Coatable conductive layer

• US 8,085,363 B2
• Filed: 09/20/2006
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• 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: Stephenson, Stanley W., Martin, Terry J., Brick, Mary C.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEN, WEN YING PATTY
• Application Number:
  US11/533,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20070013829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,924 Days
• Field of Search: 349/29
• US Class Current: 349/86
• 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 display comprising

a substrate,

a first patternable coatable electrically conductive layer disposed over the substrate,

an imaging layer comprising light modulating material disposed over said first patternable fluid-coated electrically conductive layer, wherein said light modulating material has a first and a second field-switched stable optical state;

a dark layer disposed over the imaging layer and configured to at least one of absorb and or reflect radiation,

a second patternable coatable electrically conductive layer including a plurality of laser-etched conductors disposed over the dark layer, wherein said second patternable coatable electrically conductive layer includes fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles, said fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles having sufficient conductivity to induce an electric field strong enough to change the optical state of said light modulating material, and wherein the thickness of the second patternable coatable electrically conductive layer is less than 1 micron.

2. The display of claim 1 wherein the imaging layer contains a polymer dispersed cholesteric liquid crystal layer.

3. The display of claim 1 wherein said dark layer is a non-conductive color contrast layer.

4. The display of claim 1 wherein said fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles have a diameter of less than 1 micron.

5. The display of claim 1 wherein said fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles comprise metal flakes.

6. The display of claim 1 wherein said fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles have a diameter of less than 50 nm.

7. The display of claim 1 wherein said fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles are less than 10 cubic microns across the major length.

8. The display of claim 1 wherein said second patternable coatable electrically conductive layer further comprises a binder.

9. The display of claim 8 wherein said binder comprises gelatin.

10. The display of claim 8 wherein said binder is water soluble.

11. The display of claim 1 wherein said first pattemable coatable electrically conductive layer comprises 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 said light modulating material.

12. The display of claim 1 wherein said fluid-coated electrically conductive metallic silver particles have a size distribution having 90 percent of the particles less than 5 microns in diameter.

13. The display of claim 1 wherein said dark layer comprises milled non-conductive pigments to absorb wavelengths of light in sub micron layers.