Substrate for reflection type liquid crystal display element

• US 6,803,973 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2001
• Issued: 10/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Company Limited
• Inventors: Ikadai, Masahiro, Ogino, Etsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THANH T
• Application Number:
  US09/876,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20020071075A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,223 Days
• Field of Search: 349/113, 349/114, 349/30
• US Class Current: 349/30
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133553 Reflecting elements associated to illuminating devices G02F1/133605
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/346 distributed (Bragg) reflector

Abstract

A substrate for reflection type liquid crystal display elements is provided, which has a multilayer dielectric film (reflective mirror) which can have fewer layers than according to the conventional art and can thus be formed in a shorter time, and which can stably obtain an optical characteristic of a desired flatness across the visible region, and moreover can prevent the occurrence of coloring due to reflection. The reflective mirror is formed on top of a transparent substrate, and is comprised of a predetermined number of high-refractive-index first transparent films and low-refractive-index second transparent films laminated alternately on the transparent substrate. Either or both of the first transparent films and the second transparent films are arranged such that the film thickness thereof increases progressively or decreases progressively with distance from the transparent substrate.

Claims

1. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element, comprising:

a transparent substrate; and

a reflective mirror formed on top of said transparent substrates,

wherein said reflective mirror comprises a predetermined number of high-refractive-index first transparent films composed of a first dielectric material and low-refractive-index second transparent films composed of a second dielectric material laminated alternately on said transparent substrate, and

wherein either or both of said first transparent films and said second transparent films are arranged such that a film thickness thereof increases progressively or decreases progressively with distance from said transparent substrate, and a difference between maximum and minimum values of light reflectance is not more than about 10% at wavelengths corresponding to each of red, green, and blue components of visible light so that said reflective mirror is substantially free of ripples in an optical reflection spectrum or optical transmission spectrum across a visible region.

2. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first transparent films are arranged such that a film thickness thereof increases progressively or decreases progressively with distance from said transparent substrate.

3. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined number is in a range of 3 to 14.

4. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined number is 3 or 4.

5. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said first transparent films has a refractive index of at least 1.8 at a wavelength of 550 nm, and each of said second transparent films is laminated on top of one of said first transparent films and has a refractive index of not mare than 1.5 at the wavelength of 550 nm.

6. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first transparent films ala formed of a high-refractive-index material having titanium dioxide as a principal component, and said second transparent films are formed of a low-refractive-index material having silicon dioxide as a principal component.

7. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a base film having silicon dioxide as a principal component laminated on top of said transparent substrate.

8. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of said first transparent films furthest from said transparent substrate is a photocatalytically active film having titanium dioxide as a principal component.

9. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a hydrophilic thin film having silicon dioxide as a principal component laminated on top of said one of said first transparent films.

10. A substrate for a reflection type liquid crystal display element as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a transparent rugged scattering layer laminated between said transparent substrate and said base film.