William E. Nelson

Digital micromirror device imaging bar for hard copy

Texas Instruments has pursued the development of a Spatial Light Modulator called the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) for a number of years. The device is applicable in both display and hard copy applications. This paper discusses the progress that has been made on a DMD imaging subsystem for high speed, high quality electrophotographic printing. An architecture and method of manufacture have been developed for a monolithic silicon area array DMD suitable for imaging across an A3 page (297 mm) at 600 dots per inch. The device and optical characteristics will be discussed in the context of an experimental testbed.