Patent ID: 7352513

Claim:
A method of modulating a white light beam comprising: receiving a white light beam in a receiving surface of a prism assembly, the prism assembly including a set of optical components having equal optical path lengths, wherein the equal optical lengths defines a corresponding exterior dimension for each side of the prism assembly including: at least two beam splitters; a baseplate attached to at least one of the pathlength matched optical components; a seal affixed to at least two of the pathlength matched optical components; an optical coupling substance disposed between the sealed optical components; a plurality of microdisplays mounted on faces of the at least two beam splitters; and a set of perimeter blocks configured to fix placement of outside surfaces of the set of optical components; separating the received white light beam into a plurality of component light beams; directing each one of the plurality of component light beams to a corresponding one of the plurality of microdisplays; modulating each one of the plurality of component light beams according to a corresponding one of a plurality of modulation signals applied to the corresponding one of the plurality of microdisplays; combining the plurality of modulated component light beams into an output light beam; and outputting the output light beam from the prism assembly.