Display with shielding antireflection layer

• US 9,025,100 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Dorjgotov, Enkhamgalan, Kuwabara, Masato, Chen, Cheng, Chen, Wei, Zhong, John Z.
• Primary Examiner(s): DUONG, THOI V
• Application Number:
  US13/690,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20140152943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 257/E21.029, 257/98, 349/96, 349/106, 349/137, 349/40, 349/138, 349/59, 313/111
• US Class Current: 349/40
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133502 Antiglare, refractive index matching layers
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/22 Antistatic materials or arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/22 characterised by the chemical or physical composition or the arrangement of auxiliary dielectric or reflective layers

Abstract

An electronic device may be provided with a display such as a liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display may have a color filter layer, a thin-film-transistor layer, and a layer of liquid crystal material between the color filter layer and the thin-film-transistor layer. A lower polarizer may be formed under the thin-film-transistor layer. An upper polarizer may be formed on the color filter layer. A shielding antireflection layer may be formed on the upper polarizer. The shielding antireflection layer may serve both as a shielding layer that protects against display damage due to electrostatic charge and as an antireflection coating that helps to minimize reflections from the surface of the display. The shielding antireflection layer may include low and high index of refraction layers and a conductive layer such as a transparent conductive oxide layer that provides shielding.

Claims

1. A display, comprising:

a display layer;

a polarizer layer on the display layer;

a shielding antireflection film on the polarizer layer, wherein the shielding antireflection film includes a plurality of dielectric layers and a transparent conductive layer, wherein a first dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers is formed directly on the polarizer, and wherein a second dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers having an index of refraction greater than the first dielectric layer is formed directly on the first dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers, and wherein a third dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers is formed directly on the second dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers; and

a conductive structure that shorts the transparent conductive layer to ground.

2. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the shielding antireflection film includes at least one layer of silicon dioxide.

3. The display defined in claim 2 wherein the shielding antireflection film includes at least one niobium pentoxide layer.

4. The display defined in claim 3 wherein the transparent conductive layer comprises a conductive oxide.

5. The display defined in claim 4 wherein the transparent conductive layer comprises indium tin oxide.

6. The display defined in claim 1 wherein the shielding antireflection layer includes six layers of material including five dielectric layers and an indium tin oxide layer.

7. The display defined in claim 6 wherein three of the five dielectric layers comprise silicon dioxide.

8. The display defined in claim 7 wherein two of the five dielectric layers comprise niobium pentoxide.

9. The display defined in claim 6 wherein three of the five dielectric layers comprise low index of refraction layers and where two of the five dielectric layers have indices of refraction that are greater than the low index of refraction layers.

10. The display defined in claim 9 wherein the indium tin oxide layer is interposed between one of the three low index of refraction layers and one of the two dielectric layers having indices of refraction greater than the low index of refraction layers.

11. The display defined in claim 10 wherein the conductive structure shorts the indium tin oxide layer to ground.

12. The display defined in claim 11 wherein the conductive structure comprises at least one metal pin that penetrates the shielding antireflection layer.

13. A display, comprising:

a color filter layer;

a thin-film-transistor layer;

a layer of liquid crystal material between the color filter layer and the thin-film transistor layer;

a polarizer on the color filter layer; and

a shielding antireflection layer on the polarizer, wherein the shielding antireflection layer includes a conductive oxide layer configured to serve as an electrostatic shielding layer and includes a plurality of dielectric layers, wherein a first dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers having an index of refraction lower than the conductive oxide layer is formed directly on the polarizer, and wherein a second dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers having an index of refraction greater than the conductive oxide layer is formed directly on the first dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers, and wherein a third dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers is formed directly on the second dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.

14. The display defined in claim 13 wherein the dielectric layers are interposed between the conductive oxide layer and the polarizer.

15. The display defined in claim 13 further comprising a layer of dielectric on the conductive oxide layer.

16. The display defined in claim 15 wherein the layer of dielectric on the conductive oxide layer comprises a layer of silicon dioxide.

17. The display defined in claim 16 wherein the dielectric layers that are interposed between the conductive oxide layer and the polarizer include a plurality of low index of refraction layers and a plurality of high index of refraction layers each having an index of refraction greater than the low index of refraction layers.

18. The display defined in claim 17 wherein the conductive oxide layer is formed on one of the high index of refraction layers.

19. An electronic device, comprising:

a liquid crystal display having an upper polarizer with an upper surface;

a plurality of layers of material on the upper surface configured to form an antireflection coating for the liquid crystal display, wherein the plurality of layers of material include a plurality of dielectric layers including a plurality of low index of refraction layers and a plurality of high index of refraction layers each having an index of refraction greater than the low index of refraction layers and wherein the plurality of layers includes a conductive transparent layer on the plurality of dielectric layers; and

an additional low index of refraction layer formed directly on top of the conductive transparent layer, wherein one low index of refraction layer of the plurality of low index of refraction layers is formed directly on the upper surface of the upper polarizer, and wherein the additional low index of refraction layer and the low index of refraction layer formed directly on the upper surface of the upper polarizer have the same index of refraction.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the plurality of low index of refraction layers and the plurality of high index of refraction layers on the upper surface are arranged in an alternating pattern.