EP4034942A1 - Conducteur transmettant la lumière à conductivité directionnelle - Google Patents

Conducteur transmettant la lumière à conductivité directionnelle

Info

Publication number
EP4034942A1
EP4034942A1 EP20868339.1A EP20868339A EP4034942A1 EP 4034942 A1 EP4034942 A1 EP 4034942A1 EP 20868339 A EP20868339 A EP 20868339A EP 4034942 A1 EP4034942 A1 EP 4034942A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
light
transmissive
electro
optic
polymer
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP20868339.1A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP4034942A4 (fr
Inventor
Richard J. Paolini, Jr.
Jay William Anseth
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
E Ink Corp
Original Assignee
E Ink Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US16/585,218 external-priority patent/US11656525B2/en
Application filed by E Ink Corp filed Critical E Ink Corp
Publication of EP4034942A1 publication Critical patent/EP4034942A1/fr
Publication of EP4034942A4 publication Critical patent/EP4034942A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/13—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on liquid crystals, e.g. single liquid crystal display cells
    • G02F1/133—Constructional arrangements; Operation of liquid crystal cells; Circuit arrangements
    • G02F1/1333—Constructional arrangements; Manufacturing methods
    • G02F1/1343—Electrodes
    • G02F1/13439—Electrodes characterised by their electrical, optical, physical properties; materials therefor; method of making
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D03—WEAVING
    • D03D—WOVEN FABRICS; METHODS OF WEAVING; LOOMS
    • D03D1/00—Woven fabrics designed to make specified articles
    • D03D1/0088—Fabrics having an electronic function
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D03—WEAVING
    • D03D—WOVEN FABRICS; METHODS OF WEAVING; LOOMS
    • D03D15/00—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used
    • D03D15/40—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the structure of the yarns or threads
    • D03D15/44—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the structure of the yarns or threads with specific cross-section or surface shape
    • D03D15/46—Flat yarns, e.g. tapes or films
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D03—WEAVING
    • D03D—WOVEN FABRICS; METHODS OF WEAVING; LOOMS
    • D03D15/00—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used
    • D03D15/50—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the properties of the yarns or threads
    • D03D15/54—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the properties of the yarns or threads coloured
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D03—WEAVING
    • D03D—WOVEN FABRICS; METHODS OF WEAVING; LOOMS
    • D03D15/00—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used
    • D03D15/50—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the properties of the yarns or threads
    • D03D15/547—Woven fabrics characterised by the material, structure or properties of the fibres, filaments, yarns, threads or other warp or weft elements used characterised by the properties of the yarns or threads with optical functions other than colour, e.g. comprising light-emitting fibres
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/165—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on translational movement of particles in a fluid under the influence of an applied field
    • G02F1/166—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on translational movement of particles in a fluid under the influence of an applied field characterised by the electro-optical or magneto-optical effect
    • G02F1/167—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on translational movement of particles in a fluid under the influence of an applied field characterised by the electro-optical or magneto-optical effect by electrophoresis
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/165—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on translational movement of particles in a fluid under the influence of an applied field
    • G02F1/1675—Constructional details
    • G02F1/16757—Microcapsules
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
    • G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
    • G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour 
    • G02F1/165—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour  based on translational movement of particles in a fluid under the influence of an applied field
    • G02F1/1675—Constructional details
    • G02F1/1676—Electrodes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B1/00—Conductors or conductive bodies characterised by the conductive materials; Selection of materials as conductors
    • H01B1/02—Conductors or conductive bodies characterised by the conductive materials; Selection of materials as conductors mainly consisting of metals or alloys
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B5/00—Non-insulated conductors or conductive bodies characterised by their form
    • H01B5/12—Braided wires or the like
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B5/00—Non-insulated conductors or conductive bodies characterised by their form
    • H01B5/14—Non-insulated conductors or conductive bodies characterised by their form comprising conductive layers or films on insulating-supports

Definitions

  • the binder is an electronic insulator, thus resulting in inhomogeneities in electric fields between the light- transmissive composite electrode and another electrode in the system, such as a backplane conductor.
