U.S. patent application number 10/386622 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-18 for microcup compositions having improved flexure resistance and release properties.
Invention is credited to Chan-Park, Mary B., Chen, Xianhai, Liang, Rong-Chang, Wang, Xiaojia.
Application Number | 20030175480 10/386622 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25283136 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030175480 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen, Xianhai ; et
al. |
September 18, 2003 |
Microcup compositions having improved flexure resistance and
release properties
Abstract
This invention relates to a novel composition suitable for use
in the manufacture of electrophoretic display cells. The mechanical
properties of the cells are significantly improved with this
composition in which a rubber material is incorporated.
Inventors: |
Chen, Xianhai; (Santa Clara,
CA) ; Chan-Park, Mary B.; (Fremont, CA) ;
Wang, Xiaojia; (Fremont, CA) ; Liang, Rong-Chang;
(Sunnyvale, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HELLER EHRMAN WHITE & MCAULIFFE LLP
275 MIDDLEFIELD ROAD
MENLO PARK
CA
94025-3506
US
|
Family ID: |
25283136 |
Appl. No.: |
10/386622 |
Filed: |
March 11, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10386622 |
Mar 11, 2003 |
|
|
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09840756 |
Apr 23, 2001 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
428/156 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y10T 428/24612 20150115;
G02F 1/167 20130101; Y10S 428/913 20130101; Y10T 428/236 20150115;
Y10T 428/24562 20150115; Y10T 428/234 20150115; Y10T 428/24479
20150115 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/156 |
International
Class: |
B32B 003/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrophoretic display comprising cells formed from a
composition comprising a radiation curable material and a rubber
material.
2. The electrophoretic display of claim 1 wherein the radiation
curable material is a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor.
3. The electrophoretic display of claim 2 wherein said
thermoplastic or thermoset precursor is multifunctional acrylate or
methacrylate, vinylether, epoxide and their oligomers, polymers and
the like.
4. The electrophoretic display of claim 3 wherein said
thermoplastic or theormoset precursor is a multifunctional acrylate
and its oligomers.
5. The electrophoretic display of claim 2 wherein said radiation
curable material is a combination of multifunctional epoxide and
multifunctional acrylate.
6. The electrophoretic display of claim 1 wherein the rubber
material has a glass transition temperature lower than about
0.degree. C.
7. The electrophoretic display of claim 6 wherein the rubber
material is unsaturated.
8. The electrophoretic display of claim 7 wherein the rubber
material has uncapped or side chain unsaturated groups such as
vinyl, acrylate, methacrylate or allyl groups.
9. The electrophoretic display of claim 1 wherein said rubber
material is selected from a group consisting of SBR
(styrene-butadiene rubber), PBR (polybutadiene rubber), NBR
(acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber), SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene
block copolymer), SIS (styrene-isoprene-styren- e block copolymer),
and their derivatives.
10. The electrophoretic display of claim 9 wherein said rubber
material is polybutadiene dimethacrylate, graft (meth)acrylated
hydrocarbon polymer or methacrylate terminated
butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymers.
11. The electrophoretic display of claim 1 wherein said composition
comprising from about 1 to about 30% by weight of the rubber
material.
12. The electrophoretic display of claim 11 wherein said
composition comprising from about 5 to about 20% by weight of the
rubber material.
13. The electrophoretic display of claim 12 wherein said
composition comprising from about 8 to about 15% by weight of the
rubber material.
14. A process for the manufacture of an electrophoretic display
which process comprises forming microcups by microembossing using a
composition comprising a radiation curable material and a rubber
material.
15. A process for the manufacture of an electrophoretic display
which process comprises forming microcups by photolithography using
a composition comprising a radiation curable material and a rubber
material.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The electrophoretic display is a non-emissive device based
on the electrophoresis phenomenon influencing charged pigment
particles suspended in a solvent. This general type of display was
first proposed in 1969. An electrophoretic display typically
comprises a pair of opposed, spaced-apart plate-like electrodes,
with spacers predetermining a certain distance between the
electrodes. One of the electrodes is typically transparent. A
dispersion composed of a colored solvent and suspended charged
pigment particles is enclosed between the two plates.
[0002] When a voltage difference is imposed between the two
electrodes, the pigment particles migrate to one side by attraction
to the plate of polarity opposite that of the pigment particles.
