Organic thin film display element

• US 4,871,236 A
• Filed: 09/16/1986
• Issued: 10/03/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Miura, Akira, Mizushima, Koichi, Mori, Yasushi, Gemma, Nobuhiro, Azuma, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): LaRoche, Eugene R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHINGLETON, MICHAEL B
• Application Number:
  US06/908,014
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 350/355, 350/356, 350/357, 350/393
• US Class Current: 359/273
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/015 based on semiconductor elements having potential barriers, e.g. having a PN or PIN junction G02F1/03 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/017 Structures with periodic or quasi periodic potential variation, e.g. superlattices, quantum wells
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/20 comprising organic-organic junctions, e.g. donor-acceptor junctions
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/30 Coordination compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/311 Phthalocyanine
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/331 Metal complexes comprising an iron-series metal, e.g. Fe, Co, Ni
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/341 Transition metal complexes, e.g. Ru(II)polypyridine complexes H10K85/331 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/611 Charge transfer complexes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/615 Polycyclic condensed aromatic hydrocarbons, e.g. anthracene
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/621 Aromatic anhydride or imide compounds, e.g. perylene tetra-carboxylic dianhydride or perylene tetracarboxylic di-imide
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/622 containing four rings, e.g. pyrene
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/623 containing five rings, e.g. pentacene
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/631 Amine compounds having at least two aryl rest on at least one amine-nitrogen atom, e.g. triphenylamine
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/652 Cyanine dyes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/654 comprising only nitrogen as heteroatom H10K85/652 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/655 comprising only sulfur as heteroatom
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/6572 comprising only nitrogen in the heteroaromatic polycondensed ring system, e.g. phenanthroline or carbazole
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/701 Langmuir Blodgett films

Abstract

An organic thin film display element comprises an organic thin film containing donor moleculaes and acceptor molecules and a pulse voltage source for causing a charge transfer between the donor molecules and the acceptor molecules. The charge transfer varies the optical characteristic of the organic thin film, whereby the organic thin film displays an image.

Claims

1. A thin organic film display element, comprising:

a thin organic film layer including at least one first thin organic film containing donor molecules and at least one second thin organic film containing acceptor molecules, wherein said thin organic film layer has at least two interfaces between said first thin organic film and said second thin organic film; and

means for causing a charge transfer between the donor molecules and the acceptor molecules, said charge transfer varying the optical characteristics of the thin organic film layer, whereby the organic thin film layer displays an image.

2. The display element of claim 1, wherein said thin organic film layer comprises a plurality of repeatedly stacked layers comprising said first thin organic film and said second thin organic film.

3. The display element of claim 2, wherein a third thin organic film containing electrically insulating organic molecules is interposed between said first thin organic film and said second thin organic film.

4. The display element of claim 2, wherein each of said stacked layers comprises said first thin organic film and said second thin organic film, and a third thin organic film containing electrically insulating organic molecules interposed between said stacked layers.

5. The display element of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first thin organic film and said second thin organic film contains electrically insulating organic molecules.

6. The display element of claim 1, wherein said thin organic film layer has a super lattice structure.

7. The display element of claim 1, wherein said thin organic film layer contains at least one of different donor molecules or different acceptor molecules.

8. The display element of claim 1, wherein said first thin organic film contains different donor molecules.

9. The display element of claim 1, wherein said second thin organic film contains different acceptor molecules.

10. The display element of claim 1, wherein said first thin organic film contains different donor molecules, and said second thin organic film contains different acceptor molecules.

11. The display element of claim 1, wherein a thin film containing electrically insulating organic molecules is formed on at least one surface of said thin organic film layer.

12. The display element of claim 1, wherein said thin organic film layer is a laminate consisting of LB films.

13. The display element of claim 1, wherein a stripe-like scanning electrode is formed on one side of the opposing surfaces of said thin organic film layer, a stripe-like signal electrode is formed on the other opposing surface of said thin organic film layer and extends at right angles to the stripe-like scanning electrode, and said means for causing a charge transfer is connected to the scanning electrode and signal electrode for selectively applying a pulse voltage to said thin organic film layer.

14. A thin organic film display element, comprising:

a thin organic film layer which comprises at least one thin organic film containing both donor molecules and acceptor molecules; and

means for causing a charge transfer between the donor molecules and the acceptor molecules, said charge transfer varying the optical characteristic of the thin organic film, whereby the thin organic film displays an image;

wherein a thin film containing electrically insulating organic molecules is formed on at least one surface of said thin organic film layer.

15. The display element of claim 14, wherein said thin organic film contains at least one of different donor molecules or different acceptor molecules.

16. The display element of claim 14, wherein said thin organic film layer comprises a plurality of thin organic films each containing donor molecules and acceptor molecules.

17. The display element of claim 14, wherein each of said thin organic films contains at least one of different donor molecules or different acceptor molecules.

18. The display element of claim 14, wherein said thin organic film is an LB film.

19. A thin organic film display element, comprising:

a thin organic film layer which comprises at least one thin organic film containing both donor molecules and acceptor molecules; and

means for causing a charge transfer between the donor molecules and the acceptor molecules, said charge transfer varying the optical characteristics of the thin organic film, whereby the thin organic film displays an image;

wherein a stripe-like scanning electrode is formed on one of the opposing surfaces of said thin organic film layer, a stripe-like signal electrode is formed on the other opposing surface of said thin organic film layer and extends at right angles to the stripe-like scanning electrode, and said means for causing a charge transfer is connected to the scanning electrode and signal electrode for selectively applying a pulse voltage to said thin organic film layer.