Patent Application
20050270439
The invention is an improved optical display.
Optical displays are widely used for lap-top computers, hand-held calculators, digital watches and the like. The familiar liquid crystal (LC) display is a common example of such an optical display. The conventional LC display locates a liquid crystal and an electrode matrix between a pair of absorptive polarizers. In the LC display, portions of the liquid crystal have their optical state altered by the application of an electric field. This process generates the contrast necessary to display “pixels” of information in polarized light.
For this reason the traditional LC display includes a front polarizer and a rear polarizer. Typically, these polarizers use dichroic dyes which absorb light of one polarization orientation more strongly than the orthogonal polarization orientation. In general, the transmission axis of the front polarizer is “crossed” with the transmission axis of the rear polarizer. The crossing angle can vary from zero degrees to ninety degrees. The liquid crystal, the front polarizer and rear polarizer together make up an LCD assembly.
LC displays can be classified based upon the source of illumination. “Reflective” displays are illuminated by ambient light that enters the display from the “front.” Typically a brushed aluminum reflector is placed “behind” the LCD assembly. This reflective surface returns light to the LCD assembly while preserving the polarization orientation of the light incident on the reflective surface.
It is common to substitute a “backlight” assembly for the reflective brushed aluminum surface in applications where the intensity of the ambient light is insufficient for viewing. The typical backlight assembly includes an optical cavity and a lamp or other structure that generates light. Displays intended to be viewed under both ambient light and backlit conditions are called “transflective.” One problem with transflective displays is that the typical backlight is not as efficient a reflector as the traditional brushed aluminum surface. Also the backlight randomizes the polarization of the light and further reduces the amount of light available to illuminate the LC display. Consequently, the addition of the backlight to the LC display makes the display less bright when viewed under ambient light.
Therefore, there is a need for a display which can develop adequate brightness and contrast under both ambient and backlight illumination.
The optical display of the present invention comprises three basic elements. The first element is a reflective polarizer. This reflective polarizer is located between a liquid crystal display (LCD) assembly and an optical cavity, which comprise the second and third elements respectively.
The drawings depict representative and illustrative implementations of the invention. Identical reference numerals refer to identical structure throughout the several figures, wherein:
The LCD assembly 16 shown in this figure is illuminated by polarized light provided by the reflective polarizer 12 and the optical cavity 24.
Ambient light incident on the display 10, depicted by ray 60 traverses the LCD module 16, the reflective polarizer 12 and strikes the diffuse reflective surface 37 of the optical cavity 24. Ray 62 depicts this light as it is reflected by the diffusely reflective surface 37 toward the reflective polarizer 12.
Light originating from within the optical cavity 24 is depicted by ray 64. This light is also directed toward the reflective polarizer 12 and passes through the diffusely reflective surface 37. Both ray 62 and ray 64 have light exhibiting both polarization states (a,b).
The effectiveness of this process relies on the low absorption exhibited by the reflective polarizer disclosed herein and the high reflectivity and randomizing properties exhibited by many diffusely reflective surfaces. In
In general, the gain of the system is dependent on the efficiency of both the reflective polarizer body 12 and the optical cavity 24. Performance is maximized with a highly reflective optical cavity 24 consistent with the requirement of randomization of the polarization of incident light, and a very low loss reflective polarizer 12.
The illustrative reflective polarizer 12 is made of alternating layers (ABABA . . . ) of two different polymeric materials. These are referred to as material “(A)” and material “(B)” throughout the drawings and description. The two materials are extruded together and the resulting multiple layer (ABABA . . . ) material is stretched (5:1) along one axis (X), and is not stretched appreciably (1:1) along the other axis (Y). The X axis is referred to as the “stretched” direction while the Y axis is referred to as the “transverse” direction.
The (B) material has a nominal index of refraction (n=1.64 for example) which is not substantially altered by the stretching process.
The (A) material has the property of having the index of refraction altered by the stretching process. For example, a uniaxially stretched sheet of the (A) material will have one index of refraction (n=1.88 for example) associated with the stretched direction and a different index of refraction (n=1.64 for example) associated with the transverse direction. By way of definition, the index of refraction associated with an in-plane axis (an axis parallel to the surface of the film) is the effective index of refraction for plane-polarized incident light whose plane of polarization is parallel to that axis.
