JPS6150115A - Liquid crystal light valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a production process and a structure by constituting a common electrode with windows consisting of a transparent electrode film and a conductive area other than windows consisting of an opaque metallic conductive film and constituting signal electrodes with areas, which consist of a transparent conductive film and correspond to said windows, and leading-out electrodes. CONSTITUTION:Glass substrates 21 and 22 constitute a liquid crystal light valve, and the substrate 21 is provided with the common electrode, and the substrate 22 is provided with plural electrodes independent of one another. A liquid crystal layer is interposed between substrates 21 and 22 facing each other to constitute the light valve. Electrodes 23 and 25 consist of transparent conductive films of an indium oxide or the like, and their overlapping parts function as minute shutters. Electrodes 24 and 25 consist of the opaque metal of chromium-gold deposite films or the like, and transmission of light in parts other than minute shutter parts is prevented by them. Further, the wiring resistance is reduced by these metallic electrodes. Thus, the liquid crystal valve whose production process and structure are simplified is formed, and the dullness of signals applied to transparent electrodes is minimized.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] 〔Technical field〕 The present invention relates to the structure of a liquid crystal light valve.

[Prior art]

Now, in recent years, the prices of CPUs, memory, etc. have been decreasing due to advances in semiconductor technology, and the people who use microcomputers, office computers, and those who come into contact with computer printouts have changed from being limited to specialized EDPS experts. It is beginning to spread widely to the general public. In other words,
There is a growing desire for output processing at the same level as ordinary documents, that is, output of kanji and kana characters.One typical example is Japanese word processors. Dew.

However, as mentioned above, such a system requires circuits,
The price of memory is getting lower and lower, and we can expect it to continue to grow.However, since the printer that is the output terminal is assumed to use kanji etc., it is inevitable that the printer will have a high resolution and high resolution. Unless it has a crystalline speed that can cope with the decrease in printing speed due to
This inevitably leads to an increase in cost.For example, the only products that can currently meet this requirement are lasers, O
Only optical printers using FT and multi-stylus electrostatic printers exist, but both are extremely expensive and are the biggest factor pushing up system costs.

Therefore, this has been a major impediment to the spread of the various systems described above in the market (despite the market needs).

The above circumstances apply to high-speed facsimiles and CRT hard copies.
Basically, the same thing can be said about devices, various terminals, etc.

Therefore, in the past, printing apparatuses using liquid crystal light bulbs have been considered. For example, a British patent? Q 1308
No. 208 discloses a liquid crystal shutter (two-way image formation).

pl', Figure 2 is a diagram showing a simple electrode configuration of a liquid crystal and a light valve. 21 and 22 are glass substrates equipped with electrodes 26 and 25, respectively. Between these two glass substrates (there are two liquid crystal layers), by applying a voltage between the electrodes 23 and 25, the weight can be changed. A minute shutter at the corner opens and closes.However, light always passes through everything except for these 9 heavy sections.

A necessary condition for the light bulb used in this printing apparatus is that it does not transmit light except for a portion of the minute shutter. There are two ways to solve this problem. One method is to arrange the polarizing plates in parallel instead of using them orthogonally as described above. Another method is to cover the area without electrodes with an opaque material. The former has serious drawbacks. This is because when the liquid crystal molecules are not perfectly twisted and aligned, light passes through them. What is essential for light bulbs is to completely close off the light. Therefore, in order to satisfy this requirement, the polarizing plates must be arranged perpendicularly to each other.The latter method is therefore effective.

The structure of a liquid crystal light valve used in such a printing device has conventionally been the structure shown in US Pat. No. 3,622,226. In this structure, a liquid crystal is inserted between a pair of transparent substrates, a common electrode and a signal electrode are formed on each substrate, and the overlapping region of the common electrode and the signal electrode serves as a window.

Then, by the liquid crystal responding to the application of the common 't1°C polar signal to the common electrode and the selection signal to the signal electrode,
It transmits or blocks external incident light.

