Patent ID: 7274347

Claim:
A method of operating a micromirror device that comprises a movable mirror plate and an electrode formed on a substrate for driving the mirror plate, the method comprising: applying a first voltage to the mirror plate and a second voltage to the electrode such that voltage difference between the mirror plate and the electrode drives the mirror plate to rotate relative to the substrate; applying a third voltage to the mirror plate, and a fourth voltage to the electrode such that the voltage difference between the mirror plate and the electrode drives the mirror plate to rotate relative to the substrate, wherein difference between the third voltage and the fourth voltage has an opposite polarity to that between the first voltage and the second voltage; wherein the first voltage and the second voltage are applied in response to a first subsequence of a sequence of actuation signals, and the third voltage and the fourth voltage are applied in response to a second subsequence of the sequence of actuation signals; and wherein the actuation signal corresponds to an ON state of the micromirror, wherein the ON state is defined as a state such that the micromirror reflects light into a projection lens for producing a bright pixel of an image on a display target.