<title>Ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulators for projection display</title>

Abstract

We report prototype active-matrix liquid crystal spatial light modulators using ordinary silicon integrated-circuit backplanes and incorporating a fast-switching ferroelectric liquid crystal light modulating layer at the backplane's surface. Backplanes reported here utilize a fully- planarized three-metal CMOS process for improved optical throughput, contrast, and light tolerance. We report a 256 X 256 device with 15 micrometers SRAM pixels having 87% fill- factor, optical throughput of 36 - 45%, contrast ratio of 80:1, and electrical rise/fall times of 85 microsecond(s) . We also report DRAM arrays with pixel pitches of 7.5 micrometers and 5.7 micrometers , with fill factors of 75% and 69%, respectively.