Thus, after stretching the multiple layer stack (ABABA . . . ) of material shows a large refractive index difference between layers (delta n=1.88−1.64=0.24) associated with the stretched direction. While in the transverse direction, the associated indices of refraction between layers are essentially the same (delta n=1.64−1.64=0.0). These optical characteristics cause the multiple layer laminate to act as a reflecting polarizer that will transmit the polarization component of the incident light that is correctly oriented with respect to the axis 22. This axis is defined as the transmission axis 22 and is shown in
The light that does not pass through the reflective polarizer 12 has a polarization orientation (b) that differs from the first orientation (a). Light exhibiting this polarization orientation (b) will encounter the index differences which result in reflection of this light. This defines a so-called “extinction” axis shown as axis 25 in
Although the reflective polarizer 12 has been discussed with an exemplary multiple layer construction which includes alternating layers of only two materials it should be understood that the reflective polarizer 12 may take a number of forms. For example, additional types of layers may be included into the multiple layer construction. Also in a limiting case, the reflective polarizer may include a single pair of layers (AB) one of which is stretched. Furthermore, a dichroic polarizer could be bonded directly to reflective polarizer 12.
Another important property of the optical cavity 24 is the fact that polarization randomization process associated with the cavity will also alter the direction of the incident light. In general, a significant amount of light exits the optical cavity off-axis. Consequently, the path of such light in the reflective polarizer is longer than the path length for near normal light. This effect must be addressed to optimize the optical performance of the system. The reflective polarizer body 12 described in the example is capable of broadband transmission into the longer wavelengths which is desirable to accommodate off-axis rays.
In another embodiment, the apparent brightness of the display may be increased by the use of a brightness enhancement film.
In use, the display module 142 is illuminated by light processed by the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110 and the optical cavity 140. Together these two components direct polarized light into a viewing zone 136 shown schematically as an angle. This light is directed through the display module 142 toward the observer 146. The display module 142 will typically display information as pixels. Polarized light transmission through a pixel is modulated by electrical control of the birefringence of the liquid crystal material. This modulates the polarization state of the light, affecting its relative absorption by a second polarizer layer that forms a part of the display module 142.
There are two sources for illumination shown in the figure. The first is ambient light depicted by ray 162. This light passes through the display module 142 and brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110 and is incident on the optical cavity 140. The optical cavity reflects this light as indicated by ray 165. The second source of light may be generated within the optical cavity itself as depicted by ray 163. If the optical cavity 140 is a backlight then the principal source of illumination originates within the optical cavity 140 and the optical display is referred to as “backlit.” If the principal source of illumination is ambient light represented by ray 162 and ray 165 then the optical display is called “reflective” or “passive.” If the display is to be viewed under both ambient and cavity generated light the display is called “transflective.” The present invention is useful in each of these display types.
Regardless of the origin of the light, the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110 and the optical cavity 140 cooperate together to “recirculate” light so that the maximum amount of light is properly polarized and confined to the viewing zone 136.
In general, the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110 includes two elements. The first is a reflective polarizer body 116 that transmits light of a particular polarization to the viewing zone 136. The second element is the optically structured layer 113 that defines the boundaries of the viewing zone 136.
The optical cavity 140 serves several functions but with respect to its interaction with the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110, the important parameters are a high reflectance value with respect to incident light and the ability of the optical cavity 40 to alter both the direction and the polarization of the incident light. Conventional optical cavities meet these requirements.
For any optical system, the sum of the reflectivity, losses and transmissivity must equal 100 percent of the light. Absorbance can be a major source of such losses. In the present invention the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110 has a very low absorbance and high reflectivity to certain light. Consequently light that is not passed directly into the viewing zone 136 is efficiently transferred to the optical cavity 140 where it is altered and may emerge from the cavity with the proper attributes to contribute to the light in the viewing zone 136.
In the context of the optical display 164 the overall gain of the system depends on the product of the reflectivity of the optical cavity 140 and the reflectivity of the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110. The invention is most effective when used with a low absorption optical cavity that has a high reflectivity rear surface consistent with its ability to alter the direction and polarization state of the incident light from the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110. For these purposes it should be noted that the optical cavity could be filled with a transparent dielectric material such as an acrylic.
