U.S. patent application number 10/441453 was filed with the patent office on 2004-11-25 for electrically addressable optical devices using a system of composite layered flakes suspended in a fluid host to obtain angularly dependent optical effects.
Invention is credited to Jacobs, Stephen D., Kosc, Tanya Z., Marshall, Kenneth L..
Application Number | 20040233508 10/441453 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33449988 |
Filed Date | 2004-11-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040233508 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kosc, Tanya Z. ; et
al. |
November 25, 2004 |
ELECTRICALLY ADDRESSABLE OPTICAL DEVICES USING A SYSTEM OF
COMPOSITE LAYERED FLAKES SUSPENDED IN A FLUID HOST TO OBTAIN
ANGULARLY DEPENDENT OPTICAL EFFECTS
Abstract
Composite or layered flakes having a plurality of layers of
different materials, which may be dielectric materials, conductive
materials, or liquid crystalline materials suspended in a fluid
host and subjected to an electric field, provide optical effects
dependent upon the angle or orientation of the flakes in the
applied electric field. The optical effects depend upon the
composition and thickness of the layers, producing reflectance,
interference, additive and/or subtractive color effects. The
composition of layered flakes may also be selected to enhance
and/or alter the dielectric properties of flakes, whereby flake
motion in an electric field is also enhanced and/or altered. The
devices are useful as active electro-optical displays, polarizers,
filters, light modulators, and wherever controllable polarizing,
reflecting and transmissive optical properties are desired.
Inventors: |
Kosc, Tanya Z.; (Rochester,
NY) ; Marshall, Kenneth L.; (Henrietta, NY) ;
Jacobs, Stephen D.; (Pittsford, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Kenneth J. LuKacher, Esq.
South Winton Court
Suite 204
3136 Winton Road South
Rochester
NY
14623
US
|
Family ID: |
33449988 |
Appl. No.: |
10/441453 |
Filed: |
May 20, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
359/296 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F 1/172 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
359/296 |
International
Class: |
G02F 001/153; G02B
026/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An optical device comprising a system of flakes suspended in a
fluid host, said flakes being composites of a plurality of layers
providing angularly dependent optical properties by combination of
light reflected from the layers, and said flakes having an angular
orientation dependent upon an electric field to which said system
is subjected.
2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said combination of
reflected light from the layers produces an interference
effect.
3. The device according to claim 1 wherein said combination of
reflected light from the layers produces an additive or subtractive
color effect.
4. The device according to claim 1 wherein one of said layers is
conductive and said host is a non-conductive (highly dielectric)
liquid.
5. The device according to claim 4 wherein said liquid host is
silicone oil.
6. The device according to claim 1 wherein said layers are of
dielectric material and said host is a liquid more conductive than
said flakes.
7. The device according to claim 6 wherein said host liquid is
selected from propylene carbonate and poly(ethylene glycol).
8. The device according to claim 2 wherein said layers are provided
by dielectric materials.
9. The device according to claim 2 wherein said layers are provided
by dielectric and conductive materials.
10. The device according to claim 3 wherein said layers include at
least one layer provided by PLC material
11. The device according to claim 10 wherein additional layers of
said composite layers of said flakes are of dielectric material and
conductive material.
12. The device according to claim 1 wherein said plurality of
layers are composed of material selected from conductive,
dielectric, and PLC materials.
13. The device according to claim 12 wherein said conductive
materials are selected from the group consisting of metals and
oxides, and wherein said metals are selected from the group
consisting of gold, silver, aluminum, and tin and said oxides
include tin oxide.
14. The device according to claim 12 wherein said dielectric
materials are selected from the group consisting of mica, titanium
dioxide, rutile, aluminum oxide, silica and magnesium fluoride and
polymers (tetrafluorethylene) (Mylar), cellophane, polyester, and
polyethylene.
15. The device according to claim 12 wherein said PLC materials are
selected from polymer cholesteric liquid crystalline, polymer
nematic liquid crystalline, or polymer smectic liquid crystalline
materials.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to optical devices having
electrically addressable composite layered flakes with angularly
dependent optical properties in a system including the flakes and a
host fluid. The composite flakes have a plurality of layers of
different materials, such as dielectric, conductive and polymer
liquid crystalline materials. The optical properties are
electrically selectable or addressable by an electric field applied
toward the flake/host system.
