TWI427320B - Tunable wettability film and display apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Water-wettable adjustable film and display device

The present invention relates to a film and a display device, and more particularly to a film having adjustable water wettability and a display device having the above film.

Due to continuous advances in technology, liquid crystal display devices have largely replaced conventional cathode ray tube display devices. The liquid crystal display device is mainly composed of a liquid crystal panel (LCD panel) and a backlight module. The liquid crystal panel is composed of two transparent substrates and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the two transparent substrates. The backlight module is used to provide a light source required for the liquid crystal panel, so that the liquid crystal display device achieves the display effect. However, liquid crystal panels usually use polarizers, which results in low light utilization, low contrast, and high cost. Therefore, how to produce a display device that does not need to use a polarizer to improve light utilization and comparison and reduce cost has become an urgent problem to be solved.

The present invention provides a water-wettable tunable film which changes the arrangement of liquid crystal molecules by controlling the magnitude of an applied voltage, thereby changing the water wettability of the surface of the polymer layer.

The present invention provides a display device that does not require a polarizer.

The invention provides a water-wettable adjustable film, comprising a substrate and a polymer Layer and liquid crystal layer. The substrate has a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern that are alternately arranged. The polymer layer is disposed on the substrate and covers the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern. Further, the liquid crystal layer is disposed on the surface of the polymer layer. The contact angle between the droplets disposed on the surface of the polymer layer and covering the liquid crystal layer and the polymer layer changes as the voltage difference applied between the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern changes.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern both include a plurality of straight portions or a plurality of zigzag portions.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of grooves.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of holes, and the liquid crystal layer is filled in the holes.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the droplets are oil droplets or water droplets.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the substrate is a glass substrate, a plastic substrate or a flexible polymer substrate.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern are transparent electrode patterns. The material of the transparent electrode pattern includes indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or a polymer conductive material.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the material of the polymer layer is an ultraviolet curable polymeric material.

In one embodiment of the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the liquid crystal layer The material includes a positive liquid crystal or a negative liquid crystal.

The invention provides a display device comprising a first substrate, a polymer layer, a partition wall structure, a liquid crystal layer, a droplet and a second substrate. The first substrate has a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern that are staggered. The polymer layer is disposed on the first substrate and covers the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern. In addition, the partition wall structure is disposed on the first substrate to form a plurality of sub-pixel regions. The liquid crystal layer is disposed on the surface of the polymer layer. The droplets are respectively disposed in the sub-pixel region, on the polymer layer and covering the liquid crystal layer. The contact angle between the droplets and the polymer layer changes as the voltage difference applied between the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern changes. Further, the polymer layer, the partition wall structure, the liquid crystal layer and the droplets are located between the first substrate and the second substrate.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, a filling liquid is further included, filled in the sub-pixel region, and the filling liquid and the liquid droplet are not mutually soluble.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, a backlight module is further included, and the first substrate and the second substrate are disposed on the backlight module.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern each include a plurality of straight portions or a plurality of zigzag portions.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of grooves.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of holes, and the liquid crystal layer is filled in the holes.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the droplets are oil droplets or water droplets.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the droplets are dyed material. Among them, the dye is, for example, a black dye, a blue dye, a red dye or a green dye.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the first substrate is a glass substrate, a plastic substrate or a flexible polymer substrate.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the first electrode pattern 1 and the second electrode pattern are transparent electrode patterns. The material of the transparent electrode pattern includes indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or a polymer conductive material.

In one embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the material of the polymer layer is an ultraviolet curable polymeric material.

In an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, the material of the liquid crystal layer comprises a positive liquid crystal or a negative liquid crystal.

Based on the above, in the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal layer is changed by controlling the magnitude of the applied voltage, thereby changing the water wettability of the surface of the polymer layer. Further, the display device using the above-described water-wettable tunable film does not require the use of a polarizer.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

1 is a schematic view of a water-wettable tunable film according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the water-wettable tunable film 100 of the present embodiment includes a substrate 110 , a polymer layer 120 , and a liquid crystal layer 130 . The substrate 110 has a first electrode pattern 112 and a second electrode pattern 114 arranged in a staggered manner. The substrate 110 is, for example, a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, or a soft polymer base. Board or other material substrate.