Although the preferred structured surface 112 functions as a geometric optic it is well known that diffractive or holographic optical elements may be designed to effectively mimic the light directing qualities exhibited by geometric optics. Therefore the term structured surface 112 should be understood to describe both geometric and diffractive optical systems that confine light to a relatively narrow viewing zone 136.
Returning to
Light ray 238 approaches smooth surface 220 at an angle much closer to the cut off angle. It also is refracted as it passes through smooth surface 220, but to a lesser extent. If light ray 238 approaches smooth surface 220 at an angle of 10 degrees to the normal to smooth surface 220, it will emerge from structured surface 222 at an angle of 37.7 degrees to the normal to smooth surface 220 but on the opposite side of that normal.
Light ray 240 approaches at an angle less than the cut off angle and is totally internally reflected twice by structured surface 222 and returned to the interior of the optical cavity.
Finally, light ray 242 approaches smooth surface 220 at an angle similar to that of light ray 238, but in a location such that it is totally internally reflected by one side of a prism on structured surface 222 but not by the second side. As a result it emerges at a large angle to the normal to smooth surface 220. Because such a reflection only occurs to a light ray that is travelling in a direction that forms a high incidence angle to the side it strikes, the prisms provide a very small cross section to such rays. In addition many of those rays will reenter the next prism and be returned into display 210.
A fifth class of light ray is not shown in
The light that is reflected back into the optical cavity will strike the diffuse reflector. The reflected light will travel back to structured surface material 218, in general making a different angle than it made the first time. The process is then repeated so that more of the light is redirected into the smaller wedge. The key aspect of the invention is that structured surface material 218 must be capable of reflecting light striking it in a first predetermined group of angles and passing, but refracting, light striking it in a second predetermined group of angles wherein the angles in the second group of angles are greater than those in the first group of angles and wherein the light in the second group of angles is refracted into an output wedge that is narrower than its input wedge. In this description the first and second groups of angles are relative to an axis of the display perpendicular to the display surface, i.e. the liquid crystal.
The brightness enhanced reflective polarizer operates to make more efficient use of the light made available by optical cavity 140. If the same unit amount of light, depicted by ray bundle 154, is directed to the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110, approximately a quarter of the light (light of state (a)) will pass through the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110 on the first pass. This light will have the correct polarization to match the transmission axis of the dichroic absorptive polarizer 150, and is depicted as ray bundle 161. However the remaining light having states (b), (c), and (d) will be reflected back into the optical cavity by the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110. Some portion of this light will be randomized in terms of direction and polarization to state (a) by the optical cavity 140. Thus, this light will emerge from the optical cavity with states (a), (b), (c), and (d) as indicted by ray bundle 157. The recirculated light of state (a) will then be added to the originally transmitted light as depicted by ray bundle 160. Thus, the total amount of light depicted by ray bundle 160 and ray bundle 161 is increased by “recirculation.” Because only light of the correct polarization to match the transmission axis of the dichroic absorptive polarizer 150 (state (a)) is passed through the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110, much more of the light emitted from the display, depicted by ray bundle 63, is directed toward the observer 146. In addition, because light of states (b) and (d) is reflected by the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer 110, very little is absorbed by the dichroic absorptive polarizer 150. The result is a display in which the amount of light emerging from the display, depicted by ray bundle 163, may be 70 percent brighter than the amount of light indicated by ray bundle 152.
In yet another example, using a standard backlight, a brightness increase of 100 percent over a dichroic polarizer alone was measured along the display normal to the viewing surface with a brightness enhanced reflective polarizer with the reflective polarizer body and structured surface as proximate layers such as shown and described above with respect to
The difference in brightness increase between these two examples is largely due to the different optical cavities used. The curve of
Two dimensional control of the rays exiting the brightness enhanced reflective polarizer body can be achieved using the alternate preferred display configuration 192 shown in
In operation, the first optically structured layer results in a viewing zone of approximately 70 degrees in the Y, Z plane and 110 degrees in the X, Z plane. The light exiting the first optically structured layer 182 then becomes the source for the second optically structured layer 113, whose structured surface 112 has a different axes of orientation than does the structured surface 184 of optically structured layer 182. If the axes of the two optically structured layers 113 and 184 are oriented at 90 degrees, for example, optically structured layer 182 operates on the light within the 110 degree angle of the X, Z plane and compresses the viewing angle in the X, Z plane to a narrower field of something less than 70 degrees, thereby further increasing brightness.