[0002] Reference may be made to the following patent documents
which describe optical devices containing flake/host systems that
rely on polymer liquid crystal (PLC) flakes to provide angularly
dependent optical effects: U.S. patent application Ser. No.
09/571,805, filed May 16, 2002 and published in International
Publication WO 01/88607, published Nov. 22, 2001; and U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/405,163, filed Apr. 2, 2003 by Tanya Z.
Kosc, Kenneth L. Marshall, and Stephen D. Jacobs. Both of these
patent documents are incorporated herein by reference.
[0003] Particles of various materials have been used, principally
in devices relying on electrophoretic effects, in order to provide
electrically switchable optical devices. These particles are
generally all dielectric and do not rely on composite layers to
obtain optical effects or to enhance particle motion as is the case
with devices of the present invention. Reference may be made to the
following U.S. Patents for further information regarding such prior
devices: Labes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,349, issued Apr. 14, 1987;
Albert, U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,785, issued May 21, 2002; Jacobson,
U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,687, issued Jul. 23, 2002; Sheridon, U.S. Pat.
No. 6,497,942, issued Dec. 24, 2002; and Albert, U.S. Pat. No.
6,515,649 issued Feb. 4, 2003. Other devices similar to those in
the referenced patents, as well as other documents that describe
them, are referenced in the above-identified International
Publication.
[0004] It has been discovered in accordance with the invention that
composite or layered flakes that have heretofore been used
exclusively as paint and ink pigments and have angularly dependent
optical properties, can be selected or addressed by an electric
field when contained in a flake/host system.
[0005] The composite flakes used in a flake/host system in
accordance with the invention may include both dielectric and
conductive layers. The dielectric layers may include, but are not
limited to, materials such as mica, titanium dioxide, rutile,
aluminum oxide, silica, magnesium fluoride, polymers, Mylar
(polytetrafluorethylene), cellophane, polyester, and polyethylene
and polymer liquid crystals (PLC's). Metals such as gold, silver,
aluminum, tin, and metal oxides such as tin oxide or indium tin
oxide may be used as the conductive layer, but the conductive layer
is not limited to these materials.
[0006] The angularly dependent optical properties may be obtained
in several ways: (1) one or more of the layers can be liquid
crystalline; (2) two or more layers can reflect light, causing
optical interference effects as determined by the index of
refraction and the thickness of the layers; (3) one or more layers
can contain holograms; (4) any combination of these methods can be
used.
[0007] Though angularly dependent optical effects are often
desired, there are conditions in which it is preferable to suppress
or alter the angular dependence. This suppression of angular
dependence can be achieved by preparing composite flakes with a
specifically colored layer, such as a dyed polymer, coated with a
layer having angularly dependent optical properties, such as a
liquid crystal, and utilizing additive and/or subtractive color
effects. The composite flake reflects a specific color when it is
illuminated and viewed normally. However when the composite flake
is viewed off-axis, the constant color reflecting from the bottom
layer compensates for the shifting color being reflected from the
top liquid crystalline layer, minimizing the change/shift in
apparent color. A specifically colored bottom layer in a composite
flake is not limited to suppression of angle-dependent color
effects. Specific color combinations can also alter, intensify, and
enhance color dependent effects.
[0008] A composite flake may also serve to manipulate the effects
of circular polarization that are obtained when polymer cholesteric
liquid crystal (PCLC) layers are used. PCLC's have an inherent
optical property known as selective reflection that causes a PCLC
layer to reflect only light of a specific wavelength (color) and
circular polarization (right- or left-handed). The ability to
provide polarized light is highly desirable for many applications,
particularly those employing three-dimensional effects or tagging
for security features. Because selective reflection only reflects
one handedness of light, the opposite handedness, or 50% of the
light, is not utilized. In applications where brightness of the
reflecting layer is a primary concern, it would be useful to
manufacture composite flakes possessing two layers of PCLC, with
each layer reflecting one of the two polarizations of light, thus
maximizing flake reflectivity.
