Light modulating device
AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorTadao Kohashi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A light modulating device comprising a heterogeneous layer containing an electrokinetically movable liquid material and a solid substance polarizable with respect to the liquid. By establishing an electrical field in the layer the electrokinetically movable liquid is caused to move to vary the transmissivity of the layer to visible light. The electrical field is spatially modulated by electric charges in accordance with an image pattern and the incident light is modulated in exact correspondence with the modulated electrical field. The spatial modulation of the electrical field is effected by the incident ultraviolet light or X-ray radiation or by the impingement of an electron beam in a vacuum chamber.
Claims9
A display device comprising, and evacuated envelope, a source of an electron beam at one end thereof, a substrate disposed at the other end thereof, a liquid layer of an electrokinetically movable heterogeneous system disposed on said substrate and containing a liquid material and a coloring material, an apertured electrode in said layer said electrode being coupled to a DC voltage source to establish a potential with respect to said electron beam source, and means for deflecting said beam to selectively set up electric fields in said layer to cause lateral movement of portions of said heterogeneous system in directions parallel to the surface of said layer to thereby produce variations in the transmissivity of said layer to light passing therethrough.
A display device comprising, an evacuated envelope, a source of electron beam at one end thereof, a light pervious substrate disposed at the other end thereof, a liquid layer of a heterogeneous system disposed on said substrate and containing a light-pervious liquid material of a predetermined direction of charge polarity and electrophoretic coloring material of opposite charge polarity, an apertured electrode in said layer, a light pervious sealing member on said layer, said electrode being coupled to a DC voltage source to establish a potential with respect to said electron beam source, and means for deflecting said beam to selectively set up electric fields in said layer to cause lateral movement of said coloring material to thereby produce variations in the transmissivity of said layer to light passing therethrough.
A display device comprising, an evacuated envelope, a source of electron beam at one end thereof, a light-pervious substrate having a first dielectric constant, an apertured electrode on said substrate, a colored layer of an electro-osmotically movable liquid material having a second dielectric constant and disposed on said substrate through the apertures of said electrode to produce interfacial charges between the surfaces of said layer and said substrate, said liquid material containing a coloring material movable in the same direction as that of said liquid material under the influence of an electrical field, said apertured electrode being coupled to a DC voltage source to establish a potential with respect to said electron beam source, and means for deflecting said beam to selectively set up electrical fields in said layer to cause lateral movement of said interfacial charges to thereby produce variations in the transmissivity of said layer to light passing therethrough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.