As seen in
The preferred and illustrative structured surface 112 shown in
Optical Behavior and Design Considerations of Multilayer Stacks
The optical behavior of a multilayer stack 10 such as that shown above in
The optical properties and design considerations of multilayer stacks described below allow the construction of multilayer stacks for which the Brewster angle (the angle at which reflectance goes to zero) is very large or is nonexistant. This allows for the construction of multilayer mirrors and polarizers whose reflectivity for p polarized light decrease slowly with angle of incidence, are independent of angle of incidence, or increase with angle of incidence away from the normal. As a result, multilayer stacks having high reflectivity for both s and p polarized light over a wide bandwidth, and over a wide range of angles can be achieved.
The average transmission at normal incidence for a multilayer stack, (for light polarized in the plane of the extinction axis in the case of polarizers, or for both polarizations in the case of mirrors), is desirably less than 50% (reflectivity of 0.5) over the intended bandwidth. (It shall be understood that for the purposes of the present application, all transmission or reflection values given include front and back surface reflections). Other multilayer stacks exhibit lower average transmission and/or a larger intended bandwidth, and/or over a larger range of angles from the normal. If the intended bandwidth is to be centered around one color only, such as red, green or blue, each of which has an effective bandwidth of about 100 nm each, a multilayer stack with an average transmission of less than 50% is desirable. A multilayer stack having an average transmission of less than 10% over a bandwidth of 100 nm is also preferred. Other exemplary preferred mutlilayer stacks have an average transmission of less than 30% over a bandwidth of 200 nm. Yet another preferred multilayer stack exhibits an average transmission of less than 10% over the bandwidth of the visible spectrum (400-700 nm). Most preferred is a multilayer stack that exhibits an average transmission of less than 10% over a bandwidth of 380 to 740 nm. The extended bandwidth is useful even in visible light applications in order to accommodate spectral shifts with angle, and variations in the multilayer stack and overall film caliper.
The multilayer stack 10 can include tens, hundreds or thousands of layers, and each layer can be made from any of a number of different materials. The characteristics which determine the choice of materials for a particular stack depend upon the desired optical performance of the stack.
The stack can contain as many materials as there are layers in the stack. For ease of manufacture, preferred optical thin film stacks contain only a few different materials. For purposes of illustration, the present discussion will describe multilayer stacks including two materials.
The boundaries between the materials, or chemically identical materials with different physical properties, can be abrupt or gradual. Except for some simple cases with analytical solutions, analysis of the latter type of stratified media with continuously varying index is usually treated as a much larger number of thinner uniform layers having abrupt boundaries but with only a small change in properties between adjacent layers.
Several parameters may affect the maximum reflectivity achievable in any multilayer stack. These include basic stack design, optical absorption, layer thickness control and the relationship between indices of refraction of the layers in the stack. For high reflectivity and/or sharp bandedges, the basic stack design should incorporate optical interference effects using standard thin film optics design. This typically involves using optically thin layers, meaning layers having an optical thickness in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 times the wavelength of interest. The basic building blocks for high reflectivity multilayer films are low/high index pairs of film layers, wherein each low/high index pair of layers has a combined optical thickness of ½ the center wavelength of the band it is designed to reflect. Stacks of such films are commonly referred to as quarterwave stacks.
To minimize optical absorption, the preferred multilayer stack ensures that wavelengths that would be most strongly absorbed by the stack are the first wavelengths reflected by the stack. For most clear optical materials, including most polymers, absorption increases toward the blue end of the visible spectrum. Thus, it is preferred to tune the multilayer stack such that the “blue” layers are on the incident side of the multilayer stack.
A multilayer construction of alternative low and high index thick films, often referred to as a “pile of plates”, has no tuned wavelengths nor bandwidth constraints, and no wavelength is selectively reflected at any particular layer in the stack. With such a construction, the blue reflectivity suffers due to higher penetration into the stack, resulting in higher absorption than for the preferred quarterwave stack design. Arbitrarily increasing the number of layers in a “pile of plates” will not always give high reflectivity, even with zero absorption. Also, arbitrarily increasing the number of layers in any stack may not give the desired reflectivity, due to the increased absorption which would occur.