The first electrode pattern 112 and the second electrode pattern 114 respectively include a plurality of first electrodes 112a and second electrodes 114a, and each of the first electrodes 112a is connected to each other, and each of the second electrodes 114a is also the same. The arrangement of the first electrode 112a and the second electrode 114a is, for example, a straight strip shape as shown in FIG. 2A or a zigzag shape as shown in FIG. 2B. The first electrode pattern 112 and the second electrode pattern 114 respectively composed of three first electrodes 112a and three second electrodes 114a are shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of the first electrode 112a and the second electrode 114a can be adjusted as needed. In addition, the number of the first electrode patterns 112 and the second electrode patterns 114 in the water-wettable tunable film 100 is not limited to one, and can be adjusted as needed. The first electrode pattern 112 and the second electrode pattern 114 are, for example, transparent electrode patterns. The material of the transparent electrode pattern includes Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO) or a polymer conductive material.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the polymer layer 120 is disposed on the substrate 110 and covers the first electrode pattern 112 and the second electrode pattern 114 . The material of the polymer layer 120 may be selected from ultraviolet curable polymeric materials or other materials. The so-called ultraviolet-curable polymeric material refers to a material that produces a curing effect after being irradiated with ultraviolet light. In the present embodiment, the surface of the polymer layer 120 has a plurality of grooves 122.

The liquid crystal layer 130 is disposed on the surface of the polymer layer 120. For example, the material of the polymer layer 120 may be first mixed with the material of the liquid crystal layer 130 during fabrication. Next, an ultraviolet light is irradiated. Due to the polymer layer The material of 120 is a UV curable material, and thus the materials of the polymer layer 120 are gathered together during the curing process, thereby separating the liquid crystal layer 130 from the polymer layer 120 to form on the polymer layer 120. The material of the liquid crystal layer 130 includes a positive liquid crystal or a negative liquid crystal. In the present embodiment, the surface of the polymer layer 120 further has a plurality of holes 124, and a portion of the liquid crystal layer 130 is filled in the holes 124.

In addition, in order to form the trench 122 on the surface of the polymer layer 120, in the foregoing process, the material of the polymer layer 120 may be mixed with the material of the liquid crystal layer 130 and then injected between the two substrates. The two substrates may be the substrate 110 of FIG. 1 and another alignment substrate (not shown). A structure corresponding to the trench 122 may be formed in advance on the alignment substrate. Therefore, after the polymer layer 120 is cured and the alignment substrate is removed, the trench 122 can be formed on the surface of the polymer layer 120 by the alignment substrate.

In the above, the droplets 140 are disposed on the surface of the polymer layer 120 and cover the liquid crystal layer 130. The droplets 140 can be oil droplets, water droplets or other droplets. It should be noted that there is a contact angle θ between the droplet 140 and the polymer layer 120. In FIG. 1, the contact angle θ is clearly expressed. Therefore, the angle between the two broken lines is indicated as the contact angle θ, and the two dotted lines do not actually exist. . The contact angle θ changes as the voltage difference applied between the first electrode pattern 112 and the second electrode pattern 114 changes. In detail, in the case of a low applied electric field, the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 130 are substantially aligned along the second direction D _{2 in} FIG. In the case of a high applied electric field, there is a power line extending along the first direction D ₁ between the first electrode pattern 112 and the second electrode pattern 114, and the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer 130 is driven by the electric field in the first direction D. The plane formed by ₁ and the third direction D ₃ exhibits different inclination angles along the power line. At this time, the droplets 140 covering the liquid crystal layer 130 are subjected to the pulling of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 130 to change their cohesive force. That is, the area covered by the droplets 140 on the polymer layer 120 also changes. In other words, the area covered by the droplets 140 may vary due to changes in the water wettability of the polymer layer 120.

In the above embodiments, the method for implementing the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention is exemplified, and the arrangement direction of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is changed by controlling the magnitude of the applied voltage, thereby changing the water wettability of the polymer layer. That is, the coverage area of the droplets on the polymer layer will change accordingly. In the following embodiments, an embodiment in which the above-described water-wettable tunable film is applied to a display device will be described in detail using the drawings. However, the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention is not limited to use in a display device.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a display device according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3A , the display device 200 a of the present embodiment includes a first substrate 210 , a polymer layer 220 a , a partition wall structure 230 a , a liquid crystal layer 240 , a droplet 250 , and a second substrate 260 . The polymer layer 220a, the partition wall structure 230a, the liquid crystal layer 240, and the droplets 250 are located between the first substrate 210 and the second substrate 260.

The first substrate 210 has a first electrode pattern 212 and a second electrode pattern 214 which are alternately arranged. The first electrode pattern 212 and the second electrode pattern 214 respectively include a plurality of first electrodes 212a and second electrodes 214a, and the first electrodes 212a are connected to each other (not shown), and the second electrodes 214a are also the same. An optional material for the first substrate 210, the first electrode pattern 212, and the second electrode pattern 214, and the first electrode pattern 212 and the second electrode pattern For the arrangement of the 214, reference may be made to the description of similar components in the previous embodiment, and the detailed description is not repeated here. The number of the first electrode 212a, the second electrode 214a, the first electrode pattern 212, and the second electrode pattern 214 can be adjusted as needed.