Here, since the transmission of light in the liquid crystal light valve other than the above-mentioned window part will not fulfill its original function as a liquid crystal light valve, a light-transmitting plate is provided in the '+ifl area. I had to have it.

However, in such a structure, it is necessary to take the trouble to provide a shielding plate on the outside of the transparent substrate, and in order to obtain a complete shielding effect, the alignment of i, I, and j with the window part must be +5.゛Since it has to be done well once and it also needs to be bonded to the transparent substrate, the process is complicated ([during the process]
There was a 1.1 point.

〔the purpose〕

The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned problems and provides a liquid crystal light valve that can simplify the manufacturing process and has a simple structure by providing a common electrode with a light shielding function.

〔Example〕

Electrode diagrams of an embodiment of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b).

21 and 22 are two glass substrates constituting the liquid crystal light valve. 21 is a glass substrate provided with a common electrode, and 22 is a glass substrate provided with a plurality of independent electrodes. A light valve is constructed by placing substrates 21 and 22 facing each other and sandwiching a liquid crystal layer therebetween. 23 and 25
is an electrode made of a transparent conductive film such as indium oxide,
This weighted part becomes a minute shutter. 24 and 26
is an opaque metal electrode made of chromium-gold vapor deposition).

With this metal electrode, the J-tr other than a part of the minute shutter is
s ', i two, + sea 1ζ1J ノ◆
＞LJ? -y'A;Q?
−? ? ! +>al\FM electrode can reduce wiring resistance.

Used in the present invention. ! As mentioned earlier, the electric signal is reading the bright frequency. It is necessary to minimize the waveform distortion of the drive signal qiIJ, and for this purpose, it is a necessary condition that the wiring resistance is small. The use of metal 'id poles in this manner has two effects: preventing light transmission and reducing wiring resistance. By using the method described above, it was possible to obtain a liquid crystal light bulb with extremely excellent response characteristics.

Furthermore, not all light emitting techniques from light source 1 are effective.
This is related to the lifespan in that it damages the i+l light plate and ultimately eliminates its effect, and may also have a negative effect on the liquid crystal itself.On the other hand, infrared light uses thermal energy to heat the liquid crystal and polarizing plate. As mentioned above, there are gaps that make it difficult to control the temperature of the liquid crystal. Therefore, outside the door,
It is most convenient to employ a light source that emits little ultraviolet light.

〔effect〕

As described above, in the present invention, a liquid crystal is inserted between a pair of opposing transparent substrates, a common electrode having a number of windows corresponding to the number of plates on the first transparent substrate, and a common electrode corresponding to the window on the second transparent substrate. In a liquid crystal light bulb consisting of a plurality of signal lightning poles, the common electrode consists of a window made of a transparent conductive film and a conductive area outside the window plate made of an opaque metal conductive film, and the signal electrode is made of a transparent conductive film. Since the structure consists of a region corresponding to the window and an extraction electrode, it is possible to completely prevent light from passing through the area other than the window, regardless of whether or not a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal, and the electrode can be used as a light shield. It can also serve as a voltage application function. Therefore, a liquid crystal light bulb with a simple structure can be obtained. Further, the opaque metal conductive film has a lower wiring resistance than the transparent conductive film, and as a result, the distortion of the signal applied to the transparent conductive film can be minimized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(a), (1)) is a diagram showing an embodiment of the liquid crystal light valve of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a liquid crystal light bulb based on σρ. 21.22... Glass substrate, 25.25... Dead side electrode, 24.26... Opaque metal electrode. Above Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A liquid crystal is inserted between a pair of opposing transparent substrates, a common electrode having a plurality of windows on the first transparent substrate, and a plurality of signal electrodes corresponding to the windows on the second transparent substrate. In the liquid crystal light bulb, the common electrode consists of a window made of a transparent conductive film and a conductive region other than the window made of at least an opaque metal conductive film, and the signal electrode is made of a transparent conductive film. A liquid crystal light bulb comprising a region corresponding to the window and an extraction electrode. (2) The liquid crystal light valve according to claim 1, wherein the conductive area other than the window and the extraction electrode are opaque conductive films.