A light irradiation apparatus includes a light source, a dispersive element, a spatial light modulator, and a focusing element. The dispersive element disperses pulsed light output from the light source and outputs the light. The dispersive element includes, for example. The spatial light modulator modulates a phase spectrum or an intensity spectrum of the light output from the dispersive element and outputs the light. The focusing element receives the light output from the spatial light modulator in a dispersing state, and focuses the light on a common region (focusing region) in a surface or an inside of an object.

An imaging directional backlight apparatus includes a waveguide and a light source array, providing large area directed illumination from localized light sources. The waveguide may include a stepped structure, and the steps may further include extraction features optically hidden to guided light, propagating in a forward direction. Returning light propagating in a backward direction may be refracted, diffracted, or reflected by the features to provide discrete illumination beams exiting from the top surface of the waveguide. Viewing windows are formed through imaging individual light sources and define the relative positions of system elements and ray paths. The imaging directional backlight apparatus further includes a control system for controlling the light output directional distribution in an automotive or vehicle environment in dependence on the output from sensors mounted on the vehicle. The control system is arranged to control the light output direction distribution of portable directional displays co-located with the vehicle.

A digital micromirror device comprises an array of micromirror pixels, the array comprising a first micromirror pixel and a second micromirror pixel. The first micromirror pixel comprises a hinge, where the hinge is configured to tilt toward a first raised address electrode and toward a second raised address electrode. The first micromirror pixel also comprises a first micromirror coupled to the hinge, where the first micromirror has a sculpted edge. The second micromirror pixel comprises a second micromirror, where a first gap between a first point on the sculpted edge and a nearest point to the first point on the second micromirror is larger than a second gap between a second point on the sculpted edge and a nearest point to the second point on the second micromirror.

There is provided a holographic projector comprising a hologram engine and a controller. The hologram engine is arranged to provide a hologram comprising a plurality of hologram pixels. Each hologram pixel has a respective hologram pixel value. The controller is arranged to selectively-drive a plurality of light-modulating pixels so as to display the hologram. Displaying the hologram comprises displaying each hologram pixel value on a contiguous group of light-modulating pixels of the plurality of light-modulating pixels such that there is a one-to-many pixel correlation between the hologram and the plurality of light-modulating pixels.

A spatial light modulator (SLM) includes a first liquid crystal panel and a second liquid crystal panel that are oppositely configured, and a polarization adjustment part configured between the first liquid crystal panel and the second liquid crystal panel. An alignment direction of the first liquid crystal panel is parallel to an alignment direction of the second liquid crystal panel. The first liquid crystal panel is configured to perform a phase modulation on incident linear-polarized light. The polarization adjustment part is configured to rotate, by a preset angle, a polarization direction of linear-polarized light exited from the first liquid crystal panel. The second liquid crystal panel is configured to adjust a polarization state of linear-polarized light exited from the polarization adjustment part to adjust an amplitude of exited light.

A head up display system is provided and includes an image source, an image adjustment device, a controller, and a reflector. The image source is adapted to output an image with an image light traveling in a light path. The image adjustment device is positioned on the light path of the image light, wherein the image adjustment device comprises a liquid crystal panel. The controller is adapted to control the image adjustment device. The reflector is adapted to reflect the image light passing through the image adjustment device to a projection screen. A display method of a head up display system is also provided in the disclosure.

The present invention concerns an iterative method for spatially or temporally shaping a laser beam. The spatial shaping of the beam uses a light valve and the temporal shaping of a pulse uses a Mach-Zehnder modulator. At each spatial shaping iteration, the profile of the observed beam is projected onto an adapted basis set in order to obtain observed profile components in this basis set. The ratios are calculated between the components of a setpoint profile in this basis set and the components of the observed profile, and the ratio of the profiles at the output of the light valve is deduced. The control for each element of the valve is then determined as the product of the control for this same element, obtained at the previous iteration, and the ratio of the profiles for the position of this element, obtained at the current iteration.

Described herein is an optical device that is arranged to emit electromagnetic radiation and a method of forming an optical device. In one embodiment, the optical device comprises an optical fibre that is arranged to transmit electromagnetic radiation between a source of electromagnetic radiation and an area of interest of a sample material. The optical device also comprises an optical element coupled to an end portion of the optical fibre. The optical element comprises a graphene lens that is arranged to focus the electromagnetic radiation transmitted by the optical fibre to a focal region within the area of interest of the sample material.

The invention is notably directed to a transflective display device. The device comprises a set of pixels, wherein each of the pixels comprises a portion of bi-stable, phase change material, hereafter a PCM portion, having at least two reversibly switchable states, in which it has two different values of refractive index and/or optical absorption. The device further comprises one or more spacers, optically transmissive, and extending under PCM portions of the set of pixels. One or more reflectors extend under the one or more spacers. An energization structure is in thermal or electrical communication with the PCM portions, via the one or more spacers. Moreover, a display controller is configured to selectively energize, via the energization structure, PCM portions of the pixels, so as to reversibly switch a state of a PCM portion of any of the pixels from one of its reversibly switchable states to the other. A backlight unit is furthermore configured, in the device, to allow illumination of the PCM portions through the one or more spacers. The backlight unit is controlled by a backlight unit controller, which is configured for modulating one or more physical properties of light emitted from the backlight unit. The invention is further directed to related devices and methods of operation.

A system for uniform optical illumination of an image light provider in a smaller (compact) configuration than conventional implementations includes a lightguide having: a first external surface and a second external surface mutually parallel, and a first sequence of facets, at least a portion of which are: a plurality of parallel, partially reflecting, and polarization selective surfaces, at an oblique angle relative to the first and second external surfaces, and between the first and second external surfaces, and a front-lit reflective polarization rotating image modulator: deployed to spatially modulate light coupled-out from the first external surface, outputting reflected light corresponding to an image, and deployed such that the reflected light traverses the lightguide from the first external surface via the first sequence of facets to the second external surface.