Method of assembling displays on substrates

• US 8,390,537 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2009
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Enterprise Science Fund, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hillis, W. Daniel, Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pervan, Michael
• Application Number:
  US12/590,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20100128069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,209 Days
• Field of Search: 257 88- 89, 349/45, 438/4, 438 14- 17, 438 22- 47, 445/24, 445/45, 977/883, 345/55
• US Class Current: 345/55
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/30 in which the desired character or characters are formed by combining individual elements panels comprising a number of electrodes in a single cell controlling light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. electro-optical or magneto-optical cell, G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/001 using specific devices not provided for in groups G09G3/02 - G09G3/36, e.g. using an intermediate record carrier such as a film slide; Projection systems; Display of non-alphanumerical information, solely or in combination with alphanumerical information, e.g. digital display on projected diapositive as background slide projectors per se G03B23/00 = 42 HP
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/95145 Electrostatic alignment, i.e. polarity alignment with Coulomb charges
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/95 at chip-level, i.e. with connecting carried out on a plurality of singulated devices, i.e. on diced chips
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1461 MEMS

Abstract

Various embodiments of methods and systems for designing and constructing displays from multiple light-modulating elements are disclosed. Display elements having different light-modulating and self-assembling characteristics may be used during display assembly and operation.

Claims

1. A method of forming a display, comprising:

a) disposing a plurality of display elements, each comprising a light-modulating element and a carrier containing said light-modulating element, on a substrate, said carrier having a surface characteristic including at least one of a coating of an organic molecule, an electrostatic characteristic, or a surface energy characteristic;

b) inducing relative motion in said display elements and said substrate sufficient to cause at least a portion of said display elements to distribute to receptor locations on said substrate, each receptor location on said substrate having a complementary surface characteristic to the surface characteristic of said carrier;

c) securing display elements distributed to receptor locations on said substrate in fixed relationship with respect to each other; and

d) establishing connections for providing control signals to secured display elements to drive modulation of light by said secured display elements.

2. The method of claim 1, including controlling an environmental condition to promote distribution of said display elements to receptor locations on said substrate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein disposing a plurality of display elements on a substrate includes disposing a first subset of display elements and a second subset of display elements on said substrate, wherein each display element in said first subset includes a light-modulating element of a first type contained in a carrier having a first surface characteristic and each display element in said second subset includes a light-modulating element of a second type contained in a carrier having a second surface characteristic, and wherein said substrate includes a first subset of receptor locations having a first complementary surface characteristic that facilitates distribution of display elements of said first subset to said first subset of receptor locations, and a second subset of receptor locations having a second complementary surface characteristic that facilitates distribution of display elements of said second subset to said second subset of receptor locations.

4. The method of claim 1, including providing a control signal to each said secured display element to test the function of said secured display element.

5. The method of claim 1, including securing display elements distributed to receptor locations on said substrate in fixed relationship with respect to each other by at least one of securing said display elements distributed to receptor locations on said substrate with respect to said substrate and securing said display elements distributed to receptor locations on said substrate with respect to one or more other display elements.

6. The method of claim 1, including establishing connections for delivering control signals to drive modulating of light by said secured display elements by forming a wireless link between at least one said secured display element and a remote driver by at least one of sending an activation signal keyed to a unique identifier associated with a location of said at least one secured display element, or sending an activation signal keyed to a specific location for said at least one secured display element.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said surface characteristic includes said coating of said organic molecule, wherein said organic molecule is biomolecule selected from at least one of an amino acid sequence, a nucleotide sequence, a saccharide sequence, a protein, and a glycoprotein.

8. A method of forming a display, comprising:

a) introducing a first set of display elements, each having a first surface characteristic and including a light-modulating element of a first type, onto a substrate, said first surface characteristic including at least one of a coating of a first organic molecule, a first electrostatic characteristic, or a first surface energy characteristic;

b) inducing relative motion in said display elements in said first set and said substrate sufficient to cause at least a portion of said display elements in said first set to distribute into a first plurality of receptacles on said substrate, said first plurality of receptacles having a first complementary surface characteristic that is complementary to said first surface characteristic;

c) removing display elements in said first set that have not distributed into receptacles in said first plurality of receptacles;

d) introducing a second set of display elements, having a second surface characteristic and including a light-modulating element of a second type, onto said substrate, said second surface characteristic including at least one of a coating of a second organic molecule, a second electrostatic characteristic, or a second surface energy characteristic;

e) inducing relative motion in said display elements in said second set and said substrate sufficient to cause at least a portion of said display elements in said second set to distribute into a second plurality of receptacles on said substrate, said second plurality of receptacles having a second complementary surface characteristic that is complementary to said second surface characteristic;

f) removing display elements in said second set that have not distributed into receptacles in said second plurality of receptacles; and

g) connecting display elements distributed into receptacles on said substrate to said substrate.

9. A display comprising:

a) a substrate comprising a first plurality of receptor locations of a first type and a second plurality of receptor locations of a second type arranged on said substrate in a repeating pattern according to type, each receptor location of said first type comprising a first surface characteristic and each receptor location of said second type comprising a second surface characteristic;

b) a plurality of display elements of a first type mounted on said substrate at said first plurality of receptor locations, each display element of said first type comprising a surface characteristic adapted to operate cooperatively with said first surface characteristic to facilitate self-assembly of said first display element type with said first receptor location type; and

c) a plurality of display elements of a second type mounted on said substrate at said second plurality of receptor locations, and each display element of said second type comprising a surface characteristic adapted to operate cooperatively with said second surface characteristic to facilitate self-assembly of said second display element type with said second receptor location type, at least one of said first surface characteristic or said second surface characteristic including at least one of an electrostatic characteristic, a surface energy characteristic, or a coating of an organic molecule.

10. The display of claim 9, wherein display elements of said first type emit light that differs from light emitted by display elements of said second set by one or more parameters including wavelength band envelope, spectral width, power, intensity, brightness, irradiance, spatial or temporal emission pattern, polarization, response speed, pulse format, or linearity.

11. The display of claim 9, further comprising circuitry configured for conveying control signals to one or more selected receptor locations on said substrate to control display elements at said selected receptor locations.

12. The display of claim 9, wherein at least one display element of said first plurality and said second plurality includes a unique identifier.

13. The display of claim 9, wherein said at least one of said first surface characteristic or said second surface characteristic comprises a coating of an organic molecule, wherein said organic molecule includes at least one biomolecule selected from at least one of an amino acid sequence, a nucleotide sequence, a saccharide sequence, a protein, and a glycoprotein.