The relationships between the indices of refraction in each film layer to each other and to those of the other layers in the film stack determine the reflectance behavior of the multilayer stack at any angle of incidence, from any azimuthal direction. Assuming that all layers of the same material have the same indices, then a single interface of a two component quarterwave stack can be analyzed to understand the behavior of the entire stack as a function of angle.
For simplicity of discussion, therefore, the optical behavior of a single interface will be described. It shall be understood, however, that an actual multilayer stack according to the principles described herein could be made of tens, hundreds or thousands of layers. To describe the optical behavior of a single interface, such as the one shown in
The reflectivity of a dielectric interface varies as a function of angle of incidence, and for isotropic materials, is different for p and s polarized light. The reflectivity minimum for p polarized light is due to the so called Brewster effect, and the angle at which the reflectance goes to zero is referred to as Brewster's angle.
The reflectance behavior of any film stack, at any angle of incidence, is determined by the dielectric tensors of all films involved. A general theoretical treatment of this topic is given in the text by R. M. A. Azzam and N. M. Bashara, “Ellipsometry and Polarized Light”, published by North-Holland, 1987.
The reflectivity for a single interface of a system is calculated by squaring the absolute value of the reflection coefficients for p and s polarized light, given by equations 1 and 2, respectively. Equations 1 and 2 are valid for uniaxial orthogonal systems, with the axes of the two components aligned.
rpp=n2z*n2o {square root}(n1z2−no2 sin 2θ)−n1z*n1o {square root}(n2z2−no2 sin 2θ)n2z*n2o {square root}(n1z2−no2 sin 2θ)+n1z*n1o {square root}(n2z2−no2 sin 2θ) 1)
rss={square root}(n1o2−no2 sin 2θ)−{square root}(n2o2−no2 sin 2θ){square root}(n1o2−no2 sin 2θ)+{square root}(n2o2−no2 sin 2θ) 2)
where θ is measured in the isotropic medium.
In a uniaxial birefringent system, n1x=n1y=n1o, and n2x=n2y=n2o.
For a biaxial birefringent system, equations 1 and 2 are valid only for light with its plane of polarization parallel to the x-z or y-z planes, as defined in
Equations 1 and 2 show that reflectivity depends upon the indices of refraction in the x, y (in-plane) and z directions of each material in the stack. In an isotropic material, all three indices are equal, thus nx=ny=nz. The relationship between nx, ny and nz determine the optical characteristics of the material. Different relationships between the three indices lead to three general categories of materials: isotropic, uniaxially birefringent, and biaxially birefringent. Equations 1 and 2 describe biaxially birefringent cases only along the x or y axis, and then only if considered separately for the x and y directions.
A uniaxially birefringent material is defined as one in which the index of refraction in one direction is different from the indices in the other two directions. For purposes of the present discussion, the convention for describing uniaxially birefringent systems is for the condition nx=ny≠nz. The x and y axes are defined as the in-plane axes and the respective indices, nx and ny, will be referred to as the in-plane indices.
One method of creating a uniaxial birefringent system is to biaxially stretch (e.g., stretch along two dimensions) a multilayer stack in which at least one of the materials in the stack has its index of refraction affected by the stretching process (e.g., the index either increases or decreases). Biaxial stretching of the multilayer stack may result in differences between refractive indices of adjoining layers for planes parallel to both axes thus resulting in reflection of light in both planes of polarization.
A uniaxial birefringent material can have either positive or negative uniaxial birefringence. Positive uniaxial birefringence occurs when the z-index is greater than the in-plane indices (nz>nx and ny). Negative uniaxial birefringence occurs when the z-index is less than the in-plane indices (nz<nx and ny).
A biaxial birefringent material is defined as one in which the indices of refraction in all three axes are different, e.g., nx≠ny≠nz. Again, the nx and ny indices will be referred to as the in-plane indices. A biaxial birefringent system can be made by stretching the multilayer stack in one direction. In other words the stack is uniaxially stretched. For purposes of the present discussion, the x direction will be referred to as the stretch direction for biaxial birefringent stacks.
