion of the comb drive form an integral
body.
11. (canceled)
12. The microelectromechanical resonant device of claim 8 wherein
the movable body includes a polysilicon material.
13. The microelectromechanical resonant device of claim 8 further
comprising a gimbal ring interposed between the base and the
movable body, the frame being coupled to the base and configured
for movement about a second axis substantially orthogonal to the
pivot axis.
14-20. (canceled)
Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application depends from Provisional Patent
Application No. 60/423,584 entitled MEMS DRIVE STRUCTURES, by Yan
et al., filed Nov. 4, 2002.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to microelectromechanical
system (MEMS) devices and, more particularly, to MEMS devices with
motive forces.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] A variety of approaches to actuating MEMS devices have been
described. Some approaches use magnetic fields to pivot a moving
member relative to a substrate. One such approach is described in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,608 to Asada, entitled PLANAR TYPE
ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATOR and U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,666 to Asada et
al., entitled PLANAR TYPE ELECTROMAGNETIC ACTUATOR INCORPORATING A
DISPLACEMENT DETECTION FUNCTION, each of which is incorporated
herein by reference. Other approaches use electrostatic forces to
pivot a moving member or to drive a sliding piece relative to a
substrate. Examples of such devices can be found in U.S. Pat. No.
5,629,790 to Neukermans et al., entitled MICROMACHINED TORSIONAL
SCANNER and U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,297 to Kiang et al., entitled
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OPTICAL SCANNING WITH AN OSCILLATORY
MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEM, each of which is incorporated herein
by reference.
[0004] Among the applications for such MEMS devices are scanning
beam imaging, including image acquisition and display. In image
acquisition, such MEMS devices typically include a mirror that
pivots to sweep a beam through a prescribed scanning field. A
detector in the imaging device collects reflected light and
produces an electrical signal in response. A processor then
identifies image information from the electrical signal. Equipment
incorporating such devices can be found in barcode readers, image
capture systems, confocal imagers, and other applications.
[0005] Scanning beam displays, such as that described in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,467,104 of Furness et al., entitled VIRTUAL RETINAL DISPLAY,
which is incorporated herein by reference, are one approach to
overcoming many limitations of conventional displays. As shown
diagrammatically in FIG. 1, in one embodiment of a scanned beam
display 40, a scanning source 42 outputs a scanned beam of light
that is coupled to a viewer's eye 44 by a beam combiner 46. In some
scanned displays, the scanning source 42 includes a scanner, such
as scanning mirror or acousto-optic scanner, that scans a modulated
light beam onto a viewer's retina. In other embodiments, the
scanning source may include one or more light emitters that are
rotated through an angular sweep.
[0006] The scanned light enters the eye 44 through the viewer's
pupil 48 and is imaged onto the retina 59 by the cornea. In
response to the scanned light the viewer perceives an image. In
another embodiment, the scanned source 42 scans the modulated light
beam onto a screen that the viewer observes. One example of such a
scanner suitable for either type of display is described in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,557,444 to Melville et al., entitled MINIATURE OPTICAL
SCANNER FOR A TWO-AXIS SCANNING SYSTEM, which is incorporated
herein by reference.
[0007] Sometimes such displays are used for partial or augmented
view applications. In such applications, a portion of the display
is positioned in the user's field of view and presents an image
that occupies a region 43 of the user's field of view 45, as shown
in FIG. 2A. The user can thus see both a displayed virtual image 47
and background information 49. If the background light is occluded,
the viewer perceives only the virtual image 47, as shown in FIG.
2B.
[0008] As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3, the scanning source 42
includes an optical source 50 that emits a beam 52 of modulated
light. In this embodiment, the optical source 50 is an optical
fiber that is driven by one or more light emitters, such as laser
diodes (not shown). A lens 53 gathers and focuses the beam 52 so
that the beam 52 strikes a turning mirror 54 and is directed toward
a horizontal scanner 56. The horizontal scanner 56 scans the beam
52 periodically in a sinusoidal fashion. The horizontally scanned
beam then travels to a vertical scanner 58 that scans periodically
to sweep the horizontally scanned beam vertically. For each angle
of the beam 52 from the scanners 56 and 58, an exit pupil expander
62 converts the beam 52 into a set of beams 63. Eye coupling optics
60 collect the beams 63 and form a set of exit pupils 65. The exit
pupils 65 together act as an expanded exit pupil for viewing by a
viewer's eye 44. One such expander is described in U.S. Pat. No.
5,701,132 of Kollin et al., entitled VIRTUAL RETINAL DISPLAY WITH
EXPANDED EXIT PUPIL, which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0009] Returning to the description of scanning, as the beam scans
through each successive location in the beam expander 62, the beam
color and intensity is modulated in a fashion to be described below
to form a respective pixel of an image. By properly controlling the
color and intensity of the beam for each pixel location, the
display 40 can produce the desired image.
[0010] Simplified versions of respective electrical waveforms for
vertical and horizontal scanning are shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.
Responsive to the electrical waveforms, the beam traces the pattern
68 shown in FIG. 5 in an image plane, such as the plane of beam
expander 62 of FIG. 3. Though FIG. 5 shows only eleven lines of
image, one skilled in the art will recognize that the number of
lines in an actual display will typically be much larger than
eleven.
[0011] As can be seen by comparing the actual scan pattern 68 to a
desired raster scan pattern 70, the actual scanned beam 68 can be
"pinched" at the outer edges of the beam expander 62. That is, in
successive forward and reverse sweeps of the beam, the pixels near
the edge of the scan pattern are unevenly spaced. This uneven
spacing can cause the pixels to overlap or can leave a gap between
adjacent rows of pixels. Moreover, because the image information is
typically provided as an array of data, where each location in the
array corresponds to a respective position in the ideal raster
pattern 70, the displaced pixel locations can cause image
distortion. Some approaches to treating such distortions or image
imperfections are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,979 to Gerhard,
et al. entitled SCANNED DISPLAY WITH PINCH TIMING AND DISTORTION
CORRECTION, which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0012] For a given refresh rate and a given wavelength, the number
of pixels per line is determined in the structure of FIG. 3 by the
mirror scan angle .theta. and mirror dimension D perpendicular to
the axis of rotation. For high resolution, it is therefor desirable
to have a large scan angle .theta. and a large mirror. However,
larger mirrors and scan angles typically correspond to lower
resonant frequencies. A lower resonant frequency provides fewer
lines of display for a given period. Consequently, a large mirror
and larger scan angle may produce unacceptable refresh rates for
many MEMS scanners.
OVERVIEW OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In one embodiment, a MEMS device includes a moving portion,
a first electromagnetic field based actuator coupled to drive the
moving portion along a first path, and second electromagnetic field
based actuator coupled to drive the moving portion along the first
path, wherein the first and second electromagnetic actuators to
utilize different types of electromagnetic interaction to drive the
moving portion along the first path. In one embodiment, the first
electromagnetic actuator is an electrostatic actuator and the
second electromagnetic actuator is a magnetic actuator. In another
embodiment, the first electromagnetic actuator is electrostatic
actuator and the second electromagnetic actuator is a comb-drive
actuator.
[0014] In one embodiment, a MEMS device includes a coil carried by
a moving member that interacts with a static magnetic field to
provide a drive force along a selected path. The MEMS device also
includes a capacitor plate aligned to provide a drive force along
the selected path. A drive circuit actuates both the coil and the
capacitor plate to produce a joint drive force that is a
combination of the drive force from the coil and the drive force
from the capacitor plate.
[0015] In one embodiment, the scanning mechanism includes a biaxial
scanner that uses a single mirror to provide both horizontal and
vertical movement of one or more beams. The biaxial scanner is
formed from a gimbal structure having a central mirror portion and
a surrounding portion that carries the central mirror portion. A
substrate carries the surrounding portion. The central mirror
portion is driven by one or more of electrostatic and magnetic
forces. The surrounding portion is driven by electrostatic and
magnetic forces.
[0016] In another approach, a biaxial MEMS scanner utilizes
magnetically and capacitively generated forces to drive the central
mirror portion. In still other approaches, a single axis scanner
includes magnetic and capacitive actuators that jointly drive a
central body about an axis.
[0017] In other embodiments, other types of MEMS devices, such as
gyroscopes include magnetic and capacitive actuators that jointly
drive a central body about an axis. In another embodiment, a MEMS
device includes a capacitive plate type of actuator and a comb
drive actuator that jointly drive a central body. The comb drive
may be a push-pull type as described in WO025170A1: MICROMECHANICAL
COMPONENT COMPRISING AN OSCILLATING BODY of Schenk et al or may be
an offset comb drive such as that described in Conant, Nee, Lau and
Muller; "A Fast Flat Scanning Micromirror", 2000 Solid-State Sensor
and Actuator Workshop, Hilton Head, S.C., June 2000, pp. 6-9; and
R. Conant, J. Nee, K. Lau, R. Muller, "Dynamic Deformation of
Scanning Micromirrors," presented at IEEE/LEOS Optical MEMS 2000,
Kauai, Hi., August 2000.
[0018] In one embodiment, a display incorporates a MEMS device that
includes a plurality of actuators of different types.
[0019] In one embodiment, the MEMS scanner is a resonant scanner
that has a characteristic resonant frequency. Where the resonant
frequency does not match the rate at which image data is supplied,
data may be clocked into and out of the a buffer at different
rates.