  • the inhomogeneities cause transient state-switching issues typically known as “self-erasing,” whereby portions of an updated image disappear after being updated to the display.
  • the inhomogeneities can be improved by increasing the amount of small conductors in the formulation, however as the amount of dispersed conductor increases, the transmission of the ultimate light-transmissive conductive layer decreases.
  • the invention described herein provides a light-transmissive conductor with directional conductivity.
  • the conductivity along the length of the material is approaching a conductive material, e.g., less than lxlO 3 Ohm-cm. [It is to be appreciated that quoted volume resistivities are with respect to standard relative humidity (50% RH) and temperature (20 °C)].
  • the invention includes a light-transmissive conductor including a light-transmissive polymer having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm, and an oriented conductive element having an aspect ratio of greater than 10:1 (length: width).
  • the light-transmissive polymer is flexible, thereby allowing the light-transmissive conductor to be flexible.
  • the light-transmissive polymer is doped with a conductive additive, such as a salt, a polyelectrolyte, a polymer electrolyte, or a solid electrolyte.
  • the invention includes an electro-optic display comprising a front electrode comprising a layer of a light-transmissive conductor of the invention, a back electrode, a layer of electro-optic media disposed between the front electrode and the back electrode, and a voltage source coupled to the front and back electrodes.
  • the light-transmissive conductor will include a light-transmissive polymer having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm and an oriented conductive element having an aspect ratio of greater than 10:1 (length: width).
  • the layer of electro-optic media comprises charged pigment particles in a solvent.
  • the charged pigment particles and the solvent are enclosed in microcapsules or sealed in microcells.
  • the charged pigment particles may comprise two sets of charged pigment particles, wherein each set has a different charge polarity and a different optical characteristic.
  • the electro-optic display includes an optically-clear adhesive between the front electrode and the layer of electro-optic media.
  • the invention includes a color-changing fiber comprising, a central conductive element, a layer of electro-optic media surrounding the central conductive element, and an outer layer of a light-transmissive conductor of the invention, i.e., including a light-transmissive polymer having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm, and an oriented conductive element having an aspect ratio of greater than 10:1 (length: width).
  • the electro-optic media comprises charged pigment particles in a solvent.
  • the charged pigment particles are enclosed in microcapsules and dispersed in a polymer binder.
  • the external stimulus may be a magnetic field, an electric field, light, or mechanical actuation.
  • the resulting light-transmissive conductor has a conductivity of less than lxlO 3 Ohm-cm along the direction in which the plurality of oriented conductive elements are oriented.
  • FIG. l is a cross-sectional view of an electro-optic fiber according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of an electro-optic fiber according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of an electro-optic fiber according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6B is the cross-sectional view of the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 in a second optical state.
  • FIG. 7A shows an exemplary light-transmissive conductor with directional conductivity.
  • FIG. 7B shows an exemplary light-transmissive conductor with directional conductivity.
  • FIG. 7C shows an exemplary light-transmissive conductor with directional conductivity.
  • FIG. 7D shows an exemplary light-transmissive conductor with directional conductivity.
  • FIG. 8 shows a flow chart for fabrication of a light-transmissive conductor with directional conductivity.
  • Light-transmissive conductors described herein have conductivity similar to “normal” metallic conductivity in the longer direction, but are not normally conductive in the transverse direction. Accordingly, light-transmissive conductors of the invention avoid electrical transients that result in self-erasing and other unwanted phenomena in electro-optic displays. These features are achieved by including oriented conductors in a light-transmissive polymer having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm.
  • the oriented conductors typically have very high conductivity, metallic like, and they may be opaque, thereby requiring 80% or greater open spaces between the conductors to allow the macroscopic appearance of a transparent conductor.
  • Exemplary materials include carbon nanotubes, metallic nanowires like silver, tungsten, stainless steel or copper, printed metal nanoparticles, metallic grids, graphene.