[0009] The use of a metallic layer may be two fold. In certain inks
and pigments, the metallic layer is required to produce the desired
optical effect, particularly for "pearl luster" or "pearlescent"
pigments. When a metallic layer is included in the stack
(composition) of layers in a composite flake, it will change the
dielectric properties of the flakes. Since the metallic layer is
conductive, it significantly alters flake behavior when an electric
field is applied.
[0010] The plurality of layers in composite flakes can be
dielectric and can be composed of two or more layers. For example,
dielectric layers can be used to "sandwich" a metal oxide layer or
a metal layer. One or more of those dielectric layers may be a PLC
(either a PCLC, a polymer nematic liquid crystal, or a polymer
smectic liquid crystal). The flakes may be produced by the methods
described in the examples that appear below.
[0011] Various commercial pigments may be used to provide the
composite flakes. Some of such pigments and their manufacturers are
listed in the following table. In the table, "pearl luster" thin
film pigments are the traditional pigments based on mica platelets
coated with aluminium or bronze layers whose thickness determines
the color of the interference effect. "Multiple layer" thin film
pigments refer to pigments that use multiple layers (typically
dielectric) for interference effects.
1 Manufacturer Flake/pigment/ink Eckart Stapa metallic pigment
Silberline Silvet, Sivex metallic pigment Engelhard Mearlin,
Bi-Lite, Chroma-Lite, thin film "pearl luster" pigment Cellini,
organic thin film "pearl luster" pigemtn Merck Iriodin, Bi-flair,
"pearl luster" thin film pigment Xiralic coated aluminum oxide
pigment Colorstream transparent silica pigment Flex Products Inc.
Chrooaflair "multiple layer" thin pigment layer BASF AG Paliogcrom,
"pearl luster" thin film pig- ment Variochrom "multiple layer" thin
film pigment, holographic pigments (to be introduced) PPG
Industries Geometric Pigments .TM. holographic pigments
Wacker-Chemie AG Helicone liquid crystal pigments Eckhart-Werke
Alucolor, Aloxal aluminum coated with color pigments and coated
with SiO.sub.2 Toyo Aluminum with Nissin Metashine, CrystalStar
metallized Steel Coi., Ltd. & Nippon glass flakes Sheet Glass
Co., Ltd.
[0012] In addition, the following United States Patents describe
composites of layered flakes for pigments used in paint and ink:
Venis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,986, issued Sep. 25, 1979; Phillips et
al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,657, issued Jan. 18, 1994, Phillips et
al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,624, Issued Nov. 5, 1996; Hou et al., U.S.
Pat. No. 5,587,242, issued Dec. 24, 1996; Miekka et al., U.S. Pat.
No. 5,672,410, issued Sep. 30, 1997; Phillips et al., U.S. Pat. No.
5,766,738, issued Jun. 16, 1998. Pigments using PCLC and other
layers appear in Muller-Rees et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,604,
issued Dec. 22, 1998; Poetsch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,065,
issued Sep. 18, 2001; U.S. Patent Application Publication, Inoue et
al., U.S. 2002/0033117, published, Mar. 21, 2002. The foregoing
patents also describe methods of making the composite layered
flakes.
[0013] The foregoing and other features and advantages of the
invention will become more apparent from the following description
and the accompanying drawing in which:
[0014] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a typical irregularly
shaped flake which is usable in a flake/host system of an optical
device provided by the invention, particularly in a cell containing
the system as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C;
[0015] FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a cell incorporating the
flake/host system wherein the flakes lie approximately parallel to
the cell substrates or walls as occurs when no electric field is
applied;
[0016] FIG. 1C is a view similar to FIG. 1B that shows the flakes
reoriented with their long axis parallel to a field that is applied
perpendicular to the substrates;
[0017] FIG. 2A-2D are sectional views showing composite flakes
having different arrangements of layers of different types and
materials, the views being taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1A;
[0018] Referring to FIGS. 1A-1C, the basic device 10 embodying the
invention represents a cell having a suspension of PCLC flake 12 in
host fluid 14, which provides a flake/host system. Specific
examples of such a host fluid that is used when conductivity is
desired are propylene carbonate or poly(ethylene glycol). Silicone
oils provide an essential nonconductive host fluid.