[0020] Alternatively, the MEMS scanner may have a tunable resonant
frequency that can be adjusted to conform to the rate at which
image data is provided. In one embodiment of such a MEMS scanner,
described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,590 to Wine, et al., entitled
FREQUENCY TUNABLE RESONANT SCANNER AND METHOD OF MAKING, which is
incorporated herein by reference, a primary oscillatory body
carries a secondary mass that can move relative to the primary
oscillatory body, thereby changing the rotational inertia. The
changed rotational inertia changes the resonant frequency and can
be controlled by an applied control signal. By monitoring movement
of the oscillatory body and comparing the monitored movement to the
desired scanning frequency, a control circuit generates the
appropriate control signal to synchronize the scanning frequency to
the input data rate.
[0021] In another embodiment MEMS scanner is actively tunable. The
scanner includes a torsion arm that supports an oscillatory body.
The torsion arm includes a responsive coating. The responsive
coating, in one embodiment, absorbs or outgasses a selected gas as
controlled by an input electrical signal or other approaches to
controlling gas concentration in the responsive coating. The gas
concentration controls the mechanical properties of the responsive
coating, thereby affecting the mechanical properties of the torsion
arm. Because the mechanical properties of the torsion arm affect
the resonant frequency, the resonant frequency can be controlled by
the input electrical signal or other inputs that control gas
concentration in the responsive coating.
[0022] In one embodiment, an imager includes a MEMS scanner having
a plurality of actuators of different types. In one approach, the
imager acquires images using a plurality of separate detector and
optical source pairs. One embodiment of the imager includes LEDs or
lasers as the optical sources, where each of the optical sources is
at a respective wavelength. The scanning assembly simultaneously
directs light from each of the optical sources to respective
locations an image field. During the time light from its respective
light source strikes each location in the image field, each
detector selectively detects light at the wavelength, polarization,
or other characteristic of its corresponding source, according to
the reflectivity of the respective location. The detectors output
electrical signals to decoding electronics that store data
representative of the image field.
[0023] In one embodiment, the imager includes a plurality of
detector/optical source pairs, where each pair operates at a
respective wavelength within its band. For example, a first of the
pairs may be a red pair that operates at a first red wavelength and
a second of the pairs operates at a second red wavelength different
from the first.
[0024] In one embodiment of an imager including a plurality of
optical sources, each of the optical sources is modulated with a
carrier frequency. One or more optical detectors receives the
reflected light and produces an electrical signal in response.
Frequency components of the electrical signal are separated using
conventional techniques. Then, the separated components are decoded
to produce data corresponding to the image field. From the data, a
representation of the image field can be produced or data
represented by a pattern of reflectivity in the image field can be
identified.
[0025] In one embodiment of an imager, a first optical source is
directed toward the first location in an image field and second
optical source is directed toward second location in the image
field. The first optical source is activated during selected
intervals, typically in a periodic fashion. The second optical
source is activated during periods when the first optical source is
inactive. A detector receives light reflected from the image field
during both the intervals when the first optical source is
activated and intervals when the second optical source is
activated. The detector produces an electrical signal corresponding
to the light reflected in both sets of intervals. Using
conventional time-division demultiplexing, the electrical signal
can be decoded to identify a pattern of reflectivity of areas
illuminated by the first and second optical sources.
[0026] In another embodiment, similar to the previously described
embodiment, separate detectors are used for each of the respective
light sources. Each of the detectors is activated during the
periods when its respective light source is active for the
electrical output of the detector is sampled during the active
period.
[0027] In one embodiment, a pair of optical sources alternately
feed a single scanner from different angles. During forward sweeps
of the scanner, a first of the sources emits light modulated
according to one half of a line. During the return sweep, the
second source emits light modulated according to the second half of
the line. Because the second sweep is in the opposite direction
from the first, data corresponding to the second half of the line
is reversed before being applied to the second source so that light
from the second source is modulated to write the second half of the
line in reverse.
[0028] In one embodiment of the alternate feeding approach, a
single light emitter feeds an input fiber that is selectively
coupled to one of two separate fibers by an optical switch. During
forward sweeps, the optical switch couples the input fiber to a
first of the separate fibers so that the first separate fiber forms
the first optical source. During reverse sweep, the optical switch
feeds the second separate fiber so that the second separate fiber
forms the second source. This embodiment thus allows a single light
emitter to provide light for both optical sources.
[0029] The alternate feeding approach, different wavelength
approach, and time division multiplexing approach can be expanded
to write more than just two tiles or two lines or to capture images
from more than just two tiles or two lines.
[0030] In one approach, the input fiber is coupled to four fibers
by a set of optical switches, where each fiber feeds the scanning
assembly from a respective angle. The switches are activated
according to the direction of the sweep and according to the
tracked location of the user's vision. For example, when the user
looks at the top half of the image, a first fiber, aligned to
produce an image in the upper left tile feeds the scanner during
the forward sweeps. A second fiber, aligned to produce an upper
right tile feeds the scanner during reverse sweeps. When the user
looks at the lower half of the image, a third fiber, aligned to
produce the lower left tile, feeds scanner during forward sweeps. A
fourth fiber, aligned to produce the lower right tile, feeds the
scanner during reverse sweeps.
[0031] In another aspect, a MEMS drive circuit is adapted to
driving a dual-drive MEMS device. In one exemplary embodiment, a
single AC source drives both an electrostatic actuator and an
electromagnetic actuator.
[0032] In another aspect, improved magnet designs offer increased
useable magnetic field strength for moving coil magnetic
actuators.
[0033] According to another embodiment, magnet size is reduced
while maintaining sufficient magnetic field strength across the
actuator.
[0034] In another embodiment a push-pull moving coil magnetic
actuator uses a pair of counter-wound coils that produce
antiparallel driving fields. The counter-wound coils are placed
across an axis of rotation from one another. During one half-phase,
their antiparallel driving fields produce simultaneous repulsion
and attraction forces that tend to rotate the MEMS device in a
given direction around its axis of rotation. During the subsequent
half-phase, the fields are reversed, causing rotation in the
opposite direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0035] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an augmented
display aligned to a viewer's eye.
[0036] FIG. 2A is a view of an augmented image overlaying a
background.
[0037] FIG. 2B is a view of an augmented image with the background
obscured.
[0038] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a scanner and a
user's eye showing bi-directional scanning of a beam and coupling
to the viewer's eye.
[0039] FIG. 4A is a signal-timing diagram of a vertical scan
pattern in the scanning assembly of FIG. 3.
[0040] FIG. 4B is a signal-timing diagram of a horizontal scan
pattern in the scanning assembly of FIG. 3.
[0041] FIG. 5 is a simplified signal position diagram showing the
path followed by the scanned beam in response to the signals of
FIG. 4, as compared to a desired raster scan path.
[0042] FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a display
according to the one embodiment invention including dual light
beams.
[0043] FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a head-mounted scanner
including a tether.
[0044] FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a scanning
assembly within the scanning display of FIG. 6, including a
correction mirror.
[0045] FIG. 9A is a plan view of a dual drive horizontal MEMS
scanner suitable for use in the scanning assembly of FIG. 8.
[0046] FIG. 9B is a side cross sectional view of the horizontal
MEMS scanner of FIG. 9A, showing a second set of actuators embodied
as a pair of electrostatic drive pads.
[0047] FIG. 10 is as diagrammatic representation of a dual-drive
scanner and driving electronics.
[0048] FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view of a MEMS scanner
incorporating a dual-drive actuator using comb-drive electrostatic
and moving coil electromagnetic.
[0049] FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view of an alternative dual drive
MEMS scanner incorporating comb-drive and capacitive plate
electrostatic drive elements.
[0050] FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic view of another alternative MEMS
scanner incorporating three actuators, capacitive plate
electrostatic, comb-drive electrostatic, and moving coil
magnetic.
[0051] FIG. 14 is a representation of a general configuration of a
torsional scanner with coils and magnets for a moving-coil
actuator.
[0052] FIG. 15A is a bottom view of a counter-wound coil push-pull
actuator on a MEMS scanner.
[0053] FIG. 15B shows magnetic field lines for a magnet design for
the MEMS device of FIG. 15A. The B-field strength along the
direction perpendicular to the coil current is in the 0.5-0.7 Tesla
range.
[0054] FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic representation of a compact magnet
design for the dual-coil MEMS actuator of FIGS. 15A and 15B. The
magnetic field strength is shown in the upper view. Magnet
dimensions and orientations are shown below.
[0055] FIG. 17 is a side-by-side comparison of a two-coil, small
bottom magnet design (left) and one-coil side magnet design
(right).
[0056] FIG. 18 illustrates the configuration of a MEMS die and
magnets. Arrows superimposed on the magnets denote the
magnetization directions. An isometric view is shown on the left
and an elevation view on the right.
[0057] FIG. 19 presents FEA model results showing the magnetic
field for the magnet design of FIG. 18. The B vectors of the
magnets are shown on the left. A Bx/Bz comparison at the driving
coils is shown on the right.
[0058] FIG. 20 illustrates an alternative top-and-bottom magnet
design for a moving coil MEMS scanner. Arrows superimposed on the
magnets denote the magnetization directions. An isometric view and
corresponding elevation view are shown on the left and right,
respectively.
