Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Zoltan K Kun

David Leksell

Juris A Asars

Alan F Mandel

Michael W Cresswell

Richard H Hopkins

Norman J Phillips

Robert Mazelsky

Walter E Gaida

William H Kasner

William A Barrow

Paul R Malmberg

Vincent A Toth

Carl W Laakso

George F Mechlin

Gerald J Faychak

A color printing system including thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) edge emitter devices and an electronic interface for driving the TFEL devices. The TFEL edge emitter devices form a multi-color TFEL edge emitter structure operable for emitting a plurality of different colors of light onto a media. The electronic interface receives gray scale data for pixels and converts it into a serial data stream used to drive pixels in the TFEL edge emitter structure. The electronic interface further includes a compensation memory for compensating for pixel variations in the TFEL structure. The compensation memory can be periodically recalibrated 'in place' during the life of the printing apparatus.

Full color TFEL edge emitter printing system

An improved facsimile machine having at least one edge emitting thin film electroluminescent line array, each array having a plurality of pixels wherein the pixels are selectively activated. A light beam from each pixel is directed to a known point along a line on a document and reflects to a sensor. The reflected beam corresponds to a grey level at the point of reflection on the document and causes the sensor to generate a signal corresponding to that greyness level. Sufficient pixels are provided to generate sufficient light beams to strike all points along a line across a document.

Facsimile machine using thin film electroluminescent device for spot

A TFEL edge emitter structure has a bottom substrate layer, a lower common electrode layer applied over the bottom substrate layer an upper control electrode layer, and a middle EL light-energy generating stack disposed between the lower common electrode and the upper control electrode layers. The middle EL stack includes a lower dielectric layer, an upper dielectric layer, and a middle light-energy generating layer. The lower dielectric layer overlies the lower common electrode layer and bottom substrate layer. The middle light-energy generating layer is deposited over the lower dielectric layer. The upper dielectric layer is deposited over the middle light-energy generating layer. A light emitting face on a front edge of the EL stack is disposed at an angle relative to a street on the front edge portion of the substrate layer that is greater than ninety degrees. The angle selected should be sufficiently greater than ninety degrees relative to the substrate layer street so that a divergent zone of light emitted by the face is not obstructed by the street. A focussing lens is located at a position spaced in front of the inclined light emitting face of the TFEL edge emitter structure where the lens will intercept and intensify a zone of light emerging from the inclined face. A central axis of the focussing lens extends perpendicular to the respective light emitting face.

TFEL edge emitter structure with light emitting face at angle greater

A projection apparatus is provided which produces a heads-up display in a helmet of the type commonly worn by a pilot. The projection apparatus includes a thin-film electroluminescent source having an edge emitter device provided therein. The edge emitter produces a linear signal which is transversely deflected by a scanner to produce an image on a display area. Preferably, the display area is provided on the face plate of a helmet worn by the pilot.

Heads-up projection display

A thin film electroluminescent edge emitter structure includes a common electrode layer and control electrodes disposed above the common electrode layer. At least one dielectric layer is disposed between the common electrode layer and control electrodes, and a phosphor layer is interposed between the one dielectric layer and common electrode layer. The common electrode layer, one dielectric layer and the phosphor layer define the light-emitting pixels of the emitter structure. Each pixel has a light-emitting face formed thereon and is operable upon application of electrical excitation to cause the radiation of light energy within its phosphor layer at least in a direction towards the pixel light-emitting face. An optical lens system associated with the pixels includes a preselected contour shaped on the light-emitting face of each pixel to define an optical lens integral therewith to project the light energy passed therethrough in a preselected direction and form a beam of light energy having a preselected beam pattern. A multi-color light emission system employed by the pixels includes a plurality of phosphor zones comprising the phosphor layer and capable of projecting different light energy through the light-emitting faces of the pixels. Also, separate edge emitter structures projecting different colors of light can be utilized in a electrophotographic printer.

Thin film electroluminescent edge emitter structure with optical lens

A TFEl structure has a multi-layer construction which includes a bottom substrate layer, a lower electrode layer, a middle EL stack, and an upper electrode layer. Forward portions of the EL stack and the lower and upper electrode layers have formed therethrough a series of longitudinal channels and a transverse street connecting the channels and extending along a forward edge of the bottom substrate layer so as to define a plurality of pixels having light-emitting front edges setback from the forward edge of the bottom substrate layer by the width of the street. Rearward portions of the lower and upper electrode layers respectively underlie and overlie a rearward portion of the EL stack but not each other so as to electrically isolate the rearward portions of the lower and upper electrode layers from one another. Also, a bus bar layer overlies the rearward portion of the EL stack and crosses the rearward portion of the upper electrode layer. An insulation layer is interposed between the rearward portions of the bus bar layer and upper electrode layer. Selected portions of the bus bar layer and upper electrode layer are electrically connected together through the insulation layer.

Multi-layer structure and method of constructing the same for providing

A thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) device for producing multiple light sources. The device is comprised by a TFEL flat panel structure containing light energy generating material and having front and rear faces and side edges extending between the faces. The panel structure is composed of a face emitter portion and an edge emitter portion. The face emitter portion is operable for emitting light energy from one of the front and rear faces of the flat panel structure in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the flat panel structure. The edge emitter portion is operable for emitting light energy from one of the side edges of the flat panel structure in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the flat panel structure.