[0019] A typical device is constructed using an indium tin oxide
(ITO) coated glass substrate 16 (in contact with the suspension),
though a flexible polymer substrate can also be used. Uniform cell
gaps between the substrates 16 may be set by spacers (e.g. beads,
fibers, or gaskets), and the device 10 may be filled with the
flake/host fluid suspension 14 using capillary action. The device
10 may be driven with either a DC or an AC electric field, whereby
any periodic waveform can be used as an AC driving field. Waveform
bursts or DC spikes may be used prior to or following the main
driving waveform to help control or alter flake behavior. The
details of device construction were already disclosed in the
above-referenced U.S. Patent Applications and International
Publication.
[0020] PCLC flakes 12 in the flake/host fluid system respond to
electric fields by rotating about one axis, most commonly that
which is parallel to the longest flake dimension. A typical flake
12 is shown in FIG. 1A. Flakes lying in the plane defined by the
substrate reflect brightly (FIG 1B), but once they reorient
perpendicular to the substrate, little light is reflected (FIG
1C).
[0021] The preferred host fluid in cases where the flakes are
highly dielectric (not conductive) is a moderately conductive host
fluid such as propylene carbonate or poly(ethylene glycol). When
the flakes contain a conductive layer, then a highly insulating
host fluid such as silicone oil is preferred. Reference may be made
to the following examples for making different flake designs:
EXAMPLE 1
[0022] A flake having a two layer cross-section shown in FIG. 2A
may include a polymer liquid crystal (PLC) thin film deposited onto
a silicon substrate via knife coating, spin coating, dip coating or
other coating technologies known to those skilled in the art. A
dielectric layer is deposited onto the existing PLC layer so that
the thickness of both layers totals 5-7 .mu.m.
[0023] For depositing dielectric layers on the order of nanometers,
techniques such as electron beam deposition, chemical vapor
deposition, sputter-coating, or dip-coating may be used. For
depositing dielectric layers on the order of micrometers,
techniques such as dip-coating, knife-coating or spin-coating may
be used. Dielectric layers in both cases may be deposited using
other additional techniques know to those skilled in the art.
[0024] The dielectric layer is composed of a material or materials
selected from a group of inorganic materials including but not
limited to mica, titanium dioxide (rutile), aluminum oxide, silica,
and magnesium fluoride or a group of organic polymers including but
not limited to Mylar, cellophane, polyester, and polyethylene.
[0025] Liquid nitrogen is poured over the composite film, and the
film fractures due to the large difference in the thermal expansion
coefficients of the silicon wafer and the PLC film. The flakes are
collected by rinsing them off of the substrates and into a storage
container with a chemically compatible solvent such as methanol,
which can be either evaporated or retained for storage.
EXAMPLE 2
[0026] A flake having the two-layer design shown in FIG. 2A with a
total thickness of 5-7 .mu.m may be created using patterning
techniques such as the flexible mold substrate described in U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 10/383,603, filed Mar. 7, 2003, by Anka
Trajkovska-Petkoska et al. The PLC material and the mold substrate
are heated to a temperature at which the PLC material is soft and
sufficiently fluid to be pushed into the wells. Alternatively the
PLC can be dissolved in a solvent such as methylene chloride or
toluene and poured into the wells, and further processing is
continued once the solvent has evaporated.
[0027] A dielectric layer on the order of tens or hundreds of
nanometers thick composed of a material or materials selected from
a group of inorganic or a group of organic polymers is deposited
onto the existing PLC layer as described in Example 1. Alternately,
a dielectric layer on the order of micrometers is deposited into
the wells and onto the existing PLC layer in a similar manner that
the PLC layer is deposited.
[0028] The flakes are released by flexing the mold substrate so
that each flake falls out of its well and into a collection
container. Loose flakes may also be washed off a substrate with a
chemically compatible solvent and stored for further use.
EXAMPLE 3
[0029] Flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2A may be produced by
depositing a 3-5 .mu.m thin PLC layer onto an existing dielectric
layer consisting of a material selected from a group of inorganic
materials including but not limited to mica, titanium dioxide
(rutile), aluminum oxide, silica, and magnesium fluoride or a group
of organic polymers including but not limited to Mylar, cellophane,
polyester, and polyethylene. The dielectric layer can be deposited
onto a pre-existing substrate such as a silicon wafer, or it can be
deposited into wells for a mold substrate. The product flakes after
forming are collected as described in previous Examples 1 and
2.