The polymer layer 220 a is disposed on the first substrate 210 and covers the first electrode pattern 212 and the second electrode pattern 214 . The partition wall structure 230a is disposed on the first substrate 210 to form a plurality of sub-pixel regions 224. In more detail, as shown in FIG. 3A, after the polymer layer 220a is formed on the first substrate 210, the partition wall structure 230a is formed on the polymer layer 220a so that the polymer layer 220a can be separated by the wall structure. 230a distinguishes a plurality of sub-pixel regions 224.

The liquid crystal layer 240 is disposed on the surface of the polymer layer 220a. The surface of the polymer layer 220a of the present embodiment may have a plurality of trenches 222. In other embodiments of the invention, the surface of the polymer layer 220a may also have holes 124 as in FIG. 1, and a portion of the liquid crystal layer 240 is filled into the holes 124. For the materials of the polymer layer 220a and the liquid crystal layer 240, for details, refer to the previous embodiment, and the detailed description is not repeated here.

Referring to FIG. 3A, each of the droplets 250 is disposed in the sub-pixel region 224, and is disposed on the polymer layer 220a and covers the liquid crystal layer 240. The droplets 250 can be oil droplets, water droplets or other droplets. Additionally, the droplets 250 may be doped with a dye. Among them, the dye may be a black dye, a blue dye, a red dye, a green dye or a dye of other colors. In addition to this, the display device 200a further includes a filling liquid 270 filled in the sub-pixel area 224, and the filling liquid 270 is not miscible with the liquid droplets 250. That is, the filling liquid 270 and the liquid crystal layer 240 The droplet 250 fills the space surrounded by the polymer layer 220a, the partition wall structure 230a, and the second substrate 260.

There is a contact angle (not shown) between the droplet 250 and the polymer layer 220a, and the angle of the contact angle changes as the voltage difference applied between the first electrode pattern 212 and the second electrode pattern 214 changes. Specifically, under the applied electric field of different intensities, the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer 240 is different due to the driving of the electric field, so that the liquid droplets 250 are changed by the liquid crystal molecules to change over the polymer layer 220a. Area.

Figure 3B is a top view of Figure 3A. For convenience of description, only some of the components in FIG. 3A are illustrated in FIG. 3B, and the second substrate 260 and other components in FIG. 3A are omitted, and the number of components in FIGS. 3A and 3B has no corresponding relationship. Referring to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B simultaneously, the droplets 250 in this embodiment may incorporate a dye as needed, and the droplets 250 doped with the dye may exhibit different degrees of gray scale or chroma. For example, incorporated into the droplets 250 is a black dye that, when the area of the droplets 250 covering the polymer layer 220a is large, is closer to the color of the dye incorporated in the droplets 250. That is, as shown in the leftmost sub-pixel area 224 in Fig. 3A, the darker the displayed color. Conversely, when the area of the liquid droplets 250 covering the polymer layer 220a is small, the displayed color is closer to the color of the light source emitted by the backlight module 280, as shown by the rightmost sub-pixel area 224 in FIG. 3A. In this way, controlling the area covered by the droplets 250 in each of the pixel regions 224 can be used as a means for regulating the gray scale. In addition to this, when the dyes incorporated are dyes of other colors, the display of different chromas can also be formed. Furthermore, if multiple colors of dyes are used at the same time, the color display can be achieved. of.

In addition, the display device 200a may further include a backlight module 280. The first substrate 210 and the second substrate 260 are disposed on the backlight module 280. The backlight module 280 is, for example, a direct-lit backlight module or a side-lit backlight module.

4 is a schematic diagram of a display device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the display device 200b of the present embodiment is similar in structure to the display device 200a of the above embodiment, and therefore the same components are designated by the same reference numerals. However, the biggest difference between the two is that the display device 200b of the present embodiment forms the isolation wall structure 230b on the first substrate 210, and then forms the polymer layer 220b on the first substrate. Therefore, the polymer layer 220b is disposed on the display layer 200b. 224 in each pixel area.

In the above embodiments of FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 4, the number of the sub-pixel regions, the first electrode patterns, the second electrode patterns, the first electrodes and the second electrodes is only illustrated by way of example. The present invention is not limited thereto, but may be changed depending on the circumstances at the time of implementation.