Thus the color showing at the transparent plate may be determined
by selectively charging the plates to be either the color of the
solvent or the color of the pigment particles. Reversal of plate
polarity will cause the particles to migrate back to the opposite
plate, thereby reversing the color. Intermediate color density (or
shades of grey) due to intermediate pigment density at the
transparent plate may be obtained by controlling the plate charge
through a range of voltages.
[0003] There are several types of electrophoretic displays
available in the art, for example, the partition-type
electrophoretic display (see M. A Hopper and V. Novotny, IEEE
Trans. Electr. Dev., Vol ED 26, No. 8, pp 1148-1152 (1979)) and the
microencapsulated electrophoretic display (as described in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,961,804 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,026). In a
partition-type electrophorectic display, there are partitions
between the two electrodes for dividing the space into smaller
cells in order to prevent undesired movements of the particles such
as sedimentation. The microencapsulated electrophoretic display has
a substantially two dimensional arrangement of microcapsules each
having therein an electrophoretic composition of a dielectric fluid
and a dispersion of charged pigment particles that visually
contrast with the dielectric solvent.
[0004] Furthermore, an improved electrophoretic display (EPD)
technology was recently disclosed in the co-pending applications,
U.S. Ser. No. 09/518,488, filed on Mar. 3, 2000, U.S. Ser. No.
09/759,212, filed on Jan. 11, 2001, U.S. Ser. No. 09/606,654, filed
on Jun. 28, 2000 and U.S. Ser. No. 09/784,972, filed on Feb. 25,
2001, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. The
improved electrophoretic display comprises cells formed from
micrcups of well-defined shape, size, and aspect ratio and filled
with charged pigment particles dispersed in a dielectric
solvent.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Multifunctional UV curable compositions have been employed
to fabricate the microcup array for the improved electrophoretic
display. However, the microcup structure formed tends to be quite
brittle. The internal stress in the cups due to the high degree of
crosslinking and shrinkage often results in undesirable cracking
and delamination of the microcups from the conductor substrate
during demolding. The microcup array prepared from the
multifunctional UV curable compositions also showed a poor flexure
resistance.
[0006] It has now been found that resistance toward flexure or
stress may be significantly reduced if a rubber component is
incorporated into the microcup composition. Two other key
properties: demoldability during microembossing and adhesion
between the sealing layer and the microcups have also been
considerably improved with the composition containing this
additional rubber component.
[0007] Suitable rubber materials for this purpose include SBR
(styrene-butadiene rubber), PBR (polybutadiene rubber), NBR
(acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber), SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene
block copolymer), SIS (styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer),
and their derivatives. Particularly useful are functionalized
rubbers such as polybutadiene dimethacrylate (CN301 and CN302 from
Sartomer, Ricacryl 3100 from Ricon Resins Inc.), graft
(meth)acrylated hydrocarbon polymer (Ricacryl 3500 and Ricacryl
3801 from Ricon Resins, Inc.), and methacrylate terminated
butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymers (Hycar VTBNX 1300.times.33,
1300.times.43 from B F Goodrich).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIGS. 1A and 1B show the basic processing steps for
preparing the microcups involving imagewise photolithographic
exposure through a photomask of conductor film coated with a
thermoset precursor ("top exposure").
[0009] FIGS. 2A and 2B show alternative processing steps for
preparing the microcups involving imagewise photolithographic
exposure of the base conductor film coated with a thermoset
precursor, in which the base conductor pattern on a transparent
substrate serves a substitute for a photomask and is opaque to the
radiation ("bottom exposure").
[0010] FIGS. 3A and 3B show alternative processing steps for
preparing the microcups involving imagewise photolithographic
exposure combining the top and bottom exposure principles, whereby
the walls are cured in one lateral direction by top photomask
exposure and in the perpendicular lateral direction by bottom
exposure through the opaque base conductor film ("combined
exposure").
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Unless defined otherwise in this specification, all
technical terms are used herein according to their conventional
definitions as they are commonly used and understood by those of
ordinary skill in the art. The terms "microcup", "cell",
"well-defined", "aspect ratio" and "imagewise exposure" in the
context of the present application are as defined in the copending
applications identified above, as are the dimensions of the
microcups.
[0012] The microcups may be prepared by microembossing or by
photolithography.