[0059] FIG. 21 presents FEA model results showing the magnetic
field for the magnet design of FIG. 20. The B vectors of the
magnets are shown in the upper view. A Bx/Bz comparison at the
driving coils is shown in the lower view.
[0060] FIG. 22 is a diagrammatic representation of scanning with
two input beams, showing slightly overlapped tiles.
[0061] FIG. 23 is a top plan view of a biaxial scanner showing four
feeds at spatially separated locations.
[0062] FIG. 24 is a diagrammatic representation of four tiles
produced by the four feed scanner of FIG. 11.
[0063] FIG. 25 is a schematic of a system for driving the four
separate feeds of FIG. 23, including four separate buffers.
[0064] FIG. 26 is a signal-timing diagram comparing a ramp signal
with a desired signal for driving the vertical scanner.
[0065] FIG. 27 is a signal timing diagram showing positioning error
correction for the vertical scanning position.
[0066] FIG. 28 is a top view of a biaxial scanner including dual
vertical and horizontal drives.
[0067] FIG. 29 is a diagrammatic view of an imager that acquires an
image from a target object.
[0068] FIG. 30 is a diagrammatic view of an alternative embodiment
of the imager of FIG. 29 that also projects a visible image.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0069] As shown in FIG. 6, a scanned beam display 40 according to
one embodiment of the invention is positioned for viewing by a
viewer's eye 44. While the display 40 is presented herein as
scanning light into the eye 44, the structures and concepts
described herein can also be applied to other types of displays,
such as projection displays that include viewing screens, as well
as other types of scanning apparatuses.
[0070] The display 40 includes four principal portions, each of
which will be described in greater detail below. First, control
electronics 74 provide electrical signals that control operation of
the display 40 in response to an image signal VIM from an image
source 76, such as a computer, television receiver, videocassette
player, DVD player, remote sensor, or similar device.
[0071] The second portion of the display 40 is a light source 50
that outputs modulated light beams 52, each having a modulation
corresponding to information in the image signal V.sub.IM. The
light source 50 may utilize coherent light emitters, such as laser
diodes or microlasers, or may use non-coherent sources such as
light emitting diodes. Also, the light source 50 may include
directly modulated light emitters such as light emitting diodes
(LEDs) or may include continuous light emitters indirectly
modulated by external modulators, such as acousto-optic or
electro-optic modulators.
[0072] The third portion of the display 40 is a scanning assembly
82 that scans the modulated beams 52 through two-dimensional
scanning patterns, such as raster patterns. The scanning assembly
82 preferably includes a periodically scanning mirror or mirrors as
will be described in greater detail below.
[0073] Lenses 84 and 53, positioned on opposite sides of the
scanning assembly 82 act as imaging optics that form the fourth
portion of the display 40. The lenses 53 are, in the exemplary
embodiment of FIG. 5, cylindrical graded index (GRIN) lenses that
gather and shape light from the light source 50. Where the light
source 50 includes optical fibers that feed the lenses 53, the
lenses 53 may be bonded to or integral to the fibers.
Alternatively, other types of lenses, such as doublets, triplets,
or more complex solid optical components, may form the lenses 53.
Also, other types of optical elements such as diffractive elements
or microlens arrays may be used to shape and guide the light.
Regardless of the type of element, the overall optical train may
incorporate polarization sensitive materials, chromatic correction,
or any other optical technique for controlling the shape, phase,
reflection, or other characteristics of the light. Moreover,
although the embodiment of FIG. 6 shows two beams 52 feeding the
scanning assembly 82, a single beam or more than two beams may be
used for selected applications.
[0074] This embodiment of the lens 84 is formed from a curved,
partially transmissive mirror that shapes and focuses the scanned
beams 52 approximately for viewing by the eye 44. One skilled in
the art will understand that other conventional optics may be
suitable for various configurations. After leaving the lens 84, the
scanned beams 52 enter the eye 44 through its pupil 90 and strike
the retina 91. As each beam of scanned modulated light strikes the
retina 91, the viewer perceives a respective portion of the image
as will be described below.
[0075] Because the lens 84 is partially transmissive, the lens 84
combines the light from the scanning assembly 82 with the light
received from a background 49 to produce a combined input to the
viewer's eye 44. Although the background 49 is presented herein as
a "real-world" background, the background light may be occluded or
may be produced by another light source of the same or different
type. One skilled in the art will recognize that a variety of other
optical elements may replace or supplement the lenses 84 and/or 53.
For example, diffractive elements such as Fresnel lenses may
replace either or both of the lenses 84 and 53. Additionally, a
beamsplitter and lens, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, may
replace the partially transmissive mirror structure of the lens 84.
Moreover, various other optical elements, such as polarizers, color
filters, exit pupil expanders, chromatic correction elements,
eye-tracking elements, and background masks may also be
incorporated for certain applications.
[0076] Although the elements of FIG. 6 are presented
diagrammatically, one skilled in the art will recognize that the
components are typically sized and configured for the desired
application. For example, where the display 40 is intended as a
mobile personal display, the components are sized and configured
for mounting to a helmet or similar frame as a head-mounted display
40, as shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, a first portion 171 of
the display 40 is mounted to a head-borne frame 174 and a second
portion 176 is carried separately, for example in a hip belt. The
portions 174 and 176 are linked by a fiber optic and electronic
tether 178 that carries optical and electronic signals from the
second portion to the first portion. One or more beams of light
(not shown) are emitted from the end of the tether 178 to impinge
upon the scanning assembly 82. One example is shown
diagrammatically in FIG. 3. An example of a fiber-coupled scanner
display is also found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,979 of Gerhard et al.,
entitled SCANNED DISPLAY WITH PINCH, TIMING, AND DISTORTION
CORRECTION, which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0077] An exemplary embodiment of the scanning assembly 82 will be
described next with reference to FIGS. 8, 9A-B, and 10. The
scanning assembly 82 includes several components that correspond to
the scanning source 42 of FIGS. 1 and 3. Only central rays 52 are
presented for the beams 52 for clarity of presentation.
[0078] In this embodiment, a pair of fibers 50 emit light from the
light sources (not shown) and the lens 84 is represented as a
common refractive lens rather than as a partially transmissive
mirror. The scanning assembly 82 includes an active correction
mirror 100 that can pivot to scan the light beam 52 along the
vertical axis. The correction mirror 100 produces a varying
corrective shift along the vertical axis during each sweep (forward
or reverse) of the horizontal scanner 56. The corrective shift
offsets vertical movement of the beams 52 caused by the vertical
scanner 58 to reduce the overall deviation of the scanning pattern
from the desired pattern shown in broken lines 70 in FIG. 5.
[0079] Before describing the effects of the correction mirror 100
and the relative timing of the various signals, exemplary
embodiments of MEMS scanners 200, 220 suitable for use as the
horizontal scanner 56 and vertical scanner 58 will be described
with reference to FIGS. 9A-B and 10.
[0080] As shown in FIGS. 9A-B, a single axis MEMS scanner formed on
a MEMS die 92 includes a scan plate 180 supported by axially
aligned torsion arms 182 and 184. The scan plate 180 and torsion
arms 182 and 184 are integrally formed in silicon and are
dimensioned to produce a desired resonant frequency. For typical
imaging applications, the resonant frequency is on the order of
1000 to 30,000 Hz.
[0081] The scan plate 180 carries a mirror 181 and a conductive
coil 186 that is electrically isolated from the plate 180. As best
seen in FIG. 9B, a pair of magnets 188 and 190 produce a B-field
that extends across the coil 186. Applying an electrical signal at
pads 192 produces current in the coil 186 that interacts with the
B-field to produce torque about the torsion arms 182 and 184. As
will be described below, for some applications, the coil 186 is
electrically isolated from the scan plate 180, typically by an
insulating layer such as silicon dioxide formed therebetween. For
simplicity of presentation, the silicon dioxide layer is omitted
from FIG. 9B.
[0082] A pair of capacitor plate electrodes 194 and 196 are
positioned beneath the scan plate 180, on opposite sides of the
torsion arms 182 and 184. When one or both of the electrodes 194
and 196 is driven at a voltage relative to the scan plate 180, the
resulting electric fields produce forces on the scan plate 180. The
electric field induced force produces rotation of the scan plate
180 about the torsion arms 182 and 184.
[0083] If both the coil 186 and electrodes 194 and 196 are driven
synchronously, the resulting force about the torsion arms 182 and
184 will be the combination of the magnetically-induced force and
the electrostatically-induced force.
[0084] One approach to applying current to the coil 186 and a
voltage to the electrodes 194 and 196 is presented diagrammatically
in FIG. 10, where an input signal source 187 drives an amplifier
189 at a first of the pads 192 to provide current to the coil 186.
The second pad 192 is grounded to provide a return path for
current.
[0085] A transformer 195 couples the signal from the input signal
source 187 to the electrodes 194 and 196 to produce a differential
voltage between the electrodes. A center tap 199 references the
scan plate 180 to the transformer 195 so that the transformer
output produces voltage differentials between each of the plate
electrodes 194, 196 and the scan plate 180. One skilled in the art
will recognize that the simple diagrammatic structure of FIG. 10
may be modified easily to optimize performance. For example, it may
be desirable in some applications to add phase control circuitry or
to provide a return path for current that is not referenced to
ground.
