Illumination optical system including light separation/integration device having diffraction device and image display apparatus including the illumination optical system
An illumination optical system includes a light source which emits light, and a light separation/integration device having a diffraction device on at least one incident side. The diffraction device diffracts light to decrease an incident angle to a predetermined range. An image display apparatus includes the illumination optical system, an image optical system which modulates light incident from the illumination optical system to form an image, and a projection optical system which projects the light reflected from the image optical system onto a screen.
A liquid-crystal-on-silicon device generates an image for projection onto a screen. The device includes a front plane, a back plane including a pixel driving circuit, and a wall that forms a chamber between the front and back planes for holding liquid crystal. Electrodes protrude into the chamber from the front plane, back plane, or both, in a predetermined pattern. The electrodes may be shaped as pillars and may serve as anodes or cathodes or both. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the liquid crystal assumes different polarization states at different pixel sites to form an image which may be projected onto a screen.
