EP0494666A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Spatial light modulator
Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1992-01-09
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-01-09
Abstract
Abstract There is disclosed a spatial light modulator comprising a photoconductive layer with p-type, i-type and n-type regions, a liquid crystal layer and two electrically conductive electrodes between which the photoconductive layer and the liquid crystal layer are sandwiched, wherein the thickness of the i-type region of the photoconductive layer is determined so that a depletion layer is generated across the entire i-type region when a voltage is applied between the two electrodes to operate the spatial light modulator in such a manner that an inverse bias current is caused in the photoconductive layer. <IMAGE>
Inventors
- 👤 Koji Akiyama
- 👤 Akio Takimoto
- 👤 Hisahito Ogawa
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 05:34
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02F; G02F1/00; G02F1/01; G02F1/13; G02F1/133; G02F1/135; G02F1/1354; G06; G06N; G06N3/00; G06N3/02; G06N3/06; G06N3/067; G06N3/0675; G02F1/136; G02F2202/00; G02F2202/10; G02F2202/103
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
84 words
A spatial light modulator comprising two conductive electrodes sandwiching a liquid crystal layer and a photoconductive layer with p-type, i-type, and n-type regions, being characterized in that the i-type region of said photoconductive layer is formed to have a thickness such that a depletion layer is generated across the entire i-type region when a voltage for operating said spatial light modulation element is applied between said two conductive electrodes in such a manner that an inverse bias current is caused in said photoconductive layer.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
24 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 1 wherein one of said conductive electrodes is formed between said photoconductive layer and liquid crystal layer.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 1 wherein said photoconductive layer is formed by an amorphous semiconductor containing hydrogen and at least one of the elements carbon, silicon, and germanium.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 1 wherein said liquid crystal layer is comprised of a ferroelectric liquid crystal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 3 wherein the thickness of the i-region of said photoconductive layer is within a range from 0.1 to 1.6 µm.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 3 wherein the photoconductive layer contains at least nitrogen or oxygen.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 3 wherein the hydrogen content of the n-region of said photoconductive layer is greater than that of the i-region.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
A spatial light modulator according to Claim 3 wherein the oxygen or nitrogen content in the n-region of said photoconductive layer is high.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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