EXAMPLE 4
[0030] Flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2B may be produced by
depositing a 5-7 .mu.m PCLC layer onto a silicone substrate as
described in Example 1 or the PLC is deposited into wells of a mold
substrate as described in Example 2. A conductive layer (gold,
silver, aluminum, tin, etc) on the order of tens or hundreds of
Angstroms is deposited onto the existing PLC layer using techniques
such as electron beam deposition, chemical vapor deposition,
sputter-coating, or additional coating techniques known to those
skilled in the art. The flakes are produced, or released as
described in Examples 1 and 2 respectively.
EXAMPLE 5
[0031] Flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2C may be produced by
depositing a 3-4 .mu.m PCLC layer and a 10-100 .mu.m conductive
layer onto a substrate by means described in Example 4. A final 2-3
.mu.m layer of PCLC is deposited by procedures described in
Examples 1 or 2 so that the composite flake resembles a sandwich,
wherein a thin conductive layer is found between two PCLC
layers.
EXAMPLE 6
[0032] The flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2D are prepared
in the same way as in Example 5, except multiple layers that may be
either conductive or dielectric are applied to produce a flake with
three or more layers.
EXAMPLE 7
[0033] The PCLC layers in Examples 1-6 may alternately be either
polymer nematic liquid crystals or polymer smectic liquid
crystals.
EXAMPLE 8
[0034] The PCLC layers in Examples 1-6 may be an type of dielectric
layer composed of a material or materials selected from a group of
inorganic materials including but not limited to mica, titanium
dioxide (rutile), aluminum oxide, silica, and magnesium fluoride or
a group of organic polymers including but not limited to Mylar,
cellophane, polyester, and polyethylene.
EXAMPLE 9
[0035] The dielectric layers contained in Examples 1-6 and Example
8 are doped with a dye such as Oil Red-O to alter the optical
properties of the dielectric layer. This construction is
particularly suitable for obtaining color compensation effects as
discussed above.
EXAMPLE 10
[0036] The dielectric layers contained in Examples 1-6 and Example
8 are doped with nanoscale particles such as titania to alter the
dielectric properties of the dielectric layer.
EXAMPLE 11
[0037] Flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2A are processed to
have a bottom layer that is a red colored dielectric (absorbs blue
and green light, while reflecting red) and a top layer that is a
PCLC with selective reflection in the red. The flake remains highly
dielectric and must thus be suspended in a moderately conductive
host fluid like propylene carbonate so that the flakes will
reorient 90.degree. when an AC electric field is applied. In the
initial "off" state, the flake brightly reflects red light. Once
the electric field is applied and the flake starts to reorient, the
selective reflection color from the top surface shifts from red to
green. The green reflected light is mixed with the red light
reflecting from the bottom layer, thereby producing an additive
color of orange and mitigating the color shift that would normally
be seen with red PCLC flakes.
EXAMPLE 12
[0038] Flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2D or flakes such as
the Chroma-lite pigments produced by Engelhard Corp., which have
dielectric thin film layers and at least one conductive layer, are
suspended in a highly dielectric host fluid such as silicone oil. A
DC electric field is applied, causing the flakes to reorient
90.degree. and a color shift in the reflected light.
EXAMPLE 13
[0039] Flakes having the design shown in FIG. 2C are processed to
have a bottom layer that is a PCLC that reflects right-handed
circularly polarized light and a bottom layer that is a PCLC that
reflects left-handed circularly polarized light, with a conductive
layer sandwiched between them. The resulting flakes are suspended
in a highly dielectric host fluid such as silicone oil and can be
reoriented using a DC electric field. The reflectivity of the
device is nearly doubled because both right- and left-handed
circularly polarized light is reflected.
[0040] From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that
there has been provided dielectric devices which have features in
addition to those of the above referenced applications. Variations
and modifications in the described devices, within the scope of the
invention will undoubtedly become apparent to those skilled in the
art. The foregoing description should be taken as illustrative and
not limiting, and Examples 11-13 provide a few possible ways to
utilize composite flakes suspended in a host fluid and driven by an
electric field.
* * * * *