Socket for use with a micro-component in a light-emitting panel

• US 6,646,388 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2002
• Issued: 11/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Leidos, Inc. (Leidos Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Science Applications International Corporation
• Inventors: Johnson, Roger Laverne, Green, Albert Myron, George, Edward Victor, Wyeth, Newell Convers
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, THUY V
• Application Number:
  US10/318,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20030090213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 315/169.3, 315/312, 315/324, 313/484, 313/485, 313/491, 313/502, 313/506, 445/24, 445/29, 445/33
• US Class Current: 315/169.3
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 1/4257 applied to monitoring the characteristics of a beam, e.g. laser beam, headlamp beam monitoring arrangements for lasers in general H01S3/0014
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/443 Emission spectrometry
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0439 Pixel structures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/08 Active matrix structure, i.e. with use of active elements, inclusive of non-linear two terminal elements, in the pixels together with light emitting or modulating elements
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/288 using AC panels
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 11/18 containing a plurality of independent closed structures for containing the gas, e.g. plasma tube array [PTA] display panels
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 17/49 Display panels, e.g. with crossed electrodes , e.g. making use of direct current display panels making use of alternating current H01J11/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/30 Vessels; Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/305 Flat vessels or containers

Abstract

An improved light-emitting panel having a plurality of micro-components at least partially disposed in a socket and sandwiched between two substrates is disclosed. Each micro-component contains a gas or gas-mixture capable of ionization when a sufficiently large voltage is supplied across the micro-component via at least two electrodes.

Claims

1. A light-emitting panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposed to the first substrate;

a plurality of sockets, wherein each socket of the plurality of sockets comprises a cavity and wherein the cavity is patterned on the first substrate so as to be formed in the first substrate;

a plurality of micro-components, wherein at least two micro-components of the plurality of micro-components are at least partially disposed in each socket; and

a plurality of electrodes that are electrically but not physically in contact with the plurality of micro-components, wherein at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are adhered to only the first substrate, only the second substrate, or at least one electrode of the at least two electrodes is adhered to each of the first substrate and the second substrate and wherein the at least two electrodes are arranged so that voltage supplied to the at least two electrodes causes one or more micro-components to emit radiation.

2. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, wherein the cavity is in a shape selected from a group consisting of a cube, a cone, a conical frustum, a paraboloid, a sphere, a cylinder, a pyramid, a pyramidal frustum, a parallelepiped, and a prism.

3. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, wherein a depth of the cavity is selected to achieve a specific field of view for the light-emitting panel.

4. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, wherein at least one socket is at least partially coated with phosphor.

5. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, wherein at least one socket is at least partially coated with a reflective material.

6. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, further comprising an adhesive or bonding agent disposed in the cavity.

7. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, wherein at least one socket comprises at least one enhancement material selected from a group consisting of anti-glare coatings, touch sensitive surfaces, contrast enhancement coatings, and protective coatings.

8. The light-emitting panel of claim 1, wherein at least one socket comprises at least one enhancement material selected from a group consisting of transistors, integrated-circuits, semiconductor devices, inductors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, pulse compressors, pulse transformers, and tuned-circuits.

9. A light-emitting panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposed to the first substrate;

a plurality of sockets, wherein each socket of the plurality of sockets comprises;

a cavity, wherein the cavity is patterned on the first substrate so as to be formed in the first substrate;

wherein a depth of the cavity is selected to achieve a specific field of view for the light emitting panel and

a plurality of material layers, wherein the plurality of material layers are disposed on the first substrate such that the plurality of material layers conform to the shape of the cavity of each socket;

a plurality of micro-components, each containing a gas or gas-mixture, wherein at least one micro-component of the plurality of micro-components is at least partially disposed in each socket;

a plurality of electrodes, wherein at least one electrode of the plurality of electrodes is disposed within the material layers.

10. The light-emitting display of claim 9, wherein at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are arranged so that voltage supplied to the at least two electrodes causes one or more micro-components to emit radiation throughout a field of view of the light-emitting panel without crossing the at least two electrodes.

