Electronic devices having infrared-transparent window coatings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9864116-B2
Application number	US-201615231170-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 8, 2016
Priority date	Dec 28, 2015
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

Abstract

An electronic device may have a display with a cover layer. A light-based component such as an infrared-light proximity sensor or other infrared-light-based component may be aligned with a window in the display cover layer. The window may block visible light and transmit infrared light. A coating in the window may include a thin-film filter formed from a stack of inorganic dielectric layers. The thin-film filter may block visible light and transmit infrared light. The coating may also include at least one layer of material such as a semiconductor material that absorbs visible light and that passes infrared light. This material may be interposed between the thin-film filter and the display cover layer. Antireflection properties and color adjustment properties may be provided using thin-film layers between the thin-film filter and the display cover layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a transparent member in the housing;
an infrared-light-based component in the housing; and
a window in the transparent member that is aligned with the infrared-light-based component, wherein the window includes a coating, wherein the coating includes a visible light absorbing layer having a material that absorbs visible light and passes infrared light, wherein the coating includes an infrared-light-transmitting filter that blocks visible light, and wherein the visible light absorbing layer is interposed between the infrared-light-transmitting filter and the transparent member.

2. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the infrared-light-based component comprises an infrared proximity sensor.

3. The electronic device defined in claim 2 further comprising an opaque masking layer having an opening aligned with the window.

4. The electronic device defined in claim 3 further comprising a display in the housing, wherein the transparent member comprises a display cover layer for the display.

5. The electronic device defined in claim 4 , wherein the display cover layer has a surface, wherein the opaque masking layer comprises black ink on the surface, and wherein the black ink is interposed between the coating and the display cover layer.

6. The electronic device defined in claim 4 , wherein the display cover layer has a surface, wherein the coating is formed on the surface, wherein the opaque masking layer comprises black ink, and wherein the coating is interposed between the black ink and the display cover layer.

7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the transparent member comprises a display cover layer and wherein the visible light absorbing layer is interposed between the infrared-light-transmitting filter and the display cover layer.

8. The electronic device defined in claim 7 wherein the infrared-light-transmitting filter comprises a thin-film filter having multiple dielectric layers.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 wherein the multiple dielectric layers are inorganic dielectric layers.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 wherein the visible light absorbing layer comprises at least one semiconductor layer.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 wherein the semiconductor layer comprises copper oxide.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 7 further comprising a thin-film filter layer having multiple dielectric layers that serves as an antireflection and color adjustment layer and wherein the thin-film filter layer is interposed between the visible light absorbing layer and the display cover layer.

13. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a display in the housing that has a display cover layer;
an infrared-light-based component; and
a window in the display cover layer that is aligned with the infrared-light-based component, wherein the window includes a coating, wherein the coating includes a thin-film dielectric stack that forms an infrared transmitting filter that blocks visible light.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 13 wherein the coating includes a layer between the thin-film dielectric stack and the display cover layer.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 wherein the layer between the thin-film dielectric stack and the display cover layer includes a material that absorbs visible light and that passes infrared light.

16. The electronic device defined in claim 15 wherein the material comprises a semiconductor.

17. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the material comprises copper oxide.

18. The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein multiple thin-film layers of the material are interleaved with multiple dielectric layers so that the layer that is between the thin-film dielectric stack and the display cover layer serves as an antireflection, spectral tuning, and visual absorption layer.

19. An electronic device, comprising:
a display having a display cover layer;
a window in the display cover layer that blocks visible light and transmits infrared light; and
an infrared light proximity sensor aligned with the window, wherein the window includes a coating having a visible-light-blocking and infrared-light-transmitting thin-film filter formed from multiple inorganic dielectric layers.

20. The electronic device defined in claim 19 wherein the coating includes at least one layer of inorganic material that absorbs visible light and that transmits infrared light and that is interposed between the visible-light-blocking and infrared-light-transmitting thin-film filter and the display cover layer.

21. The electronic device defined in claim 20 wherein the layer of inorganic material that absorbs visible light comprises a semiconductor layer.

22. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing;
a transparent member in the housing;
an infrared proximity sensor in the housing; and
a window in the transparent member that is aligned with the infrared proximity sensor; and
an opaque masking layer having an opening aligned with the window, wherein the window includes a coating, wherein the coating has a layer that does not reflect visible light and passes infrared light, and wherein the coating includes an infrared-light-transmitting filter that blocks visible light.

23. The electronic device defined in claim 22 wherein the coating scatters less than 5% of the visible light and the infrared light incident on the coating.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Matsuyuki Naoto
• Winkler Mark T
• Rogers Matthew S

Classifications

• G02F1/13318

  Circuits comprising a photodetector · CPC title

• G02F1/13312

  Circuits comprising photodetectors for purposes other than feedback · CPC title

• G02B5/20

  Filters (polarising elements G02B5/30) · CPC title

• G02B5/22

  Absorbing filters {(G02B5/201 - G02B5/208 take precedence)} · CPC title

• G01V8/10

  Detecting, e.g. by using light barriers (by reflection from the object G01S17/00) · CPC title