Integrated TFEL flat panel face and edge emitter structure producing

A thin film electroluminescent edge emitter assembly includes a substrate layer having a configuration to define at least one lateral edge surface and at least one integrated circuit formed therein. The integrated circuit has an input for receiving logic signals, and has an excitation voltage input and a plurality of output leads. The output leads form control electrodes each having an end portion terminating at the substrate lateral edge surface. The integrated circuit is operable to provide an excitation voltage to selected control electrodes in response to preselected logic signals provided to the integrated circuit at the logic signal input. A laminar arrangement formed from a first dielectric layer, a second dielectric layer, a phosphor layer interposed between the first and second dielectric layers and a common electrode layer is disposed on the end portions of the control electrodes. These various layers define a plurality of pixels each having a light-emitting face at the substrate lateral edge surface. Pixels associated with the selected control electrodes are responsive to the excitation voltage provided to the selected control electrodes to radiate a light signal emitted at the pixel light emitting faces.

Thin film electroluminescent edge emitter structure on a silicon

A thin film electroluminescent edge emitter structure includes a common electrode layer and control electrodes disposed above the common electrode layer. At least one dielectric layer is disposed between the common electrode layer and control electrodes, and a phosphor layer is interposed between the one dielectric layer and common electrode layer. The common electrode layer, one dielectric layer and the phosphor layer define the light-emitting pixels of the emitter structure. Each pixel has a light-emitting face formed thereon and is operable upon application of electrical excitation to cause the radiation of light energy within its phosphor layer at least in a direction towards the pixel light-emitting face. An optical lens system associated with the pixels includes a preselected contour shaped on the light-emitting face of each pixel to define an optical lens integral therewith to project the light energy passed therethrough in a preselected direction and form a beam of light energy having a preselected beam pattern. A multi-color light emission system employed by the pixels includes a plurality of phosphor zones composing the phosphor layer and capable of projecting different light energy through the light-emitting faces of the pixels. Also, separate edge emitter structures projecting different colors of light can be utilized in a electrophotographic printer.

A facsimile machine having a thin film electroluminescent pixel array which is used as the controlled light beam source for creating an image on a photoreceptive copying apparatus when the machine is in a write mode and using the same TFEL pixel array as a source of illuminating light to the scanning sensor when the machine is in the read mode. In other embodiments the primary light emission from the pixel array is used in the write mode and secondary emission from the pixels is used for the illuminating source in the read mode. Embodiments of the TFEL array structure include combination with scanning sensors on the same substrate. Other embodiments include the scanning sensor and the pixel array on separate substrates positioned in generally parallel planes.

Facsimile machine using thin film electroluminescent device

Thin film electroluminescent edge emitter structure on a silcon substrate

A thin film electroluminescent edge emitter assembly includes an edge emitter structure disposed on a layer of substrate material. The structure has a configuration to define a linear array of spaced-apart, light-emitting pixels. A packaging assembly surrounds at least a portion of the edge emitter structure to enclose the linear array of light-emitting pixels in a contaminant-free environment. At least the wall of the packaging assembly adjacent to the array of pixels is made from a translucent material to permit light energy emitted by selected pixels of the array interior to the packaging assembly to pass through the wall of the packaging assembly.

Thin film electroluminescent edge emitter assembly and integral packaging

An electrophotographic-type imaging station or printer includes a focusing lens positioned between the printer light source and a photosensitive medium. As the light source projects beams of light energy forming a row in a direction towards the photosensitive medium, the lens focuses each projected beam into a rectangular beam. The speed of the photosensitive medium and the operation of the light source are coordinated so that adjacent rows of generally rectangular beams are positioned in abutting relation with each other. The plurality of focused rows projected in row-at-a-time fashion onto the surface of the photosensitive medium form an informational array pattern having a resolution in a direction parallel with the direction of medium movement which is greater than the resolution of the pattern in a direction perpendicular to the direction of medium movement. By forming an informational array pattern in this manner, a desired informational array pattern gray scale may be achieved without a loss in the original resolution of the array pattern taken in a direction perpendicular to the direction of medium movement.

Enhanced resolution electrophotographic-type imaging station

A method for defining an array of light-emitting pixels in a thin film electroluminescent edge emitter structure includes the steps of moving the structure in proximity to a stationary first laser source as the first laser source is operated to generate a plurality of first laser pulses. The plurality of first laser pulses are focused into 'lines' of light energy that strike the structure at a plurality of spaced apart locations in succession to ablate a predetermined number of layers of the structure. This ablation process forms a plurality of spaced apart channels in the structure. The portions of the structure remaining between each pair of adjacent channels define an array of pixels in the structure. The structure having the pixels formed therein is moved in proximity to a second laser source. The second laser source is movable in a selected direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the structure. The second laser source provides a second laser beam that is focused to a 'point' of light energy which strikes the end portion of each pixel at an area inward of the pixel edge surface to ablate a predetermined number of layers at each pixel end portion. The movement of the second laser beam is controlled relative to the movement of the structure to correspondingly control the amount of material ablated inward of the edge surface of each pixel to remove the pixel edge surface and form a new pixel edge surface shaped to a preselected contour.

Process for defining an array of pixels in a thin film

A method for growing large, shaped, oriented crystals and an apparatus for cooling the seed crystal so that a portion thereof remains solid throughout the crystal growth process. The critical and time consuming process of seeding crystals under continuous supervision is eliminated. The unmelted portion of the seed crystal is maintained at a temperature below its melting point through a seed temperature control apparatus which utilizes a pool of a substantially liquid metallic material as a heat transfer medium. The pool is contained in a reservoir formed in a thermal energy conductive base member in which the growth vessel is disposed.

Growing community of inventors

Churchill, PA, United States of America

Zoltan K Kun