Search

US-12619122-B2 - Spatial light modulators, methods of operating and manufacturing the same, and apparatus including spatial light modulator

US12619122B2US 12619122 B2US12619122 B2US 12619122B2US-12619122-B2

Abstract

A spatial light modulator includes a substrate, a blocking layer provided on one surface of the substrate, a lower reflective layer provided on the blocking layer, an upper reflective layer facing the lower reflective layer, and a cavity layer provided between the upper reflective layer and the lower reflective layer, where the blocking layer includes a plurality of holes configured to block heat transferred from the upper reflective layer to the substrate.

Inventors

  • Sunil Kim
  • Minkyung Lee
  • Junghyun Park
  • Byunggil JEONG

Assignees

  • SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20230627
Priority Date
20221219

Claims (19)

  1. 1 . A spatial light modulator comprising: a substrate; a blocking layer provided on one surface of the substrate; a lower reflective layer provided on the blocking layer; an upper reflective layer facing the lower reflective layer; and a cavity layer provided between the upper reflective layer and the lower reflective layer, wherein the blocking layer comprises a plurality of holes configured to block heat transferred from the upper reflective layer to the substrate, and wherein the plurality of holes are at least partially filled with a material having a thermal conductivity that is lower than a thermal conductivity of a material of the blocking layer and that is higher than a thermal conductivity of air.
  2. 2 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , further comprising a planarization layer provided between the blocking layer and the lower reflective layer.
  3. 3 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes are provided under a top surface of the blocking layer.
  4. 4 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes are of a circular shape.
  5. 5 . The spatial light modulator of claim 4 , wherein a first hole of the plurality of holes has a first diameter, and wherein a second hole of the plurality of holes that is adjacent to the first hole has a second diameter different from the first diameter.
  6. 6 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes are of a quadrangular shape.
  7. 7 . The spatial light modulator of claim 6 , wherein a first hole of the plurality of holes has a first width, and wherein a second hole of the plurality of holes that is adjacent to the first hole has a second width different from the first width.
  8. 8 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes have diameters varying between top ends of the plurality of holes and bottom ends of the plurality of holes.
  9. 9 . The spatial light modulator of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of holes have maximum diameters between the top ends of the plurality of holes and the bottom ends of the plurality of holes.
  10. 10 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes comprise: a first hole having a first diameter; and a second hole having a second diameter different from the first diameter.
  11. 11 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein a fill factor of the plurality of holes in the blocking layer is between 5% to 70%.
  12. 12 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the thermal conductivity of the material with which the plurality of holes is filled is lower than a thermal conductivity of SiO2.
  13. 13 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the material with which the plurality of holes is filled comprises at least one of HfO2, MoS2, polyimide, Sb2S3, and Sb2Se3.
  14. 14 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holes are at least partially filled with air.
  15. 15 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the upper reflective layer comprises a plurality of pixels spaced apart from each other, and wherein each of the plurality of pixels comprises a plurality of active meta patterns.
  16. 16 . The spatial light modulator of claim 15 , further comprising trenches provided between the plurality of pixels and configured to pass through the cavity layer, the lower reflective layer, and the blocking layer.
  17. 17 . The spatial light modulator of claim 15 , wherein each of the plurality of active meta patterns comprises a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer that are sequentially stacked, wherein the first layer comprises one of a P-type dopant and an N-type dopant, wherein the third layer comprises one of a P-type dopant and an N-type dopant, and wherein the second layer is thicker than the first layer and the third layer.
  18. 18 . The spatial light modulator of claim 1 , wherein the lower reflective layer comprises a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) layer, wherein the DBR layer comprises: a plurality of first layers comprising a first thermal conductivity; and a plurality of second layers comprising a second thermal conductivity that is higher than the first thermal conductivity, and wherein the plurality of first layers and the plurality of second layers are alternately stacked.
  19. 19 . An electronic apparatus comprising: a spatial light modulator configured to radiate incident light in a given direction, wherein the spatial light modulator comprises the spatial light modulator of claim 1 .

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is based on and claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0178686, filed on Dec. 19, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to optical scanners for radiating incident light in a given direction, and more particularly, to spatial light modulators, methods of operating and manufacturing the same, and apparatuses including the spatial light modulator. 2. Description of Related Art Spatial light modulators (SLMs) may adjust an emission angle of incident light, and thus may be used as optical scanners. Recently, spatial light modulators using active meta devices have been introduced. The spatial light modulators using active meta devices may include meta surfaces, distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) functioning as mirrors, and cavities. The meta surfaces of the spatial light modulators may include a plurality of high contrast gratings (HCGs). Both the HCGs and DBRs have high reflectance with respect to incident light, and thus, vertical incident light may be amplified in the cavities and emitted vertically. When operating spatial light modulators described above, heat may be generated in driving pixels, and the heat may affect the operation of the spatial light modulators. SUMMARY Provided are spatial light modulators configured to further increase a thermal cross-talk effect of a driving pixel. Provided are spatial light modulators configured to operate at low power. Provided are methods of operating and manufacturing such spatial light modulators. Provided are apparatuses including spatial light modulators. Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure. According to an aspect of the disclosure, a spatial light modulator may include a substrate, a blocking layer provided on one surface of the substrate, a lower reflective layer provided on the blocking layer, an upper reflective layer facing the lower reflective layer, and a cavity layer provided between the upper reflective layer and the lower reflective layer, where the blocking layer may include a plurality of holes configured to block heat transferred from the upper reflective layer to the substrate. The spatial light modulator may include a planarization layer provided between the blocking layer and the lower reflective layer. The plurality of holes may be provided under a top surface of the blocking layer. The plurality of holes may be of a circular shape. A first hole of the plurality of holes may have a first diameter, and a second hole of the plurality of holes that is adjacent to the first hole may have a second diameter different from the first diameter. The plurality of holes may be of a quadrangular shape. A first hole of the plurality of holes may have a first width and a second hole of the plurality of holes that is adjacent to the first hole may have a second width different from the first width. The plurality of holes may have diameters varying between top ends of the plurality of holes and bottom ends of the plurality of holes. The plurality of holes may have maximum diameters between the top ends of the plurality of holes and the bottom ends of the plurality of holes. The plurality of holes may include a first hole having a first diameter and a second hole having a second diameter different from the first diameter. A fill factor of the plurality of holes in the blocking layer may be between 5% to 70%. The plurality of holes may be filled with a material having a thermal conductivity that is lower than a thermal conductivity of a material of the blocking layer. The thermal conductivity of the material with which the plurality of holes is filled may be lower than a thermal conductivity of SiO2. The material with which the plurality of holes is filled may include at least one of HfO2, MoS2, polyimide, Sb2S3, and Sb2Se3. The plurality of holes may be filled with air. The upper reflective layer may include a plurality of pixels spaced apart from each other and wherein each of the plurality of pixels may include a plurality of active meta patterns. The spatial light modulator may include trenches provided between the plurality of pixels and configured to pass through the cavity layer, the lower reflective layer, and the blocking layer. Each of the plurality of active meta patterns may include a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer that are sequentially stacked, where the first layer may include one of a P-type dopant and an N-type dopant, where the third layer may include one of a P-type dopant and an N-type dopant, and where the second layer may be thicker than the first layer and the third layer. The lower reflective layer may include a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) layer, th