[0013] I. Preparation of Microcups by Microembossing
[0014] Preparation of the Male Mold
[0015] The male mold may be prepared by any appropriate method,
such as a diamond turn process or a photoresist process followed by
either etching or electroplating. A master template for the male
mold may be manufactured by any appropriate method, such as
electroplating. With electroplating, a glass base is sputtered with
a thin layer (typically 3000 .ANG.) of a seed metal such as chrome
inconel. It is then coated with a layer of photoresist and exposed
to UV. A mask is placed between the UV and the layer of
photoresist. The exposed areas of the photoresist become hardened.
The unexposed areas are then removed by washing them with an
appropriate solvent. The remaining hardened photoresist is dried
and sputtered again with a thin layer of seed metal. A master is
then ready for electroforming. A typical material used for
electroforming is nickel cobalt. Alternatively, the master can be
made of nickel by electroforming or electroless nickel deposition
as described in "Continuous manufacturing of thin cover sheet
optical media", SPIE Proc. Vol. 1663, pp.324 (1992). The floor of
the mold is typically between about 50 to 400 microns. The master
can also be made using other microengineering techniques including
e-beam writing, dry etching, chemical etching, laser writing or
laser interference as described in "Replication techniques for
micro-optics", SPIE Proc. Vol.3.099, pp76-82 (1997). Alternatively,
the mold can be made by photomachining, using plastics, ceramics or
metals.
[0016] The male mold thus prepared typically has protrusions
between about 1 to 500 microns, preferably between about 2 to 100
microns, and most preferably about 4 to 50 microns. The male mold
may be in the form of a belt, a roller, or a sheet. For continuous
manufacturing, the belt type of mold is preferred.
[0017] Micro-cup Formation
[0018] Micro-cups may be formed either in a batchwise process or in
a continuous roll-to-roll process as disclosed-in the co-pending
application, U.S. Ser. No. 09/784,972, filed on Feb. 25, 2001. The
latter offers a continuous, low cost, high throughput manufacturing
technology for production of compartments for use in
electrophoretic or liquid crystal displays. Prior to applying a UV
curable resin composition, the mold may be prepared with a mold
release to aid in the demolding process, if desired. The UV curable
resin may be degassed prior to dispensing and may optionally
contain a solvent. The solvent, if present, readily evaporates. The
UV curable resin is dispensed by any appropriate means, such as
coating, dipping, pouring and the like, over the male mold. The
dispenser may be moving or stationary. A conductor film is overlaid
on the UV curable resin. Examples of suitable conductor films
include transparent conductor ITO on plastic substrates such as
polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthate, polyaramid,
polyimide, polycycloolefin, polysulfone, epoxy and their
composites. Pressure may be applied, if necessary, to ensure proper
bonding between the resin and the plastic and to control the
thickness of the floor of the micro-cups. The pressure may be
applied using a laminating roller, vacuum molding, press device or
any other like means. If the male mold is metallic and opaque, the
plastic substrate is typically transparent to the actinic radiation
used to cure the resin. Conversely, the male mold can be
transparent and the plastic substrate can be opaque to the actinic
radiation. To obtain good transfer of the molded features onto the
transfer sheet, the conductor film needs to have good adhesion to
the UV curable resin, which should have a good release property
from the mold surface.
[0019] II. Preparation of Microcup Array by Photolithography
[0020] The photolithographic processes for preparation of the
microcup array are described in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.
[0021] II(a) Top Exposure
[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the microcup array 10 may be
prepared by exposure of a radiation curable material 11 a coated by
known methods onto a conductor electrode film 12 to UV light (or
alternatively other forms of radiation, electron beams and the
like) through a mask 16 to form walls 11b corresponding to the
image projected through the mask 16. The base conductor film 12 is
preferably mounted on a supportive substrate base web 13, which may
comprise a plastic material.
[0023] In the photomask 16 in FIG. 1A, the dark squares 14
represent the opaque area and the space between the dark squares
represents the opening (transparent) area 15 of the mask 16. The UV
radiates through the opening area 15 onto the radiation curable
material 11a. The exposure is preferably directly onto the
radiation curable material 11a, i.e., the UV does not pass through
the substrate 13 or base conductor 12 (top exposure). For this
reason, neither the substrate 13 nor the conductor 12 needs to be
transparent to the UV or other radiation wavelengths employed.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 1B, The exposed areas 11b become hardened
and the unexposed areas 11c (protected by the opaque area 14 of the
mask 16 are then removed by an appropriate solvent or developer to
form the microcups 17. The solvent or developer is selected from
those commonly used for dissolving or reducing the viscosity of
radiation curable materials such as methylethylketone, toluene,
acetone, isopropanol or the like.