As described above, in the water-wettable tunable film of the present invention, the arrangement direction of the liquid crystal molecules is changed by changing the strength of the applied electric field, thereby changing the water wettability of the surface of the polymer layer. Thereby, the coverage area of the droplets on the polymer layer also changes as the applied voltage changes. Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the display device using the above-described water-wettable tunable film may not require a polarizer or a color filter film.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. this The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Water-wettable adjustable film

110‧‧‧Substrate

112, 212‧‧‧ first electrode pattern

112a, 212a‧‧‧ first electrode

114, 214‧‧‧ second electrode pattern

114a, 214a‧‧‧ second electrode

120, 220a, 220b‧‧‧ polymer layer

122, 222‧‧‧ trench

124‧‧‧ holes

130, 240‧‧‧ liquid crystal layer

140, 250‧‧‧ droplets

200a, 200b‧‧‧ display device

210‧‧‧First substrate

224‧‧‧ pixels area

230a, 230b‧‧‧ partition wall structure

260‧‧‧second substrate

270‧‧‧filling fluid

280‧‧‧Backlight module

D ₁ ‧‧‧First direction

D ₂ ‧‧‧second direction

D ₃ ‧‧‧ third direction

Θ‧‧‧contact angle

1 is a schematic view of a water-wettable tunable film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are schematic views showing the arrangement of two first electrode patterns and second electrode patterns in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a display device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3B is a top view of Figure 3A.

4 is a schematic diagram of a display device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

100‧‧‧Water-wettable adjustable film

110‧‧‧Substrate

112‧‧‧First electrode pattern

112a‧‧‧first electrode

114‧‧‧Second electrode pattern

114a‧‧‧second electrode

120‧‧‧ polymer layer

122‧‧‧ trench

124‧‧‧ holes

130‧‧‧Liquid layer

140‧‧‧ droplets

D ₁ ‧‧‧First direction

D ₂ ‧‧‧second direction

D ₃ ‧‧‧ third direction

Θ‧‧‧contact angle

Claims (24)

A water-wettable tunable film comprising: a substrate having a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern staggered; a polymer layer disposed on the substrate and covering the first electrode pattern and the second An electrode pattern; a liquid crystal layer disposed on a surface of the polymer layer; and a droplet disposed on the surface of the polymer layer and covering the liquid crystal layer; wherein the liquid droplet and the polymer layer There is a contact angle between the two, and the contact angle changes with the voltage difference between the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern. The water-wettable tunable film of claim 1, wherein the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern both comprise a plurality of straight portions or a plurality of zigzag portions. The water-wettable tunable film of claim 1, wherein the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of grooves. The water-wettable tunable film according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of holes, and the liquid crystal layer is filled in the holes. The water-wettable tunable film according to claim 1, wherein the droplet is an oil droplet or a water droplet. The water-wettable adjustable film according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a glass substrate, a plastic substrate or a soft polymer base. board. The water-wettable tunable film according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern are transparent electrode patterns. The water-wettable tunable film according to claim 7, wherein the material of the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern comprises indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or a polymer conductive material. The water-wettable tunable film according to claim 1, wherein the material of the polymer layer is an ultraviolet curable polymeric material. The water-wettable tunable film according to claim 1, wherein the material of the liquid crystal layer comprises a positive liquid crystal or a negative liquid crystal. A display device includes: a first substrate having a first electrode pattern and a second electrode pattern; and a second substrate disposed opposite to the first substrate; a polymer layer disposed on the first The first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern are covered on the substrate; a partition wall structure is disposed on the first substrate to form a plurality of sub-pixel regions; a liquid crystal layer disposed on the polymer layer a plurality of droplets disposed in the sub-pixel regions, respectively on the polymer layer and covering the liquid crystal layer, the droplet having a contact angle with the polymer layer, and the contacting The angle varies with a voltage difference applied between the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern; wherein the polymer layer, the spacer structure, the liquid crystal layer, and the The droplet is located between the first substrate and the second substrate. The display device of claim 11, further comprising a filling liquid filled in the sub-pixel regions, the filling liquid being immiscible with the droplets. The display device of claim 11, further comprising a backlight module, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are disposed on the backlight module. The display device of claim 11, wherein the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern both comprise a plurality of straight strip portions or a plurality of zigzag portions. The display device of claim 11, wherein the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of grooves. The display device of claim 11, wherein the surface of the polymer layer has a plurality of holes, and the liquid crystal layer fills the holes. The display device of claim 11, wherein the droplet is an oil droplet or a water droplet. The display device of claim 11, wherein the droplets are doped with a dye. The display device of claim 18, wherein the droplets are doped with a black dye, a blue dye, a red dye or a green dye. The display device of claim 11, wherein the first substrate is a glass substrate, a plastic substrate or a flexible polymer substrate. The display device of claim 11, wherein the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern are transparent electrode patterns. The display device of claim 21, wherein the material of the first electrode pattern and the second electrode pattern comprises indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide or a polymer conductive material. The display device of claim 11, wherein the polymer layer is made of a UV curable polymeric material. The display device of claim 11, wherein the material of the liquid crystal layer comprises a positive liquid crystal or a negative liquid crystal.