Packaging for an interferometric modulator

• US 7,443,563 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: IDC, LLC
• Inventors: Gally, Brian J., Palmateer, Lauren, Chui, Clarence, Cummings, William J., Kothari, Manish
• Primary Examiner(s): Stultz; Jessica T
• Application Number:
  US11/653,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20070170568A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 359/245
• US Class Current: 359/245
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/001 based on interference in an adjustable optical cavity interference filters G02B5/28; devices or arrangements using multiple reflections in spectrometry or monochromators G01J3/26

Abstract

A package is made of a transparent substrate having an interferometric modulator and a back plate. A non-hermetic seal joins the back plate to the substrate to form a package, and a desiccant resides inside the package. A method of packaging an interferometric modulator includes providing a transparent substrate and manufacturing an interferometric modulator array on a backside of the substrate. A back plate is provided and a desiccant is applied to the back plate. The back plate is sealed to the backside of the substrate with a back seal in ambient conditions, thereby forming a package.

Claims

1. A display apparatus package, comprising:

a transparent substrate;

a plurality of interferometric modulator arrays formed on a back side of the substrate;

a back plate;

a seal circumscribing each of said arrays and joining the back plate to the back side of the substrate to form a multiple sub-packages wherein each sub-package comprises one of said arrays; and

a desiccant inside the multiple sub-packages,

wherein the transparent substrate comprises scribed lines between the multiple sub-packages.

2. The package of claim 1, wherein the transparent substrate is made from:

glass, plastic, metal, silicon, ceramic or transparent polymers.

3. The package of claim 1, wherein the seal further comprises a non-hermetic seal.

4. The package of claim 1, wherein the seal is a hermetic seal.

5. The package of claim 1, wherein the interferometric modulator further comprises a membrane modulator, or a separable modulator.

6. The package of claim 1, wherein the back plate is made of glass, metal, foil, polymer, plastic, ceramic and or semiconductor materials.

7. The package of claim 1, wherein the seal comprises an epoxy-based adhesive, o-ring, PIB, poly-urethane, thin film metal weld, liquid spin-on glass, solder, polymer, or plastic seal.

8. The package of claim 1, wherein the package comprises a desiccant and the desiccant is a zeolite, molecular sieve, surface adsorbent, bulk adsorbent, or chemical reactant desiccant.

9. The package of claim 8, wherein the molecular sieve is formed by a process selected from the group consisting of:

molecular sieves in deposited thin films, molecular sieves in spun on polymers, sprayed on molecular sieves, and regenerated molecular sieves prepared in advance.

10. The package of claim 1, wherein the amount of the desiccant is selected to affect an operation of the interferometric modulator.

11. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant comprises a desiccant embedded into the interferometric modulator.

12. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant comprises a desiccant embedded into a component of the package.

13. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant is selected to affect the actuation voltage of the interferometric modulator.

14. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant is selected to affect the release voltage of the interferometric modulator.

15. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant is selected to affect the partial pressure of gases inside the package.

16. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant is selected to affect the response time of the interferometric modulator.

17. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant is selected to affect the lifetime of the interferometric modulator.

18. The package of claim 1, wherein the desiccant is selected to affect the rate of corrosion of the interferometric modulator.

19. The package of claim 1, wherein the interferometric modulator comprises a movable surface and a fixed surface.

20. The package of claim 1, wherein the back plate comprises at least one recessed region.

21. The package of claim 20, wherein the interferometric modulator is fit into the recessed region.

22. The package of claim 20, wherein the desiccant is located in the recessed region.

23. The package of claim 1, further comprising ribs on the back plate.

24. The package of claim 1, wherein the back plate comprises two or more layers.

25. The package of claim 1, wherein the back plate comprises a frame on top of a plate.

26. The package of claim 1, wherein the back plate comprises ribs on top of a plate.

27. The package of claim 1, wherein the back plate comprises a patterned layer of seal material on top of a plate.