[0086] In another embodiment of a MEMS die 92, magnetic and
staggered comb drives combine to provide driving force to drive a
MEMS component, as is shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment,
respective sets of moving teeth 1102 project axially from a scan
plate 180 carried by respective torsion arms 182 and 184. The
moving teeth 1102 are interleaved with corresponding sets of fixed
teeth 1108 that project from a substrate 1110. The moving teeth
1102 may be formed as described in WIPO patent application number
WO0025170A1, by Schenk et al., entitled MICROMECHANICAL COMPONENT
COMPRISING AN OSCILLATING BODY, hereby incorporated by
reference.
[0087] The sets of comb drives are staggered in that the moving
teeth 1102 are slightly vertically offset from the fixed teeth
1108. When a voltage is applied between resting sets of teeth 1102
and 1108, the resulting field produces a substantially vertical
force between the sets of teeth 1102 and 1108. The force produces
rotation of the scan plate 180. The moving teeth 1102 in the
embodiment of FIG. 11 are positioned above the fixed teeth 1108 in
their resting positions, to allow additional clearance for the scan
plate and moving teeth 1102 to swing without striking a support
plate 1112. However, where clearance concerns are less significant,
the moving teeth 1102 may be below the fixed teeth 1108.
[0088] As shown in FIG. 11, the electrostatic comb drive described
above is combined with a magnetic drive that includes a magnetic
drive coil 186. The magnetic drive and comb drive may be driven
synchronously to provide an additive drive force in a manner
analogous to the additive effects of the magnetic drive and
electrostatic drive of FIGS. 9A and 9B. Insofar as the drive phase
of a comb drive may differ from that of the electrostatic pads of
FIGS. 9A and 9B, a phase offset should be provided between the comb
drive and the magnetic drive.
[0089] While two embodiments of a MEMS scanner incorporating a
plurality of driving force techniques have been described with
reference to FIGS. 9A-B, 10, and 11, other combinations may be
within the scope of the invention. For example, the comb drive
approach may be combined with the electrostatic pad drive approach,
as shown in FIG. 12. The MEMS die 92 includes comb drives with
fixed and moving teeth 1102, 1108 that operate as described
previously. Additionally, a pair of drive electrodes 194 and 196
are situated beneath the scan plate 180, on a supporting substrate
1204. Here, the MEMS die 92 and supporting substrate 1204 form a
stationary base and torsion arms 182 and 184 form an axis around
which scan plate 180 may rotate in relation to the base. The base
is, in turn, fastened to other portions of a mechanism.
[0090] The drive electrodes 194 and 196 are positioned on opposite
sides of the torsion arms and aligned to produce electric fields
that extend between the drive electrodes and respective sections of
the scan plate 180. When a voltage is applied between a drive
electrode and its respective scan plate section, the electric field
produces a force extending between the drive electrode and the
respective scan plate section. Because the drive electrodes 194 and
196 are substantially fixed and the scan plate 180 is supported by
torsion arms, the force causes the scan plate to rotate about the
axis defined by the torsion arms.
[0091] By synchronizing the voltage applied to the drive electrodes
194 and 196 with the voltage applied between the moving and fixed
teeth 1102 and 1108, the electrostatic forces from the drive
electrodes 1202 and the teeth 1102, 1108 act together to produce
rotation of the scan plate 180 about the axis defined by the
torsion arms.
[0092] While some teeth electrodes are offset to ease
initialization of motion, this structure is not required. Asymmetry
in the structure is typically adequate for initiating oscillation.
Alternatively, additional drive may help to initiate the motion.
For example, in the configuration of FIG. 12, the drive electrodes
194 and 196 can provide force to rotate the scan plate 180
slightly, thereby offsetting the teeth 1102 and 1108. Once the
teeth 1102 and 1108 are offset, electric fields between the teeth
1102 and 1108 provide a primary angular component to produce
rotation of the scan plate 180. This may be a desirable approach in
single crystal silicon or other bulk systems where initialization
of movement of the scan plate 180 may be more difficult. Use of the
electrostatic pads 194 and 196 to initiate asymmetry may also be
used to eliminate the need to offset respective teeth 1102 and
1108, thereby simplifying fabrication of the device.
[0093] Although the embodiments described herein incorporate a
combination of two drive techniques in a single device, more than
two drive techniques may be applied in some configurations. For
example, the magnetic coil approach may be combined with both a
comb drive and drive electrodes, as shown in FIG. 13. In this
approach, fixed and moving teeth 1102 and 1108, drive electrodes
194 and 196, and the coil 186 work together to cause the scan plate
180 to rotate.
[0094] Moreover, although combinations of comb, magnetic, magnetic
coil, and drive electrode approaches are described herein, other
approaches to activating moving MEMS components, such as thermal
drives, piezoelectric drives, gear drives or other known
approaches, may be within the scope of the invention. Additionally,
while the plurality of drive approach has been described herein
with respect to a MEMS optical scanner, the approach may be applied
to other MEMS components, such as gyroscopes, valves, switches, or
other devices.
[0095] As mentioned above, although the comb drive described herein
employs offset or staggered combs, the invention is not so limited.
Where the comb drive is combined with a second drive, such as an
electrostatic, magnetic, or alternative drive, the second drive can
initiate rotation. Once the mirror begins rotating, the combs are
no longer coplanar and a voltage between the combs will generate
rotational force. This approach may be particularly useful for
applications where the complexity of forming a staggered comb is
undesirable. Additionally, this approach may be useful in reducing
undesirable modes caused by vertical components of force vectors
that result from staggering of the combs.
[0096] While the MEMS scanners shown and discussed above describe,
for purposes of simplicity, single-axis embodiments, the approach
may also be applied to multi-axis scanners. Multi-axis scanners are
discussed in more detail below.
[0097] Each of the MEMS scanners described herein is typically
fabricated in silicon according to known semiconductor processing
techniques. Various approaches to such devices include known
processing approaches such as bulk micromachining, surface
micromachining, SOI, or combinations of such processing approaches.
Some such approaches are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,618 to
Neukermans et al., entitled MICROMACHINED HINGE HAVING AN INTEGRAL
TORSIONAL SENSOR, which is incorporated herein by reference. As
described therein torsional movement of a MEMS scanner can produce
electrical outputs from integrated piezoresistors that correspond
to the position of the scanning mirror. Alternatively, the position
of the mirror may be obtained by mounting piezoelectric sensors to
the scanner, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,237 to Melville,
entitled POSITION DETECTION OF MECHANICAL RESONANT SCANNER MIRROR,
which is incorporated herein by reference. Some configurations may
omit the position sensing or may use other approaches to detecting
a scanning position, such as optically detecting a beam
position.
[0098] Returning to the description of resonant optical scanning
with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A-B, if the frequency and phase of
the electric signals are properly synchronized with the movement of
the scan plate 180, the scan plate 180 oscillates at its resonant
frequency with little power consumption.
[0099] The vertical scanner 58 is a discrete, commercially
available galvanometric scanner. Because the rate of oscillation is
much lower for vertical scanning, the vertical scanner 58 is
typically not resonant. The vertical scanner 58 receives light from
the horizontal scanner 56 and produces vertical deflection at about
30-100 Hz. Because the vertical scanner 58 typically operates at a
lower frequency than the horizontal scanner 56, the vertical
scanner 58 may include a scan plate and mirror that are
significantly larger than the mirror 181, thereby reducing
constraints on the positioning of the vertical scanner 58.
[0100] While the previously described embodiment employs a
commercially available galvano-scanner, a MEMS scanner may form the
vertical scanner. The MEMS vertical scanner may use a single form
of drive, such as magnetic, electrostatic, or comb drive.
Alternatively, the MEMS vertical scanner may an employ a dual or
multiple mode drive approach similar to those described with
respect to the scanner of FIGS. 9A-B, 10-13. While separate
vertical and horizontal scanners have been described above, other
scanners, such as biaxial scanners may be within the scope of the
invention, as will be described below.
[0101] Returning to FIGS. 6 and 8, the light sources 50 output
light beams 52 that are modulated according to the image signal
from the control electronics 74. The modulated beams of light
strike the oscillating horizontal mirror 181 (of the horizontal
scanner 56), and are deflected horizontally by an angle
corresponding to the instantaneous angle of the mirror 181.
[0102] The deflected beams then strike the vertical scanner 58 and
are deflected at a vertical angle corresponding to the
instantaneous angle of the vertical scanner 58. After expansion by
the beam expander 62, the beams 52 pass through the lens 84 to the
eye. As will also be described below, the modulation of the optical
beams is synchronized with the horizontal and vertical scans so
that, at each position of the mirrors, the beam color and intensity
correspond to a desired virtual image. Each beam therefore "draws"
a portion of the virtual image directly upon the user's retina.
[0103] In some applications, an exit pupil expander may be used or
may be replaced or supplemented by an eye tracking system. Where an
exit pupil expander is used it may have a variety of structures,
including diffractive or refractive designs, including microlens
arrays. For example, the exit pupil expander may be a planar or
curved structure and may create any number or pattern of output
beams in a variety of patterns. According to the application, the
number of pupils may vary widely. For example, in some applications
a 15 by 15 array may be suitable.
