Coatable conductive layer

• US 8,053,022 B2
• Filed: 11/17/2008
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HKC Corporation Limited (Shenzhen Huike Investment Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Martin, Terry J., Brick, Mary C., Stephenson, Stanley W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin; James
• Application Number:
  US12/272,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20090081359A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• Field of Search: 427/58, 427/402, 427/404, 427/420
• US Class Current: 427/58
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 5/24 Electrically-conducting paints conductive materials H01B1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13439 characterised by their electrical, optical, physical properties; materials therefor; method of making
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13718 based on a change of the texture state of a cholesteric liquid crystal
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 1/22 the conductive material comprising metals or alloys

Abstract

The invention relates to a patternable coatable electrically conductive layer comprising a fluid-coated electrically conductive material, wherein the fluid-coated electrically conductive material has sufficient conductivity to induce an electric field strong enough to change the optical state of a light modulating material and a display comprising a substrate, at least one patternable coatable electrically conductive layer comprising a fluid-coated electrically conductive material, wherein said fluid coated electrically conductive material has sufficient conductivity to induce an electric field strong enough to change the optical state of a light modulating material which has a first and a second field-switched stable optical state, and an imaging layer comprising said light modulating material disposed over said at least one patternable fluid-coated electrically conductive layer. The invention also relates to a method for making a coatable electrically conductive layer and a method for making a display with a coatable electrically conductive layer.

Claims

1. A method for making a display comprising:

providing a substrate;

coating light-modulating material to form a light-modulating layer;

coating light-absorbing material over the light-modulating layer to form a dark layer; and

fluid coating electrically-conductive material in a solvent or dispersing medium over the dark layer to form a fluid-coated, electrically-conductive, layer, the dark layer being between the light-modulating layer and fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer, wherein the fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer has sufficient conductivity to induce an electric field strong enough to change an optical state of the light-modulating material,

wherein coating the light-modulating material, coating the light-absorbing material and fluid coating the electrically-conductive material are performed simultaneously.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrically-conductive material is fluid coated such that the light-modulating layer is between the substrate and the fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising fluid coating electrically-conductive material to form a second fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer, the light-modulating material being coated over the second fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer, wherein the second fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer has sufficient conductivity to induce an electric field strong enough to change the optical state of the light-modulating material.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising fluid coating second electrically-conductive material to form a second fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer, wherein said second fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer has sufficient conductivity to induce an electric field strong enough to change the optical state of the light-modulating material,

wherein fluid coating the second electrically-conductive material is performed prior to coating the light-modulating material.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein coating the light-modulating material comprises slide coating the light-modulating material, and wherein fluid coating the electrically-conductive material comprises slide coating the electrically-conductive material.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the light-modulating material comprises a liquid crystal material.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises particles.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the particles comprise silver particles.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the silver particles have a diameter of less than 1 micron.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the silver particles are less than 10 cubic microns across a major length.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the particles have a size distribution in which 90 percent of the particles are less than 2 microns in diameter.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the particles comprise carbon.

13. The method of claim 7 wherein the particles comprise metal flakes.

14. The method of claim 7 wherein the particles have a diameter of less than 1 micron.

15. The method of claim 7 wherein the particles have a diameter of less than 50 nm.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises an organic conductor.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the organic conductor comprises polypyrrole.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrically-conductive material comprises a conductive polymer.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the conductive polymer comprises polythiophene.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein fluid coating the electrically-conductive material comprises applying the electrically-conductive material in a solvent or dispersing medium, and then removing the solvent or dispersing medium to form a fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the light-absorbing material comprises non-conductive, light-absorbing material.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the light-absorbing material comprises non-polarizing, light-absorbing material.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the light-absorbing material includes material having one or more colors each of which has an associated wavelength in the visible light spectrum such that the material absorbs substantially all radiation across all wavelengths in the visible light spectrum except radiation having the associated wavelength of each of the one or more colors, and reflects substantially all radiation having the associated wavelength of each of the one or more colors.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluid-coated, electrically-conductive layer is formed by laser etching fluid coating electrically-conductive material.