  • the arrangement can be simple wires oriented only in the fiber direction, or they can have continuous conductivity in the fiber direction and also some lateral conductivity.
  • the light-transmissive polymer (a.k.a. polymeric blooming binder layer) is a doped polymeric layer that fills in the spaces between the conductor regions of the composite transparent electrode. This layer is transparent. Typically, the resulting light-transmissive conductor is between 5 and 50 microns in thickness.
  • This oriented composite transparent electrode of the invention could be used as the viewing electrode of an electrophoretic display.
  • the electrode could have the electrophoretic media coated or laminated to the electrode with a variety of standard procedures described in previous E Ink patents to create multiple structures including but not limited to the following simple ink stacks shown in the figures below.
  • the adhesive materials may be solvent based or aqueous based.
  • An example of a particular polyurethane that may be used is described in U. S. Patent No. 7,342,068, issued March 11, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and assigned to Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
  • the light-transmissive polymeric material may, itself, be a composite, for example an ionic conductive polymer in which one ion can migrate through the polymeric material while the other cannot. This type of ionic material prevents ions diffusing out of the polymeric material and potentially damaging other layers (for example, organic semiconductor layers) into which the ions diffuse.
  • Nitrogen- based acids could also be used if attached to sufficiently electron-withdrawing functions (e.g., RSO 2 -NH-SO 2 R)).
  • RSO 2 -NH-SO 2 R sufficiently electron-withdrawing functions
  • almost any mobile ion could be used, including tertiary ammonium, because the mobile ion will exist in the protonated form even in the dried adhesive.
  • mobile ions based on larger amines i.e., ones with longer alkyl tails
  • might still be preferable because they are effectively larger in size and therefore the ion pairs comprising them would be more dissociable.
  • the quaternary ammonium groups could be replaced by phosphonium, sulfonium or other cationic groups without dissociable hydrogen, including those formed by complexation with metallic cations.
  • examples of the latter include polyether/lithium ion inclusion complexes, especially cyclic polyethers (e.g. 18-crown-6) or polyamine complexes with transition metal ions.
  • the anionic mobile ion could include those types of ions listed above, plus more strongly basic materials such as carboxylates or even phenolates.
  • the light-transmissive polymer may alternatively or additionally include ionic additives, for example, (a) a salt, a polyelectrolyte, a polymer electrolyte, a solid electrolyte, and combinations thereof; or (b) a non-reactive solvent, a conductive organic compound, or combinations thereof.
  • ionic additives for example, (a) a salt, a polyelectrolyte, a polymer electrolyte, a solid electrolyte, and combinations thereof; or (b) a non-reactive solvent, a conductive organic compound, or combinations thereof.
  • the additive may be a salt such as an inorganic salt, organic salt, or combination thereof, as described in U.S. Patent No. 7,012,735, filed Mar. 26, 2004, assigned to E Ink Corporation.
  • exemplary salts include potassium acetate, and tetraalkylammonium salts, especially tetrabutylammonium salts such as the chloride.
  • Further examples of salts include salts such as RCF3SOF3, RCIO4, L1PF6, RBF4, RASF 6 , RB(Ar)4 and RN(CF 3 S0 2 ) 3 where R may be any cation, such as Li + , Na + , H + , or K + .
  • R may include ammonium groups of the form N + R I R2R3R4.
  • a preferred salt is tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate.
  • This preferred salt is liquid at 25°C and can be dispersed directly in an aqueous polymer dispersion or latex without the use of any solvent.
  • this salt can be added in the form of a dilute aqueous solution. Addition of the salt as an aqueous solution avoids the introduction of any undesirable organic solvent into the binder.
  • the fluorine-containing salt may have a tetrafluorob orate anion, a tetraphenylb orate anion, a bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide anion (“triflimide”), a tetra(pentafluorophenyl)borate anion, a tetrakis(3,5- bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)borate anion or a trifluoromethanesulfonate anion (“triflate”), for example, 1 -butyl-3 -methylimidazolium boron tetrafluoride or 1 -butyl - 3 -methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate.