[0104] One skilled in the art will recognize that several
components of the scanning assembly 82 have been omitted from the
FIG. 8 for clarity of presentation. For example, the horizontal and
vertical scanners 56 and 58 are typically mounted to a frame.
Additionally, lenses and other optical components for gathering,
shaping, turning, focusing, or collimating the beams 52 have been
omitted. Also, no relay optics are shown between the scanners 56
and 58, although these may be desirable in some embodiments.
[0105] Turning now to the magnetic coil and fixed magnet driving
structure, the design of the coil 186 that populates the surface of
the MEMS scanner is done so within a variety of constraints;
namely, lithographic electroplating guidelines, coil power
dissipation, overall system power, drive waveform, driver
circuitry, video rates, and of course the scanner die size. Using
lithographic electroplating coil deposition methods, the parameters
that can be adjusted to satisfy such requirements are material
properties, overall patterning, coil trace width, trace pitch, and
deposit thickness. To this end an analytical model is assembled in
order to vary these parameters within the design space. Coil
density, resistivity, thermal properties, and fabrication process
are important criteria in coil material selection. Gold and copper
are commonly used as coil materials. For some applications, copper
is preferred over gold due to its lower resistivity (.rho.) and
lower density.
[0106] The model is based on the integration of the Lorentz force
over the whole MEMS coil and spatial magnetic field. Assuming no
applied electric field, the time dependent torque .GAMMA.(t) of a
conductor having some current distribution J(t) rotated about
vector r and immersed in a static magnetic flux B(r) is expressed
as:
.GAMMA.(t)=.intg..intg..intg.r.times.(J(t).times.B(r))d.sup.3r
[0107] For many MEMS scanner designs, the geometry for this problem
may be dramatically simplified. A MEMS scanner 1401 is depicted in
FIG. 14. A rectangular coil 186 populates the surface of a
rectangular scan plate 180. The coil has a given height h in the y
direction and width w in the {circumflex over (x)} direction. The
coil has a minimum interior exclusion zone within the scan plate of
dimension 2p in the horizontal direction (that is the distance
between the innermost coil segments in the horizontal direction).
The coil also has a maximum exterior border zone between the
outermost coil segment and the edge of the scan plate 180 defined
by a width o, which surrounds the perimeter of the scan plate. The
whole scanner in immersed in an approximately uniform magnetic flux
in the {circumflex over (x)} direction of magnitude By provided by
fixed magnets 1402a and 1402b polled as indicated. Here, the
vertical axis y is defined as the axis around which the scan plate
180 rotates. The horizontal axis {circumflex over (x)} is
orthogonal to the vertical axis and in the nominal plane of the
device.
[0108] In this configuration to good approximation, only conductor
traces perpendicular to B.sub.yy contribute to the net torque.
These individual trace lengths (carrying a given current i) are
denoted with the vector {right arrow over (L)}.sub.j (all having
direction perpendicular to B.sub.yy). The magnetic force on this
individual coil trace is {right arrow over (F)}.sub.j=i{right arrow
over (L)}.sub.j.times.B.sub.yy. If {right arrow over (r)}.sub.j is
the vector whose length is from the axis of rotation to a given
conductor trace, and whose direction is always perpendicular to the
axis of rotation; by symmetry, the torque contribution of the
conductor trace for small angular deflections is: {right arrow over
(.GAMMA.)}.sub.j={right arrow over (r)}.sub.j.times.{right arrow
over (F)}.sub.j={right arrow over (r)}.sub.j.times.(i{right arrow
over (L)}.sub.j.times.B.sub.yy)=iB.sub.y(r.sub.iL.sub.i)
[0109] Thus the total torque will be: .GAMMA. total = j = 1 N
.times. .GAMMA. j = iB y .times. j = 1 N .times. r j .times. L j =
iB y .times. M ##EQU1##
[0110] Here M is identified as the total moment of the coil,
defined as the sum of all the r.sub.jL.sub.j products.
[0111] The torque required to reach a given maximum mechanical scan
angle .THETA..sub.mech is determined by the torsional Hooke's law
rate constant K.sub.f. For MEMS scanners, such mechanical
properties are accurately determined using finite element analysis
(FEA) methods applied to the entire flexure-scan plate-coil
ensemble. The required peak current to reach .THETA..sub.mech can
be calculated by equating the Lorentz torque .GAMMA..sub.total to
the required mechanical torque to reach .THETA..sub.mech i.e. by
setting .GAMMA..sub.total=K.sub.f.THETA..sub.mech. This leads to: i
peak = K f .times. .theta. mech H .function. ( f ) .times. B y
.times. j = 1 N .times. r j .times. L j = K f .times. .theta. mech
H .function. ( f ) .times. B y .times. M ##EQU2##
[0112] Within the factor M lies the parameterized quantities which
determine the coil geometry for the given design space. This will
be described below. Included in this expression is H(f), the
mechanical response amplitude for the operational waveform. This
term accounts for all the Fourier components that comprise the
synthesized waveform, which in turn produces the desired scan
trajectory of beam 52. For simple resonance operation, H(f) is
equal to the Q-factor and for low frequency operation (near static
load conditions) H(f) is unity.
[0113] Determination of the total average power dissipated in the
coil, P.sub.ave=i.sub.peak.sup.2R.sub.coil, also requires a
resistance calculation, which is also parameterized by the geometry
of the coil. The variable parameters available for the coil layout
are the trace width b, their pitch (a+b), and the trace deposit
thickness c. The task at hand is to optimize these values within a
given design space. Using these values (a, b, and c) the following
analytical relations have been derived to calculate the scanner
performance as a function of their variation.
[0114] The number of coils available for a given plate is: N =
trunc .function. [ h 2 - p - o ( a + b ) ] ##EQU3##
[0115] The resistance R coil = .rho. .times. .lamda. bc ##EQU4##
required is determined using the length: .lamda. = n = 1 2 .times.
N .times. w + h - 4 .times. o - ( 2 .times. n + 1 ) .times. a - ( 2
.times. n - 1 ) .times. b ##EQU5##
[0116] The total coil moment M is calculated from: M = .times. [ h
- b 2 - o - a ] .function. [ 2 .times. ( w - 2 .times. o ) - 3
.times. a ] + .times. n = 2 N .times. [ h 2 - o - na - 2 .times. n
- 1 2 .times. b ] .times. [ 2 .times. ( w - 2 .times. o ) - ( 4
.times. n + 1 ) .times. a - ( 4 .times. n - 5 ) .times. b ]
##EQU6##
[0117] Using torsional constant figures K from FEA and magnetic
flux values B.sub.y from both FEA and measurement, such expressions
have proven successful in predicting the current and power
requirements for MEMS scanners as a function of the coil geometry
characteristics.
[0118] A resonant single-axis scanner, such as in the configuration
of scanner 100 of FIG. 8, may be used as a raster pinch correction
scanner as described by H. Urey, F. DeWitt, P. Lopez, and J.
Tauscher; in MEMS Sinusoidal Raster Correction Scanner for SXGA
Retinal Scanning Display," MOEMS Display and Imaging Systems, Proc.
SPIE Vol. 4985, San Jose, Calif., January 2003, hereby incorporated
by reference and as described by H. Urey, F. DeWitt, K. Powell, and
M. Bayer; in "High-Frequency Raster Pinch Correction Scanner for
Retinal Scanning Displays," MOEMS and Miniaturized Systems, SPIE
Vol. 4561, San Francisco, Calif., October 2001; also hereby
incorporated by reference.
[0119] Although a configuration 1401a similar to that of FIG. 14 is
one approach, it is relatively big compared to desired package
sizes. FIG. 15A shows a MEMS scanner 1401b that has a two-coil
architecture and corresponding magnet design developed for a raster
pinch correction scanner. The magnetic flux lines are as shown in
FIG. 15B. The top portion of FIG. 16 shows magnetic field strength
determined by FEA.
[0120] The lower portion of FIG. 16 shows additional detail of the
magnet design. Main magnets 1402a-d are shown ringing the scanner
volume. Main magnets 1402a-d, as indicated by the X's shown
thereon, are polled in a direction that extends down, normal to the
plane of the figure and normal to the nominal plane of the scanner
plate. Small magnets 1602a-1602h placed underneath the coil. These
small magnets help to focus the magnetic field and maximize its
strength at the actuator coils.
[0121] The design of FIGS. 15a-16 provides large fringing fields
and allows utilization of all four sides of the coil for generating
torque. This design improved the torque while substantially
reducing the scanner volume. The reduction in scanner volume is
illustrated in FIG. 17 where the "push-pull" embodiment 1401b is
compared to the size of a more conventional transverse field
embodiment 1401a.
[0122] Although described as applied to a correction scanner 100
such as that of FIG. 8, the design of push-pull MEMS scanner 1401b
of FIGS. 15a through 17 may be alternatively applied to other
applications including a horizontal scanner 56 or a vertical
scanner 58 such as those shown in FIGS. 3 and 8. Alternatively, the
design may be applied to other types of devices. Finally, as will
be appreciated from the discussion below, the push-pull moving coil
magnetic drive MEMS scanner 1401b may be applied to biaxial
scanning.
[0123] One commercially available scanning display system uses a
bi-axial gimbal-mounted MEMS scanner and a synchronized light
source to generate a raster pattern of the display. The horizontal
scanner operates at high frequency (19 kHz for SVGA resolution),
and can be a high-Q resonant device that consumes little power.