Uniaxial Birefringent Systems (Mirrors)
The optical properties and design considerations of uniaxial birefringent systems will now be discussed. As discussed above, the general conditions for a uniaxial birefringent material are nx=ny≠nz. Thus if each layer 102 and 104 in
In the case of mirrors, the desired average transmission for light of each polarization and plane of incidence generally depends upon the intended use of the mirror. The average transmission along each stretch direction at normal incidence for a narrow bandwidth mirror across a 100 nm bandwidth within the visible spectrum is desirably less than 30%, preferably less than 20% and more preferably less than 10%. A desirable average transmission along each stretch direction at normal incidence for a partial mirror ranges anywhere from, for example, 10% to 50%, and can cover a bandwidth of anywhere between, for example, 100 nm and 450 nm, depending upon the particular application. For a high efficiency mirror, average transmission along each stretch direction at normal incidence over the visible spectrum (400-700 nm) is desirably less than 10%, preferably less than 5%, more preferably less than 2%, and even more preferably less than 1%. In addition, asymmetric mirrors may be desirable for certain applications. In that case, average transmission along one stretch direction may be desirably less than, for example, 50%, while the average transmission along the other stretch direction may be desirably less than, for example 20%, over a bandwidth of, for example, the visible spectrum (400-700 nm), or over the visible spectrum and into the near infrared (e.g, 400-850 nm).
Equation 1 described above can be used to determine the reflectivity of a single interface in a uniaxial birefringent system composed of two layers such as that shown in
Various possible relationships between in-plane indices and z-axis indices are illustrated in
The case described above with respect to
In
Both
Another case is where both films are of the same type, i.e., both negative or both positive birefringent.
Yet another case occurs where the in-plane indices of the two materials are equal, but the z-axis indices differ. In this case, which is a subset of all three cases shown in
The above described principles and design considerations describing the behavior of uniaxially birefringent systems can be applied to create multilayer stacks having the desired optical effects for a wide variety of circumstances and applications. The indices of refraction of the layers in the multilayer stack can be manipulated and tailored to produce devices having the desired optical properties. Many negative and positive uniaxial birefringent systems can be created with a variety of in-plane and z-axis indices, and many useful devices can be designed and fabricated using the principles described here.
Biaxial Birefringent Systems (Polarizers)
Referring again to
A biaxial birefringent system can be designed to give high reflectivity for light with its plane of polarization parallel to one axis, for a broad range of angles of incidence, and simultaneously have low reflectivity and high transmission for light with its plane of polarization parallel to the other axis for a broad range of angles of incidence. As a result, the biaxial birefringent system acts as a polarizer, transmitting light of one polarization and reflecting light of the other polarization. By controlling the three indices of refraction of each film, nx, ny and nz, the desired polarizer behavior can be obtained. Again, the indices of refraction can be measured directly or can be indirectly observed by analysis of the spectra of the resulting film, as described herein.
Referring again to
Equation 1 can be used to predict the angular behavior of the biaxial birefringent system for two important cases of light with a plane of incidence in either the stretch (xz plane) or the non-stretch (yz plane) directions. The polarizer is a mirror in one polarization direction and a window in the other direction. In the stretch direction, the large index differential of 1.88−1.65=0.23 in a multilayer stack with hundreds of layers will yield very high reflectivities for s-polarized light. For p-polarized light the reflectance at various angles depends on the n1z/n2z index differential.
In many applications, the ideal reflecting polarizer has high reflectance along one axis (the so-called extinction axis) and zero reflectance along the other (the so-called transmission axis), at all angles of incidence. For the transmission axis of a polarizer, it generally desirable to maximize transmission of light polarized in the direction of the transmission axis over the bandwidth of interest and also over the range of angles of interest. Average transmission at normal incidence for a colored polarizer across a 100 nm bandwidth is desirably at least 50%, preferably at least 70% and more preferably at least 90%. The average transmission at 60 degrees from the normal for p-polarized light (measured along the transmission axis) for a narrow band polarizer across a 100 nm bandwidth is desirably at least 50%, preferably at least 70% and more preferably at least 80%.
