Device having a light transmission device

• US 6,430,325 B1
• Filed: 05/04/2000
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Shimoda, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Palmer, Phan T. H.
• Application Number:
  US09/530,754
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 385/11, 385/14, 385/1-9, 385/123-129, 385/24, 385/28
• US Class Current: 385/14
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/12004 Combinations of two or more optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/42 Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4214 the intermediate optical element having redirecting reflective means, e.g. mirrors, prisms for deflecting the radiation from horizontal to down- or upward direction toward a device G02B6/4246 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/43 Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/02162 for filtering or shielding light, e.g. multicolour filters for photodetectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/075 the potential barriers being only of the PIN type, e.g. amorphous silicon PIN solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1055 the devices comprising amorphous materials of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/173 formed in, or on, a common substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/00 Organic devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10K39/00, H10K65/00; electrolytic light-sensitive devices H01G9/20
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/35 comprising red-green-blue [RGB] subpixels
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/38 comprising colour filters or colour changing media [CCM]
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/60 OLEDs integrated with inorganic light-sensitive elements, e.g. with inorganic solar cells or inorganic photodiodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 65/00 Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one organic light-emitting element and at least one organic radiation-sensitive element, e.g. organic opto-couplers organic image sensors integrated with organic light-emitting devices H10K39/34; OLED displays integrated with photosensors H10K59/13
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/13 using printing techniques, e.g. ink-jet printing or screen printing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/548 Amorphous silicon PV cells

Abstract

The invention provides a device having a light transmission device wherein a light-emitting element, a driving circuit for driving this light-emitting element, a light-receiving element (light-detecting element), a light-guiding path (wave-guiding path) for guiding light from the light-emitting element to the light-receiving element, an amplifying circuit, wiring and a circuit are successively provided on a substrate. The light from the light-emitting element passes through the light-guiding path and is received at the light-receiving element, transferring photoelectricity. The electric signals from the light-receiving element are amplified at the amplifying circuit and are input to the circuit through the wiring. The circuit operates based on these electric signals.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a light transmission device having a light-emitting section having at least one light-emitting element made of a thin film, a light-receiving section having at least one light-receiving element made of a thin film, and a light-guiding path that guides light from the light-emitting section to the light-receiving section, wherein the light-emitting section, the light-receiving section, and the light-guiding path being integrated.

2. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting section, the light-receiving section and the light-guiding path being arranged in a three-dimensional direction.

3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a layer having at least one of the light-emitting section, the light-receiving section and the light-guiding path, the layer being laminated.

4. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting section having a plurality of light-emitting elements having different light-emitting characteristics.

5. The device according to claim 4, the light-receiving section having a plurality of light-receiving elements that receive light from corresponding the light-emitting elements.

6. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting element being an organic EL element and an optical filter.

7. The device according to claim 6, the optical filter being a distributed reflection multilayer film mirror made of a plurality of laminated thin films having different refractive indexes.

8. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of circuit blocks on a same substrate, each of the plurality of circuit blocks comprising the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section.

9. The device according to claim 8, a gap between predetermined circuit blocks of the plurality of circuit blocks being connected by the light-guiding path, and signals being transmitted and received by light through the light-guiding path between the circuit blocks.

10. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting section, the light-receiving section and the light-guiding path being arranged in at least a one-dimensional direction.

11. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting section, the light-receiving section and the light-guiding path being arranged on a same substrate.

12. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting section, the light-receiving section and the light guiding path being arranged in a two-dimensional direction.

13. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting section having a plurality of light-emitting elements having different peak wavelengths of emitted light.

14. The device according to claim 1, at least one thin film constituting the light-emitting element being patterned by an ink jet method.

15. The device according to claim 1, the light-emitting element being an organic EL element.

16. The device according to claim 1, at least one thin film constituting the light-receiving element being patterned by an ink jet method.

17. The device according to claim 1, the light-receiving element being an organic element.

18. The device according to claim 1, the light-receiving element being an organic element and an optical filter.

19. The device according to claim 1, the light-guiding path including thin films.

20. The device according to claim 1, at least one thin film constituting the light-guiding path being patterned by an ink jet method.

21. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a thin film transistor.