Because the device can operate with a low actuation force,
electrostatic actuation is adequate for the horizontal scanner.
However, in a raster-scanning pattern, the vertical scan frame
operates non-resonantly with a ramp waveform at the desired display
frame rate (typically 60 Hz). The vertical scan frame surrounds and
supports the horizontal scanning mirror and is thus inherently
larger. Magnetic actuation provides a large force that produces a
large vertical deflection for the vertical frame.
[0124] FIG. 18 shows the configuration of MEMS die 92 and magnets
for a commercially available personal display system. Two side
magnets 1402a and 1402b with the same magnetization direction,
indicated by arrows, are positioned on opposite sides of the
vertical frame above a bottom magnet 1602 with an opposite
magnetization direction. For a high B-field the magnets are all
made of NdFeB. The bottom magnet (1) keeps the magnetic field flat
in the MEMS die plane to prevent unwanted scanner motion, and (2)
generates a uniform Bx field across the driving coils. FIG. 19
shows FEA results for the design of FIG. 18 by Ansoft Maxwell.RTM..
The modeled values of average Bx and Bz are 0.39 Tesla and -0.004
Tesla, respectively, while the average B measured for 8 actual
assemblies was 0.38 Tesla. The moving coil actuator functions with
a power dissipation of .about.200 mW.
[0125] In a manner analogous to the diagram of FIG. 16, main
magnets 1402 act as the main B field generators while auxiliary
magnet(s) 1402 act to shape the B field. In each case, magnet(s)
1402 serve to focus the magnetic flux across the moving coil
actuators, thus providing greater drive efficiency and torque, and
allowing reduced coil size.
[0126] While the magnet design of FIG. 18 conformed to the design
predictions, next generation wearable displays require even further
size and power consumption reductions. One opportunity to reduce
product size is a reduction in magnet size. The two side magnets
1402a,b add an additional .about.80 mm.sup.2 footprint in the x-y
plane to the .about.90 mm.sup.2 die 92.
[0127] A top-and-bottom magnet configuration for MEMS actuators
minimizes the total packaging size and simplifies the packaging
procedure. As shown in FIG. 20, two magnets 1402a and 1402b are
located above the plane of MEMS die 92, which includes drive coils
186 (not shown), and another two magnets 1402c and 1402d below the
plane. The upper two magnets 1402a and 1402b are also chamfered to
create clearance for the input and output optical beams. FIG. 21
shows the FEA result for the B vector, which reaches substantially
the same magnitude as the side-and-bottom magnet embodiment of FIG.
19. Compared to the embodiment of FIG. 19, the total magnet volume
is reduced by about 60%, and the magnet footprint is superimposed
with that of the MEMS die itself, all without reducing the
effective magnetic field. This smaller magnet embodiment led to a
reduction of the MEMS packaging size of up to about 70%. Prototypes
of the magnet embodiment of FIG. 20, with the same MEMS die
embodiment as that of FIG. 19, functioned at the same power
dissipation level, and met other system requirements.
[0128] Turning to FIGS. 22 and 23, the effect of the plurality of
beams 52 will now be described. As is visible in FIG. 22, two
fibers 50 emit respective light beams 80. The GRIN lenses 53 gather
and focus the beams 80 such that the beams 80 become converging
beams 52 that strike a common mirror 181 of a bidirectional scanner
1090.
[0129] For clarity of presentation, the embodiment of FIG. 22
eliminates the mirror 84, as is desirable in some applications.
Also, the embodiments of FIGS. 22 and 23 include a single mirror
181 that scans biaxially instead of the multiple mirror structure
of scanning assembly 82 shown in FIGS. 3 and 9. Such a biaxial
structure is described above in greater detail below with reference
to FIGS. 23 and 28. One skilled in the art will recognize that a
dual mirror system may also be used, though such a system would
typically involve a more complex set of ray traces and more complex
compensation for differing optical path lengths.
[0130] Also, although the fibers 50 and lenses 84 of FIG. 22 appear
positioned in a common plane with the scanning mirror 181, in many
applications, it may be desirable to position the fibers 50 and
lenses 84 off-axis, as is visible in FIG. 23. Moreover, where four
fiber/lens pairs are used, as in FIG. 23, a beam splitter or other
optical elements can allow the fiber/lens pairs to be positioned
where they do not block beams 52A-D from other fiber/lens pairs.
Alternatively, other approaches, such as small turning mirrors can
permit repositioning of the fiber/lens pairs in non-blocking
positions with little effect on the image quality.
[0131] After exiting the lens 53, the first beam 52A strikes the
scanning mirror 181 and is reflected toward an image field 1094.
The second beam 52B is also reflected by the scanning mirror 181
toward the image field 1094. As shown by the ray tracing of FIG.
22, the horizontal position of the beams 52A-B in the image field
1094 will be functions of the horizontal angular deflection of the
scanner 1090 (and hence the horizontal angular deflection of the
mirror surface 181) and the position and orientation of the lens 53
and fiber 50. Similarly, with respect to vertical position, the
vertical position of the beams 52 in the image field 1094 will be
functions of the vertical angular deflection of the scanner 1090
and the position and orientation of the lens 53 and fiber 50 in the
vertical plane.
[0132] At the image field 1094, the first beam 52A illuminates a
first region 1202A and the second beam 52B illuminates a second
region 1202B that has a non-overlapping portion with respect to the
first region 1202A. To allow a smooth transition between the two
regions 1202A and 1202B, the two regions overlap slightly in a
small overlap region 1098. Thus, although the two regions are
substantially distinct, the corresponding image portions may be
slightly "blended" at the edges.
[0133] While only two beams 52A-B are visible in FIG. 22, more than
two fiber/lens pairs can be used and the fiber/lens pairs need not
be coplanar. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 23, four separate
lenses 53 transmit four separate beams 52A-D from four spatially
separated locations toward the bidirectional scanner 1090. As shown
in FIG. 23, the mirror 181, situated in the bidirectional scanner
1090 (of which MEMS die 92 is a principal component) so as to pivot
in two axes, reflects each of the four beams 52A-D to a respective
spatially distinct region 1202A-D of the image field 1094. Upper
horizontally opposed regions 1202A and 1202B of image field 1094
include a small blending zone 1098 therebetween as do lower
horizontally opposed regions 1202C and 1202D. Similarly, a vertical
blending zone 1099 is positioned at the vertical overlap between
upper tiles 1202A-B and respective lower tiles 1202D-C.
[0134] Thus, the four beams 52A-D each illuminate four separate
"tiles" 1202A-D that together form an entire image. One skilled in
the art will recognize that more than four tiles may form the
image. For example, adding a third set of fiber/lens pairs could
produce a 2-by-3 tile image or a 3-by-2 tile image. Additionally,
tiles need not be precisely horizontally and vertically aligned.
For example, it may be advantageous in some applications to arrange
horizontal rows offset from one another, akin to a "running bond"
bricklaying pattern.
[0135] To produce an image, the intensity and color content of each
of the beams 52A-D is modulated with image information as the
mirror 181 sweeps through a periodic pattern, such as a raster
pattern. FIG. 25 shows diagrammatically one embodiment where the
beams 52A-D can be modulated in response to an image signal
V.sub.IM to produce the four tiles 1202A-D.
[0136] The image signal V.sub.IM drives an A/D converter 1302 that
produces corresponding data to drive a demultiplexer 1304. In
response to the data and a clock signal CK from the controller 74
(FIG. 6), the demultiplexer 1304 produces four output data streams,
where each data stream includes data corresponding to a respective
image tile 1202A-D. For example, the demultiplexer 1304 outputs
data corresponding to the first half of the first line of the image
to a first buffer 1306B and the data corresponding to the second
half of the first line to a second buffer 1306A. The demultiplexer
1304 then outputs data corresponding to the second line of the
image to the second lines of the first two buffers 1306B and A.
After the first two buffers 1306B and 1306A contain data
representing the upper half of the image, the demultiplexer 1304
then begins filling third and fourth buffers 1306C and D. Once all
of the buffers 1306A-D are full, an output clock CKOUT clocks data
simultaneously from all of the buffers 1306A-D to respective D/A
converters 1308A-D. The D/A converters 1308A-D then drive
respective light sources 50 to produce light that is scanned into
the respective regions 2102A-D, as described above. The actual
timing of the pixel output is controlled by the output clock
CKOUT.
[0137] While a basic buffer approach is described herein, other
approaches may be applied to control the timing and scanning
assemblies described herein. One approach is described in
co-pending U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/282,719 of Bright,
et al. entitled ELECTRONICALLY SCANNED BEAM DISPLAY filed Apr. 9,
2002, which is commonly assigned herewith and is incorporated
herein by reference.
[0138] One skilled in the art will recognize that, although the
system of FIGS. 23-25 describes four separate regions 1201A-D, a
larger or smaller number of regions may be used. Also, where some
overlap of the regions 1202A-D is desired, common data can be
stored in more than one buffer 1306A-D. Because the sets of common
data will duplicate some pixels in the overlapping region, the data
may be scaled to limit the intensity to the desired level.