[0025] II(b) Bottom Exposure or Combined Exposure
[0026] Two alternative methods for the preparation of the microcup
array of the invention by imagewise exposure are illustrated in
FIGS. 2A and 2B and 3A and 3B. These methods employ UV exposure
through the substrate web, using the conductor pattern as a
mask.
[0027] Turning first to FIG. 2A, the conductor film 22 used is
pre-patterned to comprise cell base electrode portions 24
corresponding to the floor portions of the microcups 27. The base
portions 24 are opaque to the UV wavelength (or other radiation)
employed. The spaces 25 between conductor base portions 22 are
substantially transparent or transmissive to the UV light. In this
case, the conductor pattern serves as a photomask. The radiation
curable material 21a is coated upon the substrate 23 and conductor
22 as described in FIG. 2A. The material 21a is exposed by UV light
projected "upwards" (through substrate 23) and cured where not
shielded by the conductor 22, i.e., in those areas corresponding to
the space 25. As shown in FIG. 2B, the uncured material 21c is
removed from the unexposed areas as described above, leaving the
cured material 21b to form the walls of the microcups 27.
[0028] FIG. 3A illustrates a combination method which uses both the
top and bottom exposure principals to produce the microcup array 30
of the invention. The base conductor film 32 is also opaque and
line-patterned. The radiation curable material 31a, which is coated
on the base conductor 32 and substrate 33, is exposed from the
bottom through the conductor line pattern 32 which serves as the
first photomask. A second exposure is performed from the "top" side
through the second photomask 36 having a line pattern perpendicular
to the conductor lines 32. The spaces 35 between the lines 34 are
substantially transparent or transmissive to the UV light. In this
process, the wall material 31b is cured from the bottom up in one
lateral orientation, and cured from the top down in the
perpendicular direction, joining to form an integral microcup
37.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 3B, the unexposed area is then removed by a
solvent or developer as described above to reveal the microcups
37.
[0030] The radiation curable material used in the processes
described above is a thermoplastic or thermoset precursor, such as
multifunctional acrylate or methacrylate, vinylether, epoxide and
their oligomers, polymers and the like. Multifunctional acrylates
and their oligomers are the most preferred. A combination of
multifunctional epoxide and multifunctional acrylate is also very
useful to achieve desirable physico-mechanical properties.
[0031] It has now been found that addition of a rubber component
significantly improves the quality of the microcups, such as
resistance toward flexure or stress, demoldability during the
microembossing step, and adhesion between the sealing layer and the
microcups.
[0032] Suitable rubber materials have a Tg (glass transition
temperature) lower than 0.degree. C. Unsaturated rubber materials
are preferred and rubber materials having uncapped or side chain
unsaturated groups such as vinyl, acrylate, methacrylate, allyl
groups are particularly preferred. More specifically, suitable
rubber materials include SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), PBR
(polybutadiene rubber), NBR (acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber), SBS
(styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer), SIS
(styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer), and their derivatives.
Particularly useful are functionalized rubbers such as
polybutadiene dimethacrylate (CN301 and CN302 from Sartomer,
Ricacryl 3100 from Ricon Resins Inc.), graft (meth)acrylated
hydrocarbon polymer (Ricacryl 3500 and Ricacryl 3801 from Ricon
Resins, Inc.), and methacrylate terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile
copolymers (Hycar VTBNX 1300.times.33, 1300.times.43 from B F
Goodrich).
[0033] The percentage of rubber component in the UV curable
formulation can be in the range from 1 wt-% to 30 wt-%, preferably
from 5 wt-% to 20 wt-%, even more preferably from 8-15 wt-%. The
rubber components can be soluble or dispersible in the formulation.
Ideally, the rubber component is soluble in the formulation before
UV curing and phase separates into microdomains after UV
curing.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
[0034] Microcup Composition Without Rubber
[0035] 35 parts by weight of Ebercryl.RTM. 600 (UCB), 40 parts of
SR-399 (Sartomer.RTM.), 10 parts of Ebecryl 4827 (UCB), 7 parts of
Ebecryl 1360 (UCB), 8 parts of HDDA (UCB), and 0.05 parts of
Irgacure.RTM. 369 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals), 0.01 parts of
isopropyl thioxanthone (Aldrich) were mixed homogeneously and used
to prepare the microcup arrary by either the microembossing or
photolithographic process.
