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:
Oct. 09, 2001
Filed:
Sep. 13, 2000
D. Morgan Tench, Camarillo, CA (US);
Rockwell Technologies, LLC, Thousand Oaks, CA (US);
Abstract
Reversible electrochemical mirror (REM) devices typically comprise a conductive oxide mirror electrode that is substantially transparent to radiation of some wavelengths, a counter electrode that may also be substantially transparent, and an electrolyte that contains ions of an electrodepositable metal. A voltage applied between the two electrodes causes electrodeposition of a mirror deposit on the mirror electrode and dissolution of the mirror deposit on the counter electrode, and these processes are reversed when the polarity of the applied voltage is changed. Such REM devices provide precise control over the reflection and transmission of radiation and can be used for a variety of applications, including smart windows and automatically adjusting automotive mirrors. According to the present invention, measurements of the sheet resistance of the mirror electrode in a REM device are correlated with the thickness of electrodeposited mirror metal and can be used to monitor the reflectance of the device. Sheet resistance measurements can be performed while the mirror state of the device is being switched if adequate isolation between the measurement and switching circuits is provided. This can be accomplished by use of external resistors or more sophisticated circuitry, or by taking advantage of the relatively high sheet resistance of the mirror electrode itself. Monitoring the reflectance of REM devices according to this invention provides significant cost and performance advantages.