The average transmission at normal incidence for a polarizer in the transmission axis across the visible spectrum (400-700 nm for a bandwidth of 300 nm) is desirably at least 50%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 85%, and even more preferably at least 90%. The average transmission at 60 degrees from the normal (measured along the transmission axis) for a polarizer from 400-700 nm is desirably at least 50%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, and even more preferably at least 90%.
For certain applications, high reflectivity in the transmission axis at off-normal angles are preferred. The average reflectivity for light polarized along the transmission axis should be more than 20% at an angle of at least 20 degrees from the normal.
If some reflectivity occurs along the transmission axis, the efficiency of the polarizer at off-normal angles may be reduced. If the reflectivity along the transmission axis is different for various wavelengths, color may be introduced into the transmitted light. One way to measure the color is to determine the root mean square (RMS) value of the transmissivity at a selected angle or angles over the wavelength range of interest. The % RMS color, CRMS, can be determined according to the equation:
where the range λ1 to λ2 is the wavelength range, or bandwidth, of interest, T is the transmissivity along the transmission axis, and {overscore (T)} is the average transmissivity along the transmission axis in the wavelength range of interest.
For applications where a low color polarizer is desirable, the % RMS color should be less than 10%, preferably less than 8%, more preferably less than 3.5%, and even more preferably less than 2.1% at an angle of at least 30 degrees from the normal, preferably at least 45 degrees from the normal, and even more preferably at least 60 degrees from the normal.
Preferably, a reflective polarizer combines the desired % RMS color along the transmission axis for the particular application with the desired amount of reflectivity along the extinction axis across the bandwidth of interest. For example, for narrow band polarizers having a bandwidth of approximately 100 nm, average transmission along the extinction axis at normal incidence is desirably less than 50%, preferably less than 30%, more preferably less than 10%, and even more preferably less than 3%. For polarizers having a bandwidth in the visible range (400-700 nm, or a bandwidth of 300 nm), average transmission along the extinction axis at normal incidence is desirably less than 40%, more desirably less than 25%, preferably less than 15%, more preferably less than 5% and even more preferably less than 3%.
Reflectivity at off-normal angles, for light with its plane of polarization parallel to the transmission axis may be caused by a large z-index mismatch, even if the in-plane y indices are matched. The resulting system thus has large reflectivity for p, and is highly transparent to s polarized light. This case was referred to above in the analysis of the mirror cases as a “p polarizer”.
For uniaxially stretched polarizers, performance depends upon the relationships between the alternating layer indices for all three (x, y, and z) directions. As described herein, it is desirable to minimize the y and z index differentials for a high efficiency polarizer. Introduction of a y-index mismatch is describe to compensate for a z-index mismatch. Whether intentionally added or naturally occurring, any index mismatch will introduce some reflectivity. An important factor thus is making the x-index differential larger than the y- and z-index differentials. Since reflectivity increases rapidly as a function of index differential in both the stretch and non-stretch directions, the ratios Δny/Δnx and Δnz/Δnx should be minimized to obtain a polarizer having high extinction along one axis across the bandwidth of interest and also over a broad range of angles, while preserving high transmission along the orthogonal axis. Ratios of less than 0.05, 0.1 or 0.25 are acceptable. Ideally, the ratio Δnz/Δnx is 0, but ratios of less than 0.25 or 0.5 also produce a useable polarizer.
Curve a shows high off-axis reflectivity across the visible spectrum along the transmission axis (the y-axis) and that different wavelengths experience different levels of reflectivity. This is due to the large z-index mismatch (Δnz=0.11). Since the spectrum is sensitive to layer thickness errors and spatial nonuniformities, such as film caliper, this gives a biaxial birefringent system with a very nonuniform and “colorful” appearance. Although a high degree of color may be desirable for certain applications, it is desirable to control the degree of off-axis color, and minimize it for those applications requiring a uniform, low color appearance, such as liquid crystal displays or other types of displays.
Off-axis reflectivity, and off-axis color can be minimized by introducing an index mismatch to the non-stretch in-plane indices (n1y and n2y) that create a Brewster condition off axis, while keeping the s-polarization reflectivity to a minimum.