Example 2-7
[0036] Rubber-Containing Microcup Compositions
[0037] The same procedure as Example 1 was repeated except that 6,
7, 8, 10, 11 or 14 phr (parts per hundred resin) of Hycar.RTM.
VTBNX 1300.times.33 were added to the compositions of Examples 2-7,
respectively.
[0038] Comparison of Flexure Resistance
[0039] The microcup compositions of Examples 1-7 were coated onto 2
mil PET film with a targeted dry thickness of about 30 .mu.m,
covered by untreated PET, and then cured for 20 seconds under UV
light at an intensity of .about.5 mW/cm.sup.2. The coated samples
were then 90 degree hand bended to determine the flexure
resistance, after the untreated PET was removed. It was found that
the flexure resistance of formulations containing more than 8 phr
of Hycar VTBNX 1300.times.33 (Examples 4, 5, 6, 7) was improved
significantly (Table 1).
[0040] Comparison of Release Properties Between the Cured Microcup
and the Ni--Co Microembossing Male Mold
[0041] The microcup compositions of the Example 1-7 were coated
onto 2 mil PET film with a targeted thickness of about 50 .mu.m,
microembossed with a Ni--Co male mold of 60.times.60.times.35 .mu.m
with partition lines of 10 .mu.m width, UV cured for 20 seconds,
and removed from the mold with a 2" peeling bar at a speed of about
4-5 ft/min. The formulations containing more than 6 phr of rubber
(Examples 2-7) showed significantly improved demoldability (Table
1). Little defect or contamination on the mold was observed for
formulations containing 10-15 phr of rubber (Examples 5, 6, 7)
after at least 100 molding-demolding cycles.
[0042] Comparison of Adhesion Between the Microcup and the Sealing
Layers
[0043] The microcup compositions of Example 1-7 were coated onto 2
mil PET film with a targeted dry thickness of about 30 .mu.m,
covered by untreated PET, and then cured for 20 seconds under UV
light at an intensity of .about.5 mW/cm.sup.2. The untreated PET
cover sheet was removed. A 15 wt % solution of the sealing material
(Kraton.RTM. FG-1901X from Shell) in 20/80 (v/v) toluene/hexane was
then coated onto the cured microcup layer and dried in 60.degree.
C. oven for 10 minutes. The thickness of the dried sealing layer
was controlled to be about 5 .mu.m. A 3M 3710 Scotch.RTM. tape was
laminated at room temperature onto the sealing layer by a
Eagle.RTM.35 laminator from GBC at the heavy gauge setting. The
T-peel adhesion force was then measured by Instron.RTM. at 500
mm/min. The adhesion forces listed in Table 1 were the average of
at least 5 measurements. It was found that adhesion between the
sealing layer and the cured microcup layer was significantly
improved by incorporating rubber into the microcup.
1TABLE 1 T Peel Adhesion Between the Cured Microcup Material and
the Sealing Layer Hycar Adhesion VTBNX (peel) to Example 1300x33
sealing layer Flexure Release Number (phr) (gm/12.5 mm) Resistance
from the mold 1 0 431 +/- 33 poor, bending fair, some line defects
broke 2 6 513 +/- 12 fair, bending Good, no line broke defect after
50 cycles 3 7 -- fair-good good bending line broke 4 8 -- Good,
bending good- mark excellent 5 10 543 +/- 20 Excellent, no
Excellent, no bending mark defect after 100 cycles 6 11 --
excellent excellent 7 14 536 +/- 12 excellent excellent
Example 8
[0044] Microcup Composition Without Rubber
[0045] 36 parts by weight of Ebercryl.RTM. 830 (UCB), 9 parts of
SR-399 (Sartomer.RTM.), 1.2 parts of Ebecryl 1360 (UCB), 3 parts of
HDDA (UCB), 1.25 parts of Irgacure.RTM. 500 (Ciba Specialty
Chemicals), and 25 parts of MEK (Aldrich) were mixed homogeneously
and used to prepare the microcup array by microembossing as
described previously, except that the UV curing time was 1 minute.
