Switchable electrophoretic light modulator having reduced aperture diffraction

A method comprising:

• providing a switchable light modulator, comprising a first light-transmissive substrate, a first electrode on one side of the first light-transmissive substrate, a second light-transmissive substrate, a second electrode on one side of the second light-transmissive substrate, a light-transmissive polymeric structure between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an electro-optic medium contained in a plurality of cells in the polymeric structure, wherein the electro-optic medium comprises charged pigment particles dispersed in a non-polar solvent, and wherein the polymeric structure includes a base and a wall structure extending from the base defining the plurality of cells, each cell including a plurality of wells on the base, the wall structure comprising a plurality of pillar structures and linking wall elements connecting adjacent pillar structures, and wherein the pillar structures include distal surfaces parallel to the base, said distal surfaces being arranged with the plurality of wells in a given pattern;
• and
• applying a driving voltage between the first and second electrodes to cause the electro-optic medium to switch between a first light-absorbing state and a second light-transmissive state, wherein the electro-optic medium switches between the first light-absorbing state and the second light-transmissive state by moving between a distributed particle state and an assembled particle state, and wherein when the electro-optic medium is in the second light-transmissive state, the charged pigment particles are collected in the wells of the polymeric structure, and when the electro-optic medium is in the first light-absorbing state, the charged pigment particles are distributed across the cells.