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US 5,970,187 AGranted
Electro-optical switching device
AssigneeU.S. Philips Corporation
InventorsPetrus H. L. Notten, Erik P. Boonekamp, Leo H. M. Krings, Johan Van De Ven
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AssigneeU.S. Philips Corporation
InventorsPetrus H. L. Notten, Erik P. Boonekamp, Leo H. M. Krings, Johan Van De Ven
Estimating the term…
A description is given of an electro-optical switching device (1) comprising a transparent substrate (3), a switching layer (5) of yttrium hydride as a first electrode, a palladium layer (7), an electrolyte layer of, e.g. Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 (9), a layer of WO.sub.3 hydride as the second electrode (11), and a transparent ITO-layer (13). Under the influence of a potential difference or direct current between the electrodes (5) and (11), the yttrium hydride is electrochemically converted from a low-hydrogen-content state to a high-hydrogen-content state, or vice versa. The conversion between both compositions is reversible, and is accompanied by a change in optical transmission. Apart from Y, other trivalent metals may be used, such as Gd and La.
An electro-optical switching device comprising a first and a second electrode separated by an ion-conducting electrolyte, the first electrode comprising a switching layer of a hydride of a trivalent transition or rare earth metal, which switching layer is provided with an electrocatalytic metal film, which film is in contact with the electrolyte, so that by applying a potential or current between the electrodes a change in the optical transmission of the switching layer is detectable when the metal hydride is electrochemically converted from a low-hydrogen-content mirror-like state to a high-hydrogen-content transparent state by an exchange of hydrogen, and vice versa, characterized in that the electrolyte comprises an aqueous solution of KOH.
An electro-optical switching device comprising a first and a second electrode separated by an ion-conducting electrolyte, the first electrode comprising a switching layer of a hydride of a trivalent transition or rare earth metal, which switching layer is provided with an electrocatalytic metal film, which film is in contact with the electrolyte, so that by applying a potential or current between the electrodes a change in the optical transmission of the switching layer is detectable when the metal hydride is electrochemically converted from a low-hydrogen-content mirror-like state to a high-hydrogen-content transparent state by an exchange of hydrogen, and vice versa, characterized in that the electrolyte comprises a solid state electrolyte.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.