This example showed some defect on the microcup or contamination on
a Ni--Co male mold of 60.times.60.times.50 .mu.m with 10 .mu.m
partition lines after about 10 molding-demolding cycles.
Example 9
[0046] Microcup Composition With Rubber
[0047] The same procedure as in Example 8 was repeated except that
5.47 parts of poly(butadiene-co-acrylonitrile) diacrylate
(Monomer-Polymer & Dajac Labs, Inc.) was added to the
composition. No observable defect on the microcup array or
contamination on the Ni--Co male mold was found after about 10
molding-demolding cycles.
Example 10
[0048] Pigment Dispersion
[0049] 6.42 Grams of Ti Pure R706 was dispersed with a homogenizer
into a solution containing 1.94 grams of Fluorolink.RTM. D from
Ausimont, 0.22 grams of Fluorolink.RTM. 7004 also from Ausimont,
0.37 grams of a fluorinated copper phthalocyanine dye from 3M, and
52.54 grams of perfluoro solvent HT-200 (Ausimont).
Example 11
[0050] Pigment Dispersion
[0051] The same as in Example 10, except the Ti Pure R706 and
Fluorolink were replaced by polymer coated TiO.sub.2 particles
PC-9003 from Elimentis (Hihstown, N.J.) and Krytox.RTM. (Du Pont)
respectively.
Example 12
[0052] Microcup Sealing and Electrophoretic Cell
[0053] The electrophoretic fluid prepared in Examples 10 was
diluted with a volatile perfluoro cosolvent (FC-33 from 3M) and
coated onto a microcup array containing 11 phr of Hycar.RTM. VTBNX
1300.times.33 (Example 6) on a ITO/PET conductor film. The volatile
cosolvent was allowed to evaporate to expose a partially filled
microcup array. A 7.5% solution of polyisoprene in heptane was then
overcoated onto the partially filled cups by a Universal Blade
Applicator with an opening of 6 mil. The overcoated microcups were
then dried at room temperature. A seamless sealing layer of about
5-6 microns thickness with acceptable adhesion was formed on the
microcup array. No observable entrapped air bubbles in the sealed
microcups were found under microscope. The sealed microcup array
was then post treated by UV radiation or thermal baking to further
improve the barrier properties. A second ITO/PET conductor
precoated with an adhesive layer was laminated onto the sealed
microcups. The electrophoretic cell showed satisfactory switching
performance with good flexure resistance. No observable weight loss
was found after being aged in a 66.degree. C. oven for 5 days.
Example 13
[0054] Microcup Sealing and Electrophoretic Cell
[0055] The electrophoretic fluid prepared in Example 11 was diluted
with a volatile perfluoro cosolvent (FC-33 from 3M) and coated onto
a microcup array containing 12 phr of Hycar.RTM. VTBNX
1300.times.33 on a ITO/PET conductor film. The volatile cosolvent
was allowed to evaporate to expose a partially filled microcup
array. A 7.5% solution of polyisoprene in heptane was then
overcoated onto the partially filled cups by a Universal Blade
Applicator with an opening of 6 mil. The overcoated microcups were
then dried at room temperature. A seamless sealing layer of about
5-6 microns thickness with acceptable adhesion was form on the
microcup array. No observable entrapped air bubbles in the sealed
microcups were found under microscope. The sealed microcup array
was then post treated by UV radiation or thermal baking to further
improve the barrier properties. A second ITO/PET conductor
precoated with an adhesive layer was laminated onto the sealed
microcups. The electrophoretic cell showed satisfactory switching
performance with good flexure resistance. No observable weight loss
was found after aged in a 66.degree. C. oven for 5 days.
[0056] While the present invention has been described with
reference to the specific embodiments thereof, it should be
understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be
made and equivalents may be. substituted without departing from the
true spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, many
modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation,
materials, compositions, processes, process step or steps, to the
objective, spirit and scope of the present invention. All such
modifications are intended to be within the scope of the claims
appended hereto. For example, it should be noted that the method of
the invention for making microcups may also be used for
manufacturing microcup arrays for liquid crystal displays.
Similarly, the microcup selective filling, sealing and ITO
laminating methods of the invention may also be employed in the
manufacture of liquid crystal displays.
[0057] It is therefore wished that this invention to be defined by
the scope of the appended claims as broadly as the prior art will
permit, and in view of the specification.
* * * * *