  • the fabric may be woven with the three sets of threads, such that the final configuration of the weave would allow the combination of any of the four colors in various switchable proportions and patterns to achieve a wide spectrum of selectable colors for the fabric.
  • the electrophoretic media is not limited to two pigments.
  • the encapsulated electrophoretic media may alternatively include three or more pigments and/or a colored dispersion fluid to allow for a potentially infinite number of optical combinations within the fabric, such as the electrophoretic media disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 9,921,451.
  • bistable electro-optic media low power is required to switch the material and electronic controls used to switch the material may be detachable.
  • the electro-optic fiber further comprises a layer of electro optic media 14 over the central conductive fiber 10.
  • the electro-optic media is preferably a solid electro-optic material.
  • Some electro-optic materials are solid in the sense that the materials have solid external surfaces, although the materials may, and often do, have internal liquid- or gas-filled spaces.
  • the term "solid electro-optic material” may include rotating bichromal members, encapsulated electrophoretic media, and encapsulated liquid crystal media.
  • Electro-optic media of a rotating bichromal member type are described, for example, in U.S. Patents Nos.
  • gray state is used herein in its conventional meaning in the imaging art to refer to a state intermediate two extreme optical states, and does not necessarily imply a black-white transition between these two extreme states.
  • E Ink patents and published applications referred to below describe electrophoretic material in which the extreme states are white and deep blue, so that an intermediate "gray state” would actually be pale blue. Indeed, as already mentioned, the change in optical state may not be a color change at all.
  • black and “white” may be used hereinafter to refer to the two extreme optical states of a material, and should be understood as normally including extreme optical states which are not strictly black and white, for example the aforementioned white and dark blue states.
  • the term “monochrome” may be used hereinafter to denote a drive scheme which only drives electro-optic media to their two extreme optical states with no intervening gray states.
  • electro-optic media uses an electrochromic medium, for example an electrochromic medium in the form of a nanochromic film comprising an electrode formed at least in part from a semi-conducting metal oxide and a plurality of dye molecules capable of reversible color change attached to the electrode; see, for example O'Regan, B., et ah, Nature 1991, 353, 737; and Wood, D., Information Display, 18(3), 24 (March 2002). See also Bach, U., et ah, Adv. Mater., 2002, 14(11), 845. Nanochromic films of this type are also described, for example, in U.S. Patents Nos. 6,301,038; 6,870,657; and 6,950,220. This type of medium is also typically bistable.
  • Encapsulated electrophoretic media comprise numerous small capsules, each of which itself comprises an internal phase containing electrophoretically-mobile particles in a fluid medium, and a capsule wall surrounding the internal phase. Typically, the capsules are themselves held within a polymeric binder to form a coherent layer positioned between two electrodes.
  • the technologies described in these patents and applications include:
  • the layer of electrophoretic media 14 may be dried before the application of a light-transmissive conductor 16.
  • the light-transmissive conductor 16 may be, for example, an annular coating around the layer of electro-optic media 14.
  • the light-transmissive conductor 16 includes both a light-transmissive polymer having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm and an oriented conductive element having an aspect ratio of greater than 10:1, as described previously.
  • the electro-optic fiber 20 differs from the previously described first embodiment in that the light-transmissive conductor includes a conductive wire 36 disposed in a layer of light-transmissive polymeric material 34 with a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm.
  • the conductive wire 36 may be wound in the form of a coil or helix, for example, around the inner core of the electro-optic fiber and the light-transmissive polymeric material 34 coated over the conductive wire, e.g., with dip coating, spraying, slot coating, etc.
  • a plurality of wires may be used. It should be noted that he wires need not be straight to achieve the claimed aspect ratio, e.g., 10:1 or greater.
  • This phenomenon is also known as “blooming” whereby the area of the electro-optic layer which changes optical state in response to a change of voltage is larger than the area of the electrode, in this example, the area of the conductive wire in contact with light-transmissive polymeric material.