11. The light-emitting panel of claim 9, wherein the shape of the cavity is selected from a group consisting of a cube, a cone, a conical frustum, a paraboloid, a sphere, a cylinder, a pyramid, a pyramidal frustum, a parallelepiped, and a prism.

12. The light-emitting panel of claim 9, wherein at least one socket is at least partially coated with phosphor.

13. The light-emitting panel of claim 9, wherein at least one socket is at least partially coated with a reflective material.

14. The light-emitting panel of claim 9, further comprising an adhesive or bonding agent disposed in each socket.

15. The light-emitting panel of claim 9, wherein the material layers comprise at least one enhancement material selected from a group consisting of anti-glare coatings, touch sensitive surfaces, contrast enhancement coatings, and protective coatings.

16. The light-emitting panel of claim 9, wherein the material layers comprise at least one enhancement material selected from a group consisting of transistors, integrated-circuits, semiconductor devices, inductors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, pulse compressors, pulse transformers, and tuned-circuits.

17. A light-emitting panel comprising:

a first substrate;

a second substrate opposed to the first substrate;

a plurality of sockets, each socket of the plurality of sockets comprising a cavity patterned on the first substrate so as to be formed in the first substrate, and further wherein each socket comprises at least one enhancement material selected from a group consisting of transistors, integrated-circuits, semiconductor devices, inductors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, pulse compressors, pulse transformers, and tuned-circuits;

a plurality of micro-components, each containing a gas or gas-mixture, wherein at least one micro-component of the plurality of micro-components is at least partially disposed in each socket; and

a plurality of electrodes, wherein at least two electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are adhered to only the first substrate, only the second substrate, or at least one electrode is adhered to each of the first substrate and the second substrate and wherein the at least two electrodes are arranged so that voltage supplied to the at least two electrodes causes one or more micro-components to emit radiation.

18. A socket for use in a light-emitting display, the socket comprising:

a cavity defined by a plurality of material layers, wherein the cavity is formed by selectively removing portions of the plurality of material layers;

at least one micro-component disposed in the cavity, the micro-component containing a gas or gas-mixture capable of emitting radiation when exposed to an electric potential of sufficient strength; and

a plurality of electrodes disposed in the cavity and arranged to expose the microcomponent to the electric potential.

19. The socket of claim 18, wherein the cavity comprises at least one of a cube, a cone, a conical frustum, a paraboloid, a sphere, a cylinder, a pyramid, a pyramidal frustum, a parallelepiped, and a prism.

20. The socket of claim 18, wherein the cavity and the micro-component comprise complementary mating shapes.

21. The socket of claim 18, further comprising a coating, the coating comprising at least one of a bonding agent, an adhesive, a coating to convert ultraviolet light to visible light, reflective material, a reflective filter, an optical dielectric stack, a ban-gap filter, and combinations thereof.

22. The socket of claim 18, further comprising an enhancement material, the

enhancement material comprising at least one of an anti-glare coating, a touch sensitive surface, a contrast enhancement coating, a protective coating, a transistor, an integrated circuit, a semi-conductor device, an inductor, a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, a pulse compressor, a pulse transformer, a tuned circuit and combinations thereof.

23. The socket of claim 18, wherein the plurality of electrodes are formed in the plurality of material layers.

24. The socket of claim 18, wherein at least one of the plurality of material layers comprises at least one of a dielectric material, a metal, an anti-glare coating, a touch sensitive surface, a contrast enhancement coating, a protective coating, a transistor, an integrated circuit, a semi-conductor device, an inductor, a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, a pulse compressor, a pulse transformer, a tuned circuit, and combinations thereof.

25. A socket for use in a light-emitting display, the socket comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of material layers, each material layer comprising a preformed aperture extending through that material layer, the material layers disposed on the substrate and the apertures aligned to form a cavity in the socket and at least one micro-component containing a gas or gas-mixture disposed in the cavity.

