Liquid crystal device comprising an interstitial substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023236449-A1
Application number	US-202117918744-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 16, 2021
Priority date	Apr 20, 2020
Publication date	Jul 27, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed are liquid crystal devices including at least two liquid crystal layers, at least one interstitial substrate separating the liquid crystal layers, and at least two alignment layers disposed on opposing surfaces of the interstitial substrate. Also disclosed are liquid crystal windows incorporating said liquid crystal devices.

First claim

1 . A liquid crystal device comprising:
(a) a first substrate assembly comprising a first glass substrate, a first alignment layer, and a first electrode layer disposed therebetween; (b) a second substrate assembly comprising a second glass substrate, a second alignment layer, and a second electrode layer disposed therebetween; (c) a third substrate assembly comprising a third alignment layer, a fourth alignment layer, a third electrode layer, a fourth electrode layer, and a third substrate, wherein the third electrode layer is disposed between the third substrate and the third alignment layer, and wherein the fourth electrode layer is disposed between the third substrate and the fourth alignment layer; (d) a first liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate assembly and the third substrate assembly; and (e) a second liquid crystal layer disposed between the second substrate assembly and the third substrate assembly.

2 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first liquid crystal layer is in direct contact with the first alignment layer and the third alignment layer, and wherein the second liquid crystal layer is in direct contact with the second alignment layer and the fourth alignment layer.

3 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first and second glass substrates independently ranges from 0.1 mm to 4 mm.

4 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second glass substrates are independently chosen from soda-lime silicate, aluminosilicate, alkali-aluminosilicate, borosilicate, alkaliborosilicate, aluminoborosilicate, and alkali-aluminoborosilicate glasses.

5 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the third substrate is chosen from glass, ceramic, or plastic substrates.

6 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the third substrate ranges from 0.005 mm to 1 mm.

7 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the third substrate is substantially equal to a thickness of the first or second liquid crystal layers.

8 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first, second, third, and fourth electrode layers independently ranges from 1 nm to 100 nm.

9 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth electrode layers are independently chosen from transparent conductive oxides, graphene, metal nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and conductive ink layers.

10 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first, second, third, and fourth electrode layers comprises a pattern.

11 . The liquid crystal device of claim 10 , wherein the pattern comprises a plurality of lines, a plurality of square pixels, or a plurality of rectangular pixels.

12 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrode layers are connected to a power source, wherein the third and fourth electrode layers are not connected to a power source, and wherein the third electrode layer is electrically linked to the fourth electrode layer.

13 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrode layers are connected to a power source, wherein the first electrode layer is electrically linked to the fourth electrode layer, and wherein the second electrode layer is electrically linked to the third electrode layer.

14 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrode layers are connected to a first power source, and wherein the third and fourth electrode layers are connected to a second power source.

15 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first and second liquid crystal layers independently ranges from 0.001 mm to 0.2 mm.

16 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second liquid crystal layers are independently chosen from achiral nematic liquid crystal, chiral nematic liquid crystal, cholesteric liquid crystal, and smectic liquid crystal.

17 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first and second liquid crystal layers further comprise at least one additional component chosen from dyes, coloring agents, chiral dopants, polymerizable reactive monomers, photoinitiators, and polymerized structures.

18 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the first, second, third, and fourth alignment layers independently ranges from 1 nm to 100 nm.

19 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, third, and fourth alignment layers comprise at least one material chosen from main chain or side chain polyimides having layer anisotropy, photosensitive azobenzene-based compounds having surface anisotropy, and inorganic films having periodic surface microstructures.

20 . The liquid crystal device of claim 1 , wherein the device has a haze value of less than 1%.

21 .- 23 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Corning Inc

Inventors

• He Mingqian
• Varanytsia Andrii

Classifications

• G02F1/133302 Primary

  Rigid substrates, e.g. inorganic substrates · CPC title

• G02F1/1337

  Surface-induced orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, e.g. by alignment layers · CPC title

• G02F1/134309

  characterised by their geometrical arrangement · CPC title

• G02F1/1347

  Arrangement of liquid crystal layers or cells in which the final condition of one light beam is achieved by the addition of the effects of two or more layers or cells · CPC title

• G02F1/15 Primary

  based on an electrochromic effect · CPC title