[0139] One approach to improving image quality that is helpful in
"matching" the image portions 1202A-D to each other will now be
described with reference to FIGS. 26 and 27. Because the angle of
the beams 52A-D is determined by the angles of the vertical and
horizontal scanner (for the uniaxial, two scanner system) or the
horizontal and vertical angles of the single mirror (for the
biaxial scanner), the actual vector angle of the beams 52A-D at any
point in time can then be determined by vector addition. In most
cases, the desired vertical portions of the scan patterns will be a
"stair step" scan pattern, as shown by the broken line 2602 in FIG.
26.
[0140] If the active correction mirror 100 (FIG. 8) is disabled,
the pattern traced by the ray will be the same as that described
above with respect to FIGS. 3-5, namely solid line 68 of FIG. 5.
This is because the vertical motion of the vertical scanner is more
nearly represented by the solid line 2604 than the desired stair
step pattern 2602. The actual scan path 68 thus slopes down to the
right on left-to-right scans and slopes down to the left on
right-to-left scans.
[0141] One approach to providing the stair step pattern would be to
drive the vertical scanner 58 with a stair step voltage. However,
because the vertical mirror is a physical system and the stair step
involves discontinuous motion, the vertical mirror will not follow
the drive signal exactly. Instead, as the vertical mirror attempts
to follow the stair step pattern, the vertical mirror will move at
a maximum rate indicated largely by the size and weight of the
vertical mirror, the material properties of the mirror support
structure, the peak voltage or current of the driving signal, the
electrical properties of the driving circuitry, and the torque of
the actuator. For a typical vertical scan mirror size,
configuration, scan angle and driving voltage, the vertical scanner
58 is limited to frequencies on the order of 100 to 3000 Hz. The
desired scan pattern has frequency components far exceeding this
range. Consequently, driving the vertical scanner 58 with a stair
step drive signal can produce a vertical scan pattern that deviates
significantly from the desired pattern.
[0142] To correct for this deviation from the desired scan pattern,
the active correction scanner 100 can be actuated at approximately
twice the horizontal scanner frequency to produce an offset, such
that the beam more closely follows the desired scan pattern 70 of
FIG. 5. A variety of approaches to adding this correction offset
are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,979 to Gerhard. Additionally,
to ease matching of the correction frequency with the horizontal
scan frequency or to the horizontal rate of the image signal, the
MEMS scanners may be modified to provide active or passive
frequency control, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,489 to
Helsel, et al entitled FREQUENCY TUNABLE RESONANT SCANNER WITH
AUXILIARY ARMS which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0143] One way to run the correction mirror is indicated in FIG.
27. Here, the horizontal mirror angle is shown as a sinusoidal
waveform 2702. The horizontal mirror resonates between respective
left and right maximum deflections -.THETA..sub.MAX and
.THETA..sub.MAX. The field-of-view (FOV) is chosen to be somewhat
narrower, ranging from -.THETA..sub.FOV TO .THETA..sub.FOV.
Superimposed, for purposes of clarity, is a correction mirror
waveform 2704. In this example, the correction mirror is driven in
a progressive scan between t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 that deflects the
beam downward somewhat while the scan beam is in the portion of its
scan where it enters the FOV, and upward where it exits the FOV.
For a right-to-left scan corresponding to the downward portion of
the horizontal waveform, this results in the beam being placed
somewhat lower than its nominal vertical position in the right half
of the FOV and somewhat higher than its nominal vertical position
in the left half of the FOV. Similarly, for a left-to-right scan
corresponding to the upslope of waveform 2702, waveform 2704
indicates the beam to be deflected somewhat below its nominal
vertical position in the left half of the FOV and somewhat above
its nominal vertical position in the right half of the FOV. The
correction mirror performs a flyback during the period where the
nominal beam position is beyond the selected FOV.
[0144] The net effect of the beam correction indicated by FIG. 26
is to make the vertical scan more nearly approach the ideal
stairstep path 2602 than the linear path 2604, the beam vertical
position remaining more constant during the period when the beam is
traversing the FOV. The correction mirror thus offsets the nominal
movement of the vertical scan mirror during the horizontal scan.
Looked at another way, the beam path more nearly approximates the
ideal raster pattern; 70 than the pinched pattern 68 of FIG. 5.
[0145] As an alternative to the roughly sawtooth correction mirror
waveform of FIG. 15, the correction mirror may be driven in a
sinusoidal pattern or other pattern that results in the raster
pattern being less pinched than scan pattern 68 of FIG. 5. For
driving in a sinusoidal pattern, the primary drive frequency is set
at twice the horizontal drive frequency. The phase is set such that
the correction scan crosses midpoint both when the horizontal scan
passes midpoint and when it reaches .+-..THETA..sub.MAX, and such
that the correction mirror deflects the beam downward as the
horizontal scan mirror passes through the first half of the FOV and
upward as it passes through the second half of the FOV (in both
left-to-right and right-to-left scan directions).
[0146] FIG. 28 shows another embodiment of a scanning assembly 82
that employs a biaxial scanner 1090 as the principal scan
component. The biaxial scanner 1090 is a single mirror device that
oscillates about two orthogonal axes. General design, fabrication
and operation of such scanners are described for example in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,629,790, entitled Micromachined Torsional Scanner, by
Neukermans et al.; in Asada, et al, Silicon Micromachined
Two-Dimensional Galvano Optical Scanner, IEEE Transactions on
Magnetics, Vol. 30, No. 6, 4647-4649, November 1994; and in Kiang
et al, Micromachined Microscanners for Optical Scanning, SPIE
proceedings on Miniaturized Systems with Micro-Optics and
Micromachines II, Vol. 3008, February 1997, pp. 82-90; each of
which is incorporated herein by reference. The bi-axial scanner
1090 includes integral sensors that provide electrical feedback of
the mirror position to the scan controller 2032, as is described in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,618 to Neukermans et al., entitled
MICROMACHINED HINGE HAVING AN INTEGRAL TORSIONAL SENSOR, which was
incorporated by reference above.
[0147] As noted previously, the scanner of FIGS. 9A and 9B may
incorporate two or more drive approaches to produce motion about
one or more of the axes. Several embodiments were illustrated in
FIGS. 11-13. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 28, a central scan
plate 180 is positioned above a pair of capacitive plate electrodes
194 and 196 and supported by respective torsion arms 182 and 184
extending from a gimbal ring 2026. A mirror 181 is formed on the
top surface of scan plate 180.
[0148] The gimbal ring 2026 is supported in turn by a pair of
vertical torsion arms 2040 and 2041 that extend from a substrate
92. Substrate 92, which comprises a portion of the MEMS die, is in
turn supported by support plate 1112. Because the vertical scan
torsion arms 2040 and 2041 are orthogonal to the horizontal scan
torsion arms 182 and 184, the gimbal ring 2026 can pivot about an
axis orthogonal to that of the central scan plate 180.
[0149] Similarly to the previously described embodiment of FIG. 12,
a set of fingers 1102 extend from the scan plate 180 and interleave
a set of fingers 1108 that extend from the gimbal ring 2026. In
some embodiments, the fingers 1108 are vertically offset from the
fingers 1102.
[0150] In operation, an electronic drive circuit 2032 applies a
drive voltage between the electrodes 194,196 and the scan plate
180. The drive voltage produces torque about the torsion arms
182,184 in a manner similar to that described above.
[0151] Simultaneously, the drive circuit 2032 provides a voltage
between the fingers 1102 and 1108 that produces a rotational torque
about the torsion arms 182, 184. Because the finger and electrode
voltages are synchronized, their resulting torques jointly provide
rotation of the scan plate 180 relative to the gimbal ring
2026.
[0152] The gimbal ring 2026 is also dual drive in this embodiment.
The gimbal ring 2026 includes an integral moving comb 2024 with
fingers that extend into a fixed comb 2030 that extends from the
substrate 92. The gimbal ring 2026 also carries a coil 2048 that is
insulated from the main body of the gimbal ring 2026 by an
insulative layer, such as silicon dioxide.
[0153] To provide vertical scanning, the drive circuit 2032
provides a driving voltage between the combs 2024, 2030 and a drive
current to the coil 2048. As described previously, the voltage
applied between the combs 2024, 2030 produces a torque about the
torsion arms 2040, 2041. Simultaneously, the drive current
interacts with a fixed B-field from a pair of opposed magnets (not
shown) and provides supplemental torque to the gimbal ring 2026.
Responsive to the electrostatic and electromagnetic torques, the
gimbal ring 2026 pivots about the torsion arms 2040, 2041. The
angle and frequency at which the mirror pivots is a function of the
mechanical characteristics and dimensions of the torsion arms and
gimbal ring 2026, as well as the amount of electromagnetic force
from the current interacting with the B-field, the amount of
electrostatic force from the electrodes, and the frequency and
waveform with which the coil and electrodes are driven.
[0154] While the two-dimensional embodiment described herein
incorporates comb and electrostatic drive for scan plate 180 and
comb and electromagnetic drive for the gimbal ring 2026, other
combinations of drives may be within the scope of the invention.
Moreover, like the two scanner system described above with
reference to FIGS. 3 and 8, such biaxial scanners may suffer
similar raster pinch problems due to movement along the slower scan
axis during sweeps along the faster scan axis and the techniques
described herein may be applied where desirable. The techniques
referenced previously may be applied to biaxial scanning imaging
systems.
