US Patent 7460490 - Micromechanical displays with rear surface light guide

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7460290.html

This patent from Pixtronix teaches a micromechanical display having improved luminous efficiency over typical backlight approaches. Claim 1 reads:

1. A display apparatus comprising:

a light guide;

a substrate having a front surface facing an intended viewer and a rear surface facing the light guide, wherein the substrate is separated from the light guide by a gap; and

an array of MEMS-based light modulators formed on the rear surface of the substrate.