Switchable light modulator comprising a polymer wall structure having a mould part and a cast part disposed between first and second substrates

A switchable light modulator (201, 202, 203, 204, 205) comprising:

• a first substrate (101, 102, 103) having a first major surface;
• a second substrate (141, 142, 143, 144) having a second major surface;
• a polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) having a top and a bottom, the polymer wall structure being disposed between the first major surface and the second major surface, thereby creating a plurality of cavities (111, 112, 113, 114) that contain a modulating fluid (71, 72, 73, 74) or a modulating gel in discrete volumes within the cavities (111, 112, 113, 114), wherein the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) includes a mould part (31, 32, 33) defining a recess along the top of the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23);
• and
• a cast part (81, 82, 83, 84) formed by disposing a fluid pre-cursor into the recess and filling the recess, and subsequently curing the fluid pre-cursor to bond the second substrate to a surface of the recess, wherein the fluid pre-cursor comprises an elastomeric polymer having a glass transition temperature (Tg) less than 20° C.

A switchable light modulator (201, 202, 203, 204, 205) comprising:

• a first substrate (101, 102, 103) having a first major surface;
• a second substrate (141, 142, 143, 144) having a second major surface;
• a polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) having a top and a bottom, the polymer wall structure being disposed between the first major surface and the second major surface, thereby creating a plurality of cavities (111, 112, 113, 114) that contain a modulating fluid (71, 72, 73, 74) or a modulating gel in discrete volumes within the cavities (111, 112, 113, 114), wherein the cavities are between 0.3 mm and 3 cm in longest dimension, and the center-to-center distance of adjacent cavities is between 0.6 mm and 10 cm, and wherein the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) includes a mould part (31, 32, 33) defining a recess along the top of the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23);
• and
• a cast part (81, 82, 83, 84) formed by disposing a fluid pre-cursor into the recess and filling the recess, and subsequently curing the fluid pre-cursor to bond the second substrate to a surface of the recess.

A switchable light modulator (201, 202, 203, 204, 205) comprising:

• a first substrate (101, 102, 103) having a first major surface;
• a second substrate (141, 142, 143, 144) having a second major surface;
• a polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) having a top and a bottom, the polymer wall structure being disposed between the first major surface and the second major surface, thereby creating a plurality of cavities (111, 112, 113, 114) that contain a modulating fluid (71, 72, 73, 74) or a modulating gel in discrete volumes within the cavities (111, 112, 113, 114), wherein the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) includes a mould part (31, 32, 33) defining a recess along the top of the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23);
• and
• a cast part (81, 82, 83, 84) formed by disposing a fluid pre-cursor into the recess and filling the recess, and subsequently curing the fluid pre-cursor to bond the second substrate to a surface of the recess, wherein the fluid pre-cursor does not contact the modulating fluid or the modulating gel.

A switchable light modulator (201, 202, 203, 204, 205) comprising:

• a first substrate (101, 102, 103) having a first major surface;
• a second substrate (141, 142, 143, 144) having a second major surface;
• a polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) having a top and a bottom, the polymer wall structure being disposed between the first major surface and the second major surface, thereby creating a plurality of cavities (111, 112, 113, 114) that contain a modulating fluid (71, 72, 73, 74) or a modulating gel in discrete volumes within the cavities (111, 112, 113, 114), wherein the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) includes a mould part (31, 32, 33) defining a recess along the top of the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23);
• and
• a cast part (81, 82, 83, 84) formed by disposing a fluid pre-cursor into the recess and filling the recess, and subsequently curing the fluid pre-cursor to bond the second substrate to a surface of the recess, wherein the cast part obscures light and includes a colorant, a filler material, or a light scattering material, and wherein the mould includes a colorant, and the colorant matches a colour of a particle that is disposed in the modulating fluid or modulating gel.

A switchable light modulator (201, 202, 203, 204, 205) comprising:

• a first substrate (101, 102, 103) having a first major surface;
• a second substrate (141, 142, 143, 144) having a second major surface;
• a polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) having a top and a bottom, the polymer wall structure being disposed between the first major surface and the second major surface, thereby creating a plurality of cavities (111, 112, 113, 114) that contain a modulating fluid (71, 72, 73, 74) or a modulating gel in discrete volumes within the cavities (111, 112, 113, 114), wherein the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23) includes mould parts (31, 32, 33) defining recesses along the top of the polymer wall structure (21, 22, 23), and wherein the mould parts have differences in the respective shapes of their recesses including variation in the depth (1031, 1032) and width (1041, 1042) of the recesses;
• and
• a cast part (81, 82, 83, 84) formed by disposing a fluid pre-cursor into the recess and filling the recess, and subsequently curing the fluid pre-cursor to bond the second substrate to a surface of the recess.