Electrically controllable device with variable optical and/or energy properties

• US 20040100676A1
• Filed: 11/24/2003
• Published: 05/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass
• Original Assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass
• Inventors: Fanton, Xavier, Oehrlein, Alexander
• Granted Patent: US 6,937,380 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/254
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/1533 structural features not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/155 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/372 the positions of the elements being controlled by the application of an electric field

Abstract

The subject of the invention is an electrically controllable device with variable optical and/or energy properties, comprising at least one carrier substrate (1) provided with a functional stack of layers (3) comprising at least two active layers separated by an electrolyte. The stack is placed between a lower electrode (2) and an upper electrode (4). The device comprises n regions which are independently electrically controllable, using:

the tower electrode (1) having a pattern A in one or two dimensions,

the stack of layers (3), at least one of the active layers and the electrolyte of which having a pattern B in two dimensions, in particular obtained by etching,

the upper electrode (4) having a pattern C in two dimensions,

so that the superposition of the patterns A, B and C, defines said n regions, with a physical discontinuity between two adjacent regions at least both at the level of the upper electrode (4) and at the level of one of the active layers and of the electrolyte.

Claims

1. An electrically controllable device with variable optical and/or energy properties, comprising at least one carrier substrate (1) provided with a functional stack of layers (3) comprising at least two active layers separated by an electrolyte, said stack being placed between a lower electrode (2) and an upper electrode (4), characterized in that said device comprises n regions which are independently electrically controllable, where n≧

2, with

a lower electrode (1) having a pattern A in one or two dimensions, in particular obtained by etching or direct deposition of the desired pattern,

a stack of layers (3), at least one of the active layers and the electrolyte, especially the set of layers of which having a pattern B in two dimensions, in particular obtained by etching,

an upper electrode (4) having a pattern C in two dimensions, in particular obtained by etching, so that the superposition of the patterns A, B and C defines said n regions, with a physical discontinuity between two adjacent regions at least both at the level of the upper electrode (4) and at the level of one of the active layers and of the electrolyte.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the patterns B and C are identical.

3. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the patterns B and C are in the form of a periodic tiling in two dimensions (l1, l2).

4. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pattern A is in the form of a periodic tiling in one or two dimensions.

5. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the patterns A, B, C define pixels (P) with two-dimensional X, Y addressing, especially square, rectangular, hexagonal pixels, or polygon-shaped pixels or pixels in the shape of a closed curve.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the pixels (P) are grouped into rows in a direction Y, all the pixels of the same row being at an equipotential at the level of the upper electrode (4).

7. The device as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the electrical continuity between the pixels (P) of each row, at the level of the upper electrode (4), is provided by electrical conductors in the form of at least one strip or at least one wire (5) for each row, and in contact with the upper electrode (4).

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the conductors are metal wires (5), in particular with a diameter of between 10 and 100 micrometers, placed in the X direction of each row and extending beyond each of the ends of each of said rows.

9. The device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the electrical conductors are strips of doped metal oxide, of the ITO type, deposited on strips of flexible polymer of the PET type, and brought into contact with each of the rows of pixels, in the X direction, said strips extending beyond each of the ends of each of said rows.

10. The device as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the electrical conductors are conducting wires grouped into a grid, one frame of which consists of said conducting wires and the other frame of which consists of insulating wires.

11. The device as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 or claim 10, characterized in that the conducting wires (5) or the conducting strips are kept in contact with said rows of pixels using a sheet of thermoplastic polymer of the PU, PVB or EVA type, itself possibly associated with a transparent rigid substrate of the glass type.

12. The device as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, characterized in that the lower electrode (2) has a one-dimensional pattern, defined by lines (l1) in the Y direction, which define columns of pixels (P), all the pixels of the same column being at an equipotential at the level of the lower electrode (2).

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that the rows of pixels in the X direction and the columns of pixels in the Y direction are mutually orthogonal and Linear.

14. The device as claimed in one of claims 7 to 11 and claim 12, characterized in that the lower electrode (2) has at least one additional incision Line (l5) substantially perpendicular to the lines (l1) of one-dimensional tiling, so as to have at least two independent groups of pixels (Z1, Z2) and (Z3, Z4).

15. The device as claimed in one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that each column of pixels is supplied with current using current supply means of the clip type (10, 11) in electrical contact with the lower electrode (2) at the end of each of said columns.

16. The device as claimed in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the lower electrode (2) has a two-dimensional pattern, each pixel having, on the side of the lower electrode (2), an independent electrical supply and being identified by a row and a column.

17. The device as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that the electrical supply of each pixel on the side of the lower electrode is provided using wires (12), which are connected, and deposited by photolithographic etching or etched, and possibly forming part of the lower electrode (2).

18. The device as claimed in one of claims 7 to 10 and 11 or 16, characterized in that the wires (5) or conducting strips are cut, preferably between two columns of pixels (P), so as to have at least two independent groups of pixels (Z1, Z3) and (Z2, Z4).

19. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electrical supply of said device uses the multiplexing technique.

20. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each region n is independently electrically controllable by a suitable electrical supply, started manually or driven using electronic/computing means.

21. The device as claimed in claim 20, characterized in that each region or pixel is supplied with electricity so as to take account of the ohmic losses, in particular by adapting the conductivity of their current lead means of the conducting wire or strip type.

22. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the set of electrode current supplies (7, 8, 9, 10) is placed outside the region of the carrier substrate (1) which is covered with the functional stack of layers (3).

23. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it involves an electrochromic or viologen-based system, in particular an “

all-solid”

system.

24. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it involves a vehicle sunroof, in particular separated into 2 or 4 regions which can be activated independently, or for a side window or a rear window for a vehicle.

25. The device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that it involves a windshield or a portion of a windshield.

26. The device as claimed in claim 25, characterized in that the device is located in the upper part of the windshield, in particular in the form of one or more strips following the outline of the windshield.

27. The device as claimed in claim 25, characterized in that the device is located in the middle part of the windshield, in particular to prevent dazzling the driver at night, by means of automated regulation of its electrical supply using at least one camera and/or at least one light sensor.

28. The device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that it involves a panel for displaying graphical and/or alphanumeric information, glazing for a building, a rear-view mirror, an aircraft window or windshield, or a roof window, or rear windows.

29. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it operates in transmission or in reflection.

30. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one transparent substrate which is flat or curved, clear or bulk-tinted, of polygonal shape or at least partly curved.

31. The device as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an opaque or opacified substrate.

32. A method of manufacturing the device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that patterns A, B, C are obtained by etching, in particular by mechanical means or by a laser, or obtained directly by a photolithographic etching technique.