By reducing the z-axis index difference between layers, the off axis reflectivity can be further reduced. If n1z is equal to n2z,
Exact matching of the two y indices and the two z indices may not be possible in some multilayer systems. If the z-axis indices are not matched in a polarizer construction, introduction of a slight mismatch may be desired for in-plane indices n1y and n2y. This can be done by blending additional components into one or both of the material layers in order to increase or decrease the respective y index as described below in Example 15. Blending a second resin into either the polymer that forms the highly birefringent layers or into the polymer that forms the selected polymer layers may be done to modify reflection for the transmission axis at normal and off-normal angles, or to modify the extinction of the polarizer for light polarized in the extinction axis. The second, blended resin may accomplish this by modifying the crystallinity and the index of refraction of the polymer layers after orientation.
Another example is plotted in
The computed off-axis reflectance of an 800 layer stack of films at 75° angle of incidence with the conditions of curve a in
Thus, by reducing the z-index mismatch between layers of a biaxial birefringent systems, and/or by introducing a y-index mismatch to produce a Brewster effect, off-axis reflectivity, and therefore off-axis color, are minimized along the transmission axis of a multilayer reflecting polarizer.
It should also be noted that narrow band polarizers operating over a narrow wavelength range can also be designed using the principles described herein. These can be made to produce polarizers in the red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, or yellow bands, for example.
An ideal reflecting polarizer should transmit all light of one polarization, and reflect all light of the other polarization. Unless laminated on both sides to glass or to another film with a clear optical adhesive, surface reflections at the air/reflecting polarizer interface will reduce the transmission of light of the desired polarization. Thus, it may in some cases be useful to add an antireflection (AR) coating to the reflecting polarizer. The AR coating is preferably designed to dereflect a film of index 1.64 for PEN based polarizers in air, because that is the index of all layers in the nonstretch (y) direction. The same coating will have essentially no effect on the stretch direction because the alternating index stack of the stretch direction has a very high reflection coefficient irrespective of the presence or absence of surface reflections. Any AR coating known in the art could be applied, provided that the coating does not overheat or damage the multilayer film being coated. An exemplary coating would be a quarterwave thick coating of low index material, ideally with index near the square root of 1.64 (for PEN based materials).
Materials Selection and Processing
With the above-described design considerations established, one of ordinary skill will readily appreciate that a wide variety of materials can be used to form multilayer mirrors or polarizers according to the invention when processed under conditions selected to yield the desired refractive index relationships. The desired refractive index relationships can be achieved in a variety of ways, including stretching during or after film formation (e.g., in the case of organic polymers), extruding (e.g., in the case of liquid crystalline materials), or coating. In addition, it is preferred that the two materials have similar rheological properties (e.g., melt viscosities) such that they can be co-extruded.
In general, appropriate combinations may be achieved by selecting, as the first material, a crystalline or semi-crystalline material, preferably a polymer. The second material, in turn, may be crystalline, semi-crystalline, or amorphous. The second material may have a birefringence opposite to or the same as that of the first material. Or, the second material may have no birefringence.
Specific examples of suitable materials include polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and isomers thereof (e.g., 2,6-, 1,4-, 1,5-, 2,7-, and 2,3-PEN), polyalkylene terephthalates (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and poly-1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate), polyimides (e.g., polyacrylic imides), polyetherimides, atactic polystyrene, polycarbonates, polymethacrylates (e.g., polyisobutyl methacrylate, polypropylmethacrylate, polyethylmethacrylate, and polymethylmethacrylate), polyacrylates (e.g., polybutylacrylate and polymethylacrylate), syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS), syndiotactic poly-alpha-methyl styrene, syndiotactic polydichlorostyrene, copolymers and blends of any of these polystyrenes, cellulose derivatives (e.g., ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, and cellulose nitrate), polyalkylene polymers (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, polyisobutylene, and poly(4-methyl)pentene), fluorinated polymers (e.g., perfluoroalkoxy resins, polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymers, polyvinylidene fluoride, and polychlorotrifluoroethylene), chlorinated polymers (e.g., polyvinylidene chloride and polyvinylchloride), polysulfones, polyethersulfones, polyacrylonitrile, polyamides, silicone resins, epoxy resins, polyvinylacetate, polyether-amides, ionomeric resins, elastomers (