Lucent Technologies Inc.

Pierre Wiltzius

John A Rogers

Michael Louis Steigerwald

Paul S Westbrook

Gregory Peter Kochanski

Benjamin John Eggleton

Peter Mach

Cherry Ann Murray

Paul VanNest Braun

Alfons Van Blaaderen

A unique waveguide structure is provided in which the waveguide contains individual scattering elements that are capable of being tuned to provide local refractive index variations, e.g., on a micron scale&mdash;which is on the order of wavelengths typically used for communication system. According to the invention, the waveguide contains a core region, a cladding region, and a solid or liquid material having the tunable scattering elements dispersed therein, where the material is disposed within the core and/or cladding regions, and/or on the exterior of the cladding region. Useful scattering elements include, for example, liquid crystals dispersed in a polymer (polymer-dispersed liquid crystals&mdash;PDLC) or electrophoretic particles dispersed in a liquid medium.

Waveguide incorporating tunable scattering material

A structure, e.g., a photonic band gap material, exhibiting substantial periodicity on a micron scale is provided. Fabrication involves the steps of providing a template comprising a colloidal crystal, placing the template in an electrolytic solution, electrochemically forming a lattice material, e.g., a high refractive index material, on the colloidal crystal, and then removing the colloidal crystal particles to form the desired structure. The electrodeposition provides a dense, uniform lattice, because formation of the lattice material begins near a conductive substrate, for example, and growth occurs substantially along a plane moving in a single direction, e.g., normal to the conductive substrate. Moreover, because the electrochemically grown lattice is a three-dimensionally interconnected solid, there is very little shrinkage upon subsequent treatment.

Electrochemical process for fabricating article exhibiting substantial three-dimensional order and resultant article

A configuration for an electrophoretic display device is described that is effective in substantially preventing agglomeration of pigment particles. A suspension medium is contained between first and second electrodes to define an electrophoretic display cell; a plurality of pigment particles are dispersed in the suspension medium and a plurality of mechanical members project therein. The members advantageously are sized sufficiently small such that a plurality of members can exist within a minimally visible region of the cell. The mechanical members may be fabricated separately from the remaining parts of the display, allowing for flexibility in the fabrication materials and processing conditions.

Electrophoretic display and method of making the same

Coating phosphor (typically particles) with a thin layer of Si, Ti, Al, Zr, In or Sn-containing material can result in significantly improved lifetime of the phosphor. A preferred coating technique involves exposing the phosphor to an alkoxide (e.g., TEOS) solution having ph&gt;7, preferably &gt;9 or 10.

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Millington, NJ, United States of America

Pierre Wiltzius