  • the distance between the wraps of the coiled outer conductive wire may be less than 5 mm, more preferably about 1 mm or less, and most preferably about 500 microns or less.
  • the conductive wire applied to the surface of the semi-conductive polymeric material is preferably more compliant and has a smaller thickness than the central core wire, so that the outer conductive wire may be wrapped repeatedly around the outer surface of the semi-conductive polymeric material.
  • the outer conductive wire preferably has a thickness of about 10 to about 100 microns and is made of a high conductive material, such as a metal. Therefore, similar to the central conductive core of the electro-optic fiber, the outer conductive wire may be made from a metal, such as copper or tungsten.
  • the electro-optic fiber 40 comprises the same features as the aforementioned second embodiment.
  • the electro-optic fiber 40 may comprise a central conductive core 50, a layer of electro-optic medium 52 applied to outer surface of the core 50, and a layer of light transmissive conductor 56 applied to the outer surface of the electro-optic medium 52.
  • the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that a plurality of outer conductive wires 52 are embedded in the outer surface of the layer of light-transmissive conductor 56. Rather than being wound about the outer surface, the outer conductive wires 52 have been applied, such that they are substantially parallel to the inner conductive core 50.
  • the outer conductive wire may be added with multiple spools which unwind parallel to the fiber. The fiber may be advanced past the spools and the spools unwind wire under light tension as the fiber is advanced. The spools would not need to rotate around the fiber.
  • All of the various embodiments of the present invention may further comprise an outer light-transmissive protective layer, such as layer 38 in FIG. 3 or layer 58 in FIG. 5.
  • the layer of protective material may be configured to serve as a mechanical and environmental protection layer for the underlying materials.
  • the protective materials may comprise a polymeric material, for example, such as polyvinyl alcohol, crosslinked gelatin, acrylates, urethane acrylate co-polymers, and blends thereof.
  • the polymeric material may include 100% solids radiation cured hard-coat materials, such as a solvent borne hard coat material like DCU2002 manufactured by PPG Industries Inc., a solvent borne high solids polyurethane automotive clear hard coat material.
  • FIGS. 6 A and 6B illustrate an electro-optic fiber 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention in two different optical states.
  • the layer of electro-optic media 32 may be filled with an electrophoretic dispersion containing a white fluid and positively charged black particles, for example. As shown in FIG.
  • the light-transmissive conductors with directional conductivity are useful for the creation of elongate cylindrical articles, such as fibers
  • the light- transmissive conductors may also be used to form a variety of structures with high- aspect ratios, such as ribbons, rectangles, and stripes.
  • the light-transmissive conductor 70 includes a light-transmissive polymer 72, having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm, and a plurality of wires 74, that traverse the length of the light-transmissive conductor 70.
  • the wires may be silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, zinc, gold, steel, or any combination thereof.
  • the overall conductivity along the length of the light-transmissive conductor is less than IxIO 3 Ohm-cm, e.g., less than IxIO 6 Ohm-cm.
  • the transverse conductivity is dominated by the volume resistivity of the light-transmissive polymer, thus the transverse conductivity is typically also on the order of IxIO 10 ohm-cm to lxlO 4 ohm- cm.
  • the volume resistivity of the light- transmissive polymer may approach lxlO 7 ohm-cm to lxlO 5 ohm-cm, which empirically seems to be sufficient to minimize self-erasing in an electrophoretic display, i.e., as discussed in FIG. 9, below.
  • elongated polygon structures 75 such as hexagons, as shown in FIG. 7B, provided that the elongated polygon structure has a preferential direction of conductivity.
  • the scale of the elongated polygon structure is not limited in that for a large format device, a small chicken wire structure might be suitable down to individual atomic sheets such as graphene.
  • the polygon structures may include silver, copper, aluminum, nickel, zinc, gold, steel, or any combination thereof .
  • the elongate polygon structures 75 may comprise multiple types of materials with a more conductive material running the length of the light-transmissive conductor 70, while an different, less conductive material runs the width.
