The angle defined by the numerical aperture of the illumination and projection optics at the DMD optical area needs to be the same. This angle cannot exceed the nominal device micromirror tilt angle unless appropriate apertures are added in the illumination and projection pupils to block out flat-state and stray light from the projection lens. The micromirror tilt angle defines DMD capability to separate the "ON" optical path from any other light path, including undesirable flat-state specular reflections from the DMD window, DMD border structures, or other system surfaces near the DMD such as prism or lens surfaces. If the numerical aperture exceeds the micromirror tilt angle, or if the projection numerical aperture angle is more than two degrees larger than the illumination numerical aperture angle, objectionable artifacts may occur in the projected image border region or active area.