TRANSFLECTIVE, PCM-BASED DISPLAY DEVICE

• Main Authors: Bhaskaran, Harish, Broughton, Ben, Hosseini, Peiman
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 13.06.2018
• Subjects: DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF

The invention is notably directed to a transflective display device (1). The device comprises a set of pixels (2), wherein each of the pixels comprises a portion (10) of bi-stable, phase change material, hereafter a PCM portion, having at least two reversibly switchable states, in which it has two different values of refractive index and/or optical absorption. The device further comprises one or more spacers (14), optically transmissive, and extending under PCM portions of the set of pixels. One or more reflectors (15) extend under the one or more spacers. An energization structure is in thermal or electrical communication with the PCM portions, via the one or more spacers. Moreover, a display controller (30) is configured to selectively energize, via the energization structure, PCM portions of the pixels, so as to reversibly switch a state of a PCM portion of any of the pixels from one of its reversibly switchable states to the other. A backlight unit (40) is furthermore configured, in the device, to allow illumination of the PCM portions through the one or more spacers. The backlight unit is controlled by a backlight unit controller (42), which is configured for modulating one or more physical properties of light emitted from the backlight unit. The invention is further directed to related devices and methods of operation.