The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 05, 2019
Filed:
Mar. 28, 2016
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha, Sakai, Osaka, JP;
Tadashi Ohtake, Sakai, JP;
Tomoko Teranishi, Sakai, JP;
Hiroyuki Moriwaki, Sakai, JP;
Eiji Satoh, Sakai, JP;
Hao Li, Sakai, JP;
SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Sakai, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
The present invention provides an optical modulator that prevents aggregation of shape-anisotropic particles. The optical modulator of the present invention includes: () a first substrate and a second substrate that are disposed to face each other; () an optical modulation layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate; and () a vertical alignment film. The optical modulation layer () contains: (A) liquid crystal molecules that have a positive anisotropy of dielectric constant with a value of the anisotropy Δε of 10 or more; and (B) shape-anisotropic particles each including a core material and a coating layer that is formed of a material containing a fluorine atom and constitutes an outer surface of the shape-anisotropic particles. The first substrate includes a pair of electrodes. The liquid crystal molecules and the shape-anisotropic particles are aligned perpendicular to the first substrate with no voltage applied to the electrodes and are tilted parallel to the first substrate by a transverse electric field generated by application of voltage to the electrodes. The liquid crystal molecules have a surface energy in the range of 27 to 35 mN/m. The vertical alignment film has a surface energy in the range of 30 to 40 mN/m.