Patent ID: 6953268

Claim:
A light modulating device according comprising: a plurality of light modulating elements modulating the light that is incident thereto and emitting the light, wherein: each of the light modulating elements is formed from a micro electronic machinery which is two-dimensionally arranged, and transmittance of said light modulating elements can be controlled so as to vary for each of the light modulating elements; and the light modulating device further includes a lens array disposed towards a light-incident side of the light modulating elements, and the lens array condenses the incident light, which impinges on each of the light modulating elements, into a region whose area is smaller than an area occupied by each of the light modulating elements at a light-incident side thereof, wherein the light modulating device has a movable portion and changes transmittance of the incident light to modulate the light by changing an area of the opening transmitting the incident light, due to displacement of the movable portion.