26. The socket of claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of material layers comprises at least one of a dielectric material, a metal, an anti-glare coating, a touch sensitive surface, a contrast enhancement coating, a protective coating, a transistor, an integrated circuit, a semi-conductor device, an inductor, a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, a pulse compressor, a pulse transformer, a tuned circuit, and combinations thereof.

27. A method for making a socket for use in a light-emitting panel, the method comprising:

disposing a plurality of material layers on a substrate;

patterning a cavity on the substrate by selectively removing portions of the plurality of material layers;

disposing at least one micro-component in the cavity, the micro-component containing a gas or gas-mixture being capable of emitting radiation when exposed to an electric potential of sufficient strength; and

disposing at least two electrodes on the substrate arranged to expose the micro-component to an electric potential.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising disposing a plurality of micro-components in die cavity, the electrodes arranged to expose each one of the plurality of micro-components to an electric potential.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising adding at least one coating to the socket, the coating comprising at least one of a bonding agent, an adhesive, a coating to convert ultraviolet light to visible light, reflective material, a reflective filter, an optical dielectric stack, a band-gap filter, and combinations thereof.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising adding at least one enhancement material to the socket, the enhancement material comprising at least one of an anti-glare coating, a touch sensitive surface, a contrast enhancement coating, a protective coating, a transistor, an integrated circuit, a semi-conductor device, an inductor, a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, a pulse compressor, a pulse transformer, a tuned circuit, and combinations thereof.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of disposing the material layers comprises at least one of photolithography, sputtering, laser deposition, chemical deposition, vapor deposition, and deposition using ink-jet technology.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of selectively removing portions of each material layer comprises at least one of wet etching, dry etching, photolithography, laser beat treatment, thermal forming, mechanical punching, embossing, stamping, drilling, electroforming, dimpling, and combinations thereof.

33. The method of claim 27, further comprising disposing a plurality of micro-components in the cavity, the electrodes arranged to expose each one of the plurality of micro-components to an electric potential.

34. The method of claim 27, further comprising adding at least one coating to the socket, the coating comprising at least one of a bonding agent, an adhesive, a coating to convert ultraviolet light to visible light, reflective material, a reflective filter, an optical dielectric stack, a band-gap filter, and combinations thereof.

35. The method of claim 27, father comprising adding at least one enhancement material to the socket, the enhancement material comprising at least one of an anti-glare coating, a touch sensitive surface, a contrast enhancement coating, a protective coating, a transistor, an integrated circuit, a semi-conductor device, an inductor, a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, a pulse compressor, a pulse transformer, a tuned circuit, and combinations thereof.

36. A method for making a socket for use in a light-emitting panel, the method comprising:

disposing a plurality of material layers on a substrate, each material layer comprising a preformed aperture extending through that material layer;

aligning the apertures in the material layers to form a cavity on the first substrate;

disposing at least one micro-component in the cavity, the micro-component containing a gas or gas-mixture capable of emitting radiation when exposed to an electric potential of sufficient strength; and

disposing at least two electrodes within the socket arranged to expose the micro-component to an electric potential.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of disposing the material layers comprises at least one of photolithography, sputtering, laser deposition, chemical deposition, vapor deposition, and deposition using ink-jet technology.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising disposing a plurality of micro-components in the cavity, the electrodes arranged to expose each one of the plurality of micro-components to an electric potential.

39. The method of claim 36, further comprising adding at least one coating to the socket, the coating comprising at least one of a bonding agent, an adhesive, a coating to convert ultraviolet light to visible light reflective material, a reflective filter, an optical dielectric stack, a band-gap filter, and combinations thereof.

40. The method of claim 36, further comprising adding at least one enhancement material to the socket, the enhancement material comprising at least one of an anti-glare coating, a touch sensitive surface, a contrast enhancement coating, a protective coating, a transistor, an integrated circuit, a semi-conductor device, an inductor, a capacitor, a resistor, a diode, control electronics, drive electronics, pulse-forming networks, a pal so compressor, a pulse transformer, a tuned circuit, and combinations thereof.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein the two electrodes are disposed on at least one of the substrate, the material layers, and combinations thereof.