| US 7,460,291 B2 | ||
| Separable modulator | ||
| Jeffrey Brian Sampsell, San Francisco, Calif. (US); Mark W. Miles, San Francisco, Calif. (US); Clarence Chui, San Mateo, Calif. (US); and Manish Kothari, Redwood City, Calif. (US) | ||
| Assigned to IDC, LLC, San Francisco, Calif. (US) | ||
| Filed on Aug. 19, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/644,312. | ||
| Application 10/078282 is a division of application No. 09/991378, filed on Nov. 21, 2001. | ||
| Application 10/644312 is a continuation in part of application No. 10/078282, filed on Feb. 19, 2002, granted, now 7,042,643. | ||
| Application 09/991378 is a continuation of application No. 08/769947, filed on Dec. 19, 1996, abandoned. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2004/0051929 A1, Mar. 18, 2004 | ||
| Int. Cl. G02B 26/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 359—291 [359/224; 359/290] | 32 Claims |
| 1. A light modulator, comprising:
a mirror having first and second surfaces suspended over a cavity arranged under the first surface;
supports attached to the second surface of the mirror;
support posts suspending the mirror over the cavity by the supports, the support posts and supports being formed from a same
layer of material; and
an electrode and an optical stack positioned opposite the first surface across the cavity from the mirror such that activation
of the electrode causes the mirror to move towards the electrode, changing dimension and interference properties of the cavity.
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