[0155] Although the embodiments described herein have been
displays, other devices or methods may be within the scope of the
invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 29, an imager 600 includes
a biaxial MEMS scanner 1090 and correction scanner 100 that
together function similarly to scan module 82 of FIG. 8. The imager
600 is an image collecting device that may be the input element of
a digital camera, bar code reader, two dimensional symbol reader,
document scanner, endoscope, confocal microscope or other image
acquisition device.
[0156] The imager 600 also includes a set of high brightness light
sources 50, such as LEDs or lasers that output substantially
continuous beams of light toward the correction scanner 100 and
bidirectional scanner 1090. Each of the light sources 50 emits
light of a selected wavelength that is different from that of the
other light sources 50 to ease differentiation of beams, although
in some applications common wavelength devices may be used, as will
be described below. As will be also described below, the use of
light of different wavelengths allows light from the respective
light sources to be treated independently of that from the other
light sources. In one example of a multiwavelength structure where
imager 600 is a symbol reader, the illumination sources 50 may
include infrared or red light emitters that emit beams of light
into a beam splitter 616. In such a configuration, the interleaved
approach using a plurality of beams, described below, may be
preferred. Alternatively, the light emitters may direct light using
optical fibers as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8.
[0157] The beam splitter 616 directs the illuminating light beams
toward the correction scanner 100 where the illuminating light is
redirected to the biaxial scanner 1090. The biaxial scanner 1090
scans through a generally raster pattern to direct light from the
light sources 50 onto respective locations on a target object 608.
Movement of the biaxial scanner 1090 thus translates to the
illuminating successive points of the target object 608. Because
the illuminating light beams are not collinear, the illuminating
light beams strike the target object 608 at separate series of
locations. The locations struck by the beam may be substantially
spatially separate contiguous, such as described with reference to
FIGS. 22-24 or may be interleaved lines, similar to an interlaced
cathode ray tube scanning pattern, depending upon the alignment of
the particular light sources with respect to the scanner. While a
typical interlaced monitor or television uses a single beam that
sweeps a first set of lines followed by a second pass in which the
beam sweeps the interleaved set of lines, the approach described
herein is not so limited. In some applications, two or more beams
may be swept simultaneously across two or more interleaved
lines.
[0158] As each beam strikes the target object 608, a portion of the
beam's light is reflected toward the imager 600. The amount of
light reflected to the imager 600 is a function of the reflectivity
of the location struck by the beams.
[0159] To allow the imager 600 to gather light efficiently, the
imager 600 includes gathering optics 606 that collect and transmit
light from a target object 608 outside of the imager 600 onto a set
of photodetectors 614. The gathering optics 606 are configured to
have a field of view and other optical characteristics appropriate
for the particular application. For example, where the imager 600
is a two dimensional symbology reader, the gathering optics 606 may
be optimized for red or infrared light. The optics may also be
positioned at other locations along the optical path to allow
smaller, cheaper components to be used.
[0160] Because each photodetector 614 is sensitive only to light of
its respective light beam, each of the photodetectors 614 can
separately detect light from the respective set of locations struck
by its respective light beam. Each photodetector 614 converts the
received light energy at its corresponding wavelength into an
electrical signal that is received by decoding electronics 612. The
decoding electronics 612 converts the electrical signals into data
and processes the data to construct an overall data map
representing the reflectivity of all of the regions scanned by the
light beams. Consequently, the overall data map represents an image
of a portion of the target object 608. The decoding electronics 612
can then perform additional processing to identify information
represented by the reflectivity pattern or to produce data for
further applications, such as printing. For example, where the
imager 600 is a symbology reader, the decoding electronics 612 may
include symbol decoding and storing circuitry and further
electronics for assembling the image form the stored files. Where
the imager is a portion of a camera, the decoding electronics 612
may include digital-to-analog converters, memory devices, and
associated electronics for storing a digital representation of the
scanned area and further electronics for assembling the image from
the stored data. One skilled in the art will recognize that,
although the correction scanner 100 is positioned before the
bi-axial scanner 1090 in this embodiment, it may be desirable to
position the correction scanner 100 following the bi-axial scanner
1090 in some applications.
[0161] While the embodiments described with respect to FIG. 29 use
photodetectors 614 that are sensitive to the respective wavelengths
of their respective sources, other approaches to simultaneously
detecting a plurality of locations on the target object may be
employed. For example, each of the light sources 50 may be
modulated at a respective carrier frequency. A single photodetector
or a plurality of photodetectors can then receive reflected light
from the target object 608 and produce an electrical signal
corresponding to the reflected light. By synchronously demodulating
the electrical signal using conventional heterodyning or similar
techniques, each of the frequency components corresponding to the
respective light beams can be identified and treated
separately.
[0162] While the modulated beam approach and the interleaved
approach have been described separately, the two approaches are not
necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, to further ease
discrimination between beams, the modulated beam approach may be
combined with the interleaved approach. Moreover, while the
embodiments described above incorporate beams that converge on a
single mirror, in some applications it may be desirable to use a
plurality of scanning mirrors scanning respective beams or sets of
beams. For example, separate scanner assemblies can allow a user to
increase the imager's field of view or lines of resolution in a
modular approach. Alternatively, to ease assembly or alignment, the
scanning assembly can include a plurality of adjacent mirrors
fabricated as an integral portion of a silicon wafer.
[0163] The separate scan beams generated by each light source 50
may alternatively be made to scan substantially the same field of
view. For the case of separate scan mirrors 1090, such mirrors may
be spaced apart to create a plurality of perspective views of the
target object 608. Such perspective views are affected to a greater
or lesser degree by spectral scattering of their respective beams
on the target object surface, depending upon the target object's
orientation to each perspective and the gloss characteristics of
the target object surface. When the signals received by each
corresponding detector 614 are decoded, the specular response from
each respective beam will vary to create decodable regions and
non-decodable regions. Thus, the use of a plurality of perspective
views may be used to decode a symbol that would otherwise be
undecodable due to specular response of the target object. The
selection of the particular perspective may be made globally across
a given image, or alternatively may be applied selectively; each
beam providing information lost in specular response to other
beams.
[0164] As an alternative to using separate bidirectional scanners
1090 spaced apart to provide redundant perspectives, a single
scanner may be used in combination with post scanner optics to
provide a plurality of perspectives. Such post scanner optics may
include one or more mirrors, lenses, or holographic elements or
combinations thereof.
[0165] In one embodiment of the imager 600 of FIG. 29, one or more
of the illumination sources 614 includes a visible, directly
modulated light source, such as a red laser diode or a visible
wavelength light emitted diode (LED). As shown in FIG. 30, the
visible illumination source 50 can thus produce a visible image for
the user. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 30, the imager can
operate as a symbology scanner to identify information contained in
a symbol on the target object 608. Once the decoding electronics
612 identifies a desired image to be viewed, such as an item price
and identity, the decoding electronics 612 modulates the drive
current of the illumination sources 50 to modulate the intensity of
the emitted light according to the desired image. When the user
directs the imager 600 toward a screen 619 (or the target object),
the illuminating light is scanned onto the screen 619 as described
above. Because the illuminating light is modulated according to the
desired image, the visible light reflected from the screen 619 is
spatially modulated according to the desired image. The imager 600
thus acts as an image projector in addition to acquiring image
data. In addition to, or as an alternative to, modulating the diode
to produce an image, the light sources 50 corresponding to each of
the regions of the target object 608 may also output continuous or
pulsed beams of light that fill the entire field of view of the
imager 600. The imager 600 thus provides a spotter frame 618 that
indicates the field of view to the user. Similarly, the
illumination sources 50 can be modified to outline the field of
view or to produce other indicia of the field of view, such as
cross hatching or fiducials, to aid the user in aligning the imager
600 to the target object 608.
[0166] Although the invention has been described herein by way of
exemplary embodiments, variations in the structures and methods
described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. For example, the positioning of the various
components may also be varied. In one example of repositioning, the
correction scanners can be positioned in the optical path either
before or after the other scanners. Also, an exit pupil expander
may be added or omitted in many applications. In such embodiments,
conventional eye tracking may be added to ease coupling of the
scanned beam to the eye. Moreover, the scanning system can be used
for projection displays, optical storage and a variety of other
scanned light beam applications, in addition to scanned retinal
displays. Additionally, in some applications it may be desirable
for ease of positioning or for other reasons to use a plurality of
scanners, each of which may be fed by one or more beams. In such a
structure, each scanner and its corresponding light sources produce
respective sets of tiles. The overall image is than formed by
combining the sets of tiles from each of the scanners, either by
adjacent positioning or by overlapping. Although overlapping is
generally preferred only where each scanner is used for a
respective wavelength, in some applications overlapping may be used
for interlacing or other approaches to image combination.
[0167] Moreover, although the exemplary scanning assemblies
described herein utilize torsionally mounted mirrors, other
scanning assembly structures, such as spinning polygons, comb drive
mirrors, acousto-optic scanners, and other scanning structures may
be within the scope of the invention. Additionally, while the
actuators described herein are carried by the central body, the
actuators may be mounted, carried, or otherwise coupled elsewhere,
including coupling directly to the torsion arms. Also, while the
beams are shown as converging upon a single scanner, in some
applications it may be desirable to use separate scanners for each
beam of light or to use a plurality of scanners that each reflect a
plurality of beams. Accordingly, the invention is not limited
except as by the appended claims.
* * * * *