Patent ID: 7072096

Claim:
An image display system, comprising: means for generating image information including a spatial light modulator; and a light source system for directly illuminating said spatial light modulator comprised of: a one-dimensional array of substantially parallel emitting channels located behind said spatial light modulator, said array having an output area and shape arranged to at least match the aperture size of said spatial light modulator, each channel of said array having an emitting width W defined by the projected length of emitting material enclosed by said channel, as measured perpendicular to the axis of said channel and as viewed from above said array, adjacent of transparent regions of equal intra-channel separation W′, with the separation W′ being substantially less than the width W and equal to the shortest distance between said emitting material of any one said channel and said emitting material of any adjacent said channel; a first light directing layer including a parallel array of at least one of transparent dielectric micro prisms and aspheric semi-cylinders on a transparent substrate, said substrate arranged parallel to an output plane of said emitting channels and between the output plane of said emitting channels and the input side of said spatial light modulator, separated from said emitting channel output plane by an optical distance G 1 , with the optical distance G 1 being less than the width W; a second light directing layer disposed between said first light directing layer and said spatial light modulator arranged parallel to and above said first light directing layer by an air-gap of thickness S 1 , with the thickness S 1 being substantially less than W+W′, said second light directing layer including one or more of a holographic diffuser sheet, a bulk diffuser sheet, a surface diffuser sheet, a lenticular lens diffuser sheet, and a reflective polarizer film; and a light reflecting layer located behind a rear side of said emitting channels a distance Y from a rear side emitting plane, the distance Y being substantially less than the separation W′, said light reflecting layer including at least one of a white diffuse reflecting material, a specular reflecting material, a prismatic reflecting material, a structured transparent reflecting material, a bulk diffuser, a holographic diffuser, and a flat substantially transparent substrate.