  • a grid 76 can be used as the directional conductor by selecting materials with different conductivities for different portions of the grid 76.
  • Polygon structures 75 and grids 76 provide more structural stability in light-transmissive conductors 70, thus allowing them to be flexed in multiple directions.
  • the oriented conductive element can be constructed from conductive flakes, threads, slivers, whiskers, nanowires, nanotubes, or combinations thereof, wherein the contingent conductors are oriented to achieve an aspect ratio greater than 10:1.
  • a light-transmissive polymer 72 may be loaded with silver whiskers 77 and the mixture is mechanically actuated to cause the silver whiskers 77 to roughly align along the axis of the light- transmissive conductor 70, thereby producing an directionality in the conductivity.
  • the light-transmissive polymer 72 maybe cured or cross-linked to lock the conductors into their preferred orientation.
  • the conductors may include carbon nanotubes, silver, tungsten, iron, copper, nanoparticles, metallic grids, or graphene The method for creating an light-transmissive conductors 70 of FIG. 7D is shown in FIG.
  • step 62 including providing the light-transmissive polymer 72 at step 62, disposing the conductors 77 in the light-transmissive polymer 72 at step 64, orienting the conductors 77 with an external stimulus in step 66, and optionally curing the light-transmissive polymer 72 at step 68.
  • Other methods of aligning the component conductors may include applying electric or magnetic fields to stimulate alignment. Magnetic fields are particularly useful for aligning magnetic or paramagnetic materials, such as iron, tungsten, and aluminum. In some instances, compound materials, such as silver threads, spun with iron, may be used to allow for easier alignment of the conductors 77.
  • a larger conductor 77 may be coated with, e.g., iron dust to facilitate alignment in the preferred direction, e.g., with a magnetic field.
  • the light-transmissive polymer 72 may be cured with heat, or pressure, or the light-transmissive polymer 72 may include a cross-linker that is activated, e.g., with heat or UV light.
  • Light-transmissive conductors of the invention may be used as the top electrode in an electro-optic display, as shown in FIG. 9.
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic cross- section through a basic front plane laminate 80 of an electro-optic display having a light-transmissive conductive layer of the invention.
  • the light-transmissive electrically-conductive layer 84 will be carried on a light-transmissive substrate 82, which is preferably flexible, in the sense that the substrate can be manually wrapped around a drum (say) 10 inches (254 mm) in diameter without permanent deformation.
  • the substrate 82 will be typically be a polymeric film, and will normally have a thickness in the range of about 1 to about 25 mil (25 to 634 pm), preferably about 2 to about 10 mil (51 to 254 pm).
  • the substrate 82 forms the viewing surface of the final display and may have one or more additional layers, for example, a protective layer to absorb ultra-violet radiation, barrier layers to prevent ingress of moisture, or anti- reflection coatings.
  • the light-transmissive conductive layer 84 comprises a light-transmissive polymer having a volume resistivity between lxlO 10 ohm-cm and lxlO 4 ohm-cm and an oriented conductive element having an aspect ratio of greater than 10: 1, as discussed above.
  • a layer of electro-optic medium 86 is in electrical contact with the light- transmissive conductive layer 84.
  • a layer of optically clear adhesive (not shown) is also present between the light-transmissive conductive layer 84 and the layer of electro-optic medium 86.
  • FIG. 9 is an opposite-charge dual particle encapsulated electrophoretic medium having a plurality of microcapsules, each of which comprises a capsule wall 88 containing a hydrocarbon-based liquid 90 in which are suspended negatively charged white particles 92 and positively charged black particles 94.
  • the microcapsules are retained within a binder 95.
  • the white particles 92 move to the positive electrode and the black particles 94 move to the negative electrode, so that the electro-optic layer 86 appears, to an observer viewing the display through the substrate 82, white or black depending upon whether the electric field across the electro-optic layer 84 is positive or negative relative to the backplane at any point within the final display.
