Electrowetting display pixels with fluid motion initiator
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsHildebrand Tigelaar, Gor Manukyan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrowetting display comprises a support plate on which individual electrowetting pixels separated from one another by pixel walls are formed. The individual electrowetting pixels include an electrode layer on the support plate, and a dielectric barrier layer on the electrode layer. The dielectric barrier layer comprises a first portion having a first dielectric constant and a second portion having a second dielectric constant that is substantially less than first dielectric constant. A hydrophobic layer is on the first portion and the second portion of the dielectric barrier layer.
Claims20
An electrowetting display device comprising:
- a pixel region comprising:
- an electrode layer on a portion of a support plate;
- a dielectric barrier layer on the electrode layer, the dielectric barrier layer comprising a multilayer structure that comprises an inorganic layer and an organic layer;
- a hydrophobic layer on the dielectric barrier layer;
- a first fluid on at least a portion of the hydrophobic layer;
- a second fluid that is immiscible with the first fluid;
- a first dielectric barrier layer portion of the dielectric barrier layer having a first dielectric constant;
- and
- a second dielectric barrier layer portion of the dielectric barrier layer having a second dielectric constant, wherein the first dielectric constant is at least twice as great as the second dielectric constant so as to create a non-homogeneous electric field over the pixel region in response to a non-zero voltage applied across the dielectric barrier layer,
- wherein the first dielectric barrier layer portion and the second dielectric barrier layer portion are located in the inorganic layer, and the organic layer comprises a first organic layer portion of the organic layer having a dielectric constant that is at least twice the dielectric constant of a second organic layer portion of the organic layer so as to contribute to the non-homogeneous electric field in response to the non-zero voltage applied across the dielectric barrier layer.
An electrowetting display comprising:
- a support plate;
- and
- an electrowetting pixel that comprises:
- an electrode layer on the support plate;
- a dielectric barrier layer on the electrode layer, wherein the dielectric barrier layer comprises a first dielectric barrier layer portion having a first dielectric constant and a second dielectric barrier layer portion having a second dielectric constant, wherein the first dielectric constant is greater than the second dielectric constant;
- a hydrophobic layer on the first dielectric barrier layer portion and the second dielectric barrier layer portion of the dielectric barrier layer;
- a fluid region on the hydrophobic layer, the fluid region comprising:
- a first fluid at least partly on the hydrophobic layer;
- and
- a second fluid immiscible with the first fluid;
- and
- a protrusion of the hydrophobic layer into the fluid region, wherein the protrusion is over the first dielectric barrier layer portion and is separated from the first dielectric barrier layer portion by at least the hydrophobic layer.
A method for fabricating at least a portion of an electrowetting display device, the method comprising:
- applying a conductive layer on a support plate;
- applying a dielectric layer on the conductive layer;
- covering a second portion of the dielectric layer with a mask while a first portion of the dielectric layer is uncovered;
- and
- modifying the first portion of the dielectric layer with a material that increases a dielectric constant of the first portion of the dielectric layer;
- applying a hydrophobic layer over the first portion and second portion of the dielectric layer, with a first portion of the hydrophobic layer on the first portion of the dielectric layer and not on the second portion of the dielectric layer, and with a second portion of the hydrophobic layer on the second portion of the dielectric layer and not on the first portion of the dielectric layer;
- and
- forming pixel walls on the hydrophobic layer so that at least a portion of the pixel walls are adjacent to the first portion of the dielectric layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.