  • the front plane laminate 80 as shown in FIG. 9 further comprises a layer of lamination adhesive 96 adjacent the electro-optic medium layer 86 and a release sheet 98 covering the adhesive layer 96.
  • the release layer 98 is peeled from the adhesive layer 96 and the adhesive layer is laminated to a backplane to form the final electro optic display.
  • the two-phase conductive layer of the present invention may be the front electrode of an electro-optic display, which is the electrode located on the side closest to the viewing surface. In an electro-optic display that is fully light-transmissive or has two viewing surfaces, the two-phase conductive layer of the present invention may be both the front and back electrodes.
  • the backplane may be, for example, a single electrode material, such as a graphite electrode, a metal foil, or a conductive film such as PET-ITO.
  • the backplane may be a segmented display, a passive matrix display, or an active matrix display. In some instances, the backplane will include an active matrix of thin-film-transistors to control a voltage on a plurality of pixel electrodes.

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  • Artificial Filaments (AREA)
  • Multicomponent Fibers (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Electric Cables (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne des conducteurs transmettant la lumière comprenant des conducteurs orientés disposés dans un polymère transmettant la lumière ayant une résistivité volumique comprise entre 1x1010 ohm-cm et 1x104 ohm-cm. Les conducteurs orientés ont typiquement une conductivité très élevée sur leur longueur. Les conducteurs transmettant la lumière décrits ici sont bien appropriés pour des électrodes avant pour des dispositifs d'affichage électro-optiques, en particulier des affichages allongés sous la forme de rubans, de bandes ou de règles.
EP20868339.1A 2019-09-27 2020-09-25 Conducteur transmettant la lumière à conductivité directionnelle Withdrawn EP4034942A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US16/585,218 US11656525B2 (en) 2018-10-01 2019-09-27 Electro-optic fiber and methods of making the same
US202063004430P 2020-04-02 2020-04-02
PCT/US2020/052610 WO2021062075A1 (fr) 2019-09-27 2020-09-25 Conducteur transmettant la lumière à conductivité directionnelle

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EP4034942A4 EP4034942A4 (fr) 2023-08-23

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GB0329567D0 (en) * 2003-12-20 2004-01-28 Koninkl Philips Electronics Nv Fibre or filament
TWI426531B (zh) * 2006-10-12 2014-02-11 Cambrios Technologies Corp 以奈米線為主之透明導體及其應用
JP5311255B2 (ja) * 2009-03-31 2013-10-09 国立大学法人 千葉大学 透明導電性ポリマー材料及び導電性膜、導電性膜の製造方法
CN102369478A (zh) * 2009-03-31 2012-03-07 康涅狄格大学 柔性电致变色装置、其电极及制造方法
WO2012145157A1 (fr) * 2011-04-15 2012-10-26 3M Innovative Properties Company Électrode transparente pour des affichages électroniques
TWI657539B (zh) * 2012-08-31 2019-04-21 日商半導體能源研究所股份有限公司 半導體裝置
CN109491173B (zh) * 2014-01-17 2022-07-12 伊英克公司 具有双相电极层的电光显示器
CN105261423B (zh) * 2015-10-30 2017-08-29 中山大学 一种卷对卷制备高性能柔性透明导电膜的装备和方法
JP6660465B2 (ja) * 2015-11-11 2020-03-11 イー インク コーポレイション 機能化キナクリドン顔料
KR102105855B1 (ko) * 2016-12-23 2020-05-06 사빅 글로벌 테크놀러지스 비.브이. 전기 전도성 코폴리에스테르카보네이트-기반 물질
US11180871B2 (en) * 2017-06-14 2021-11-23 Apple Inc. Fabric items having strands of adjustable appearance
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CN114424300A (zh) 2022-04-29
TW202232215A (zh) 2022-08-16
EP4034942A4 (fr) 2023-08-23
TWI821598B (zh) 2023-11-11
TW202117424A (zh) 2021-05-01
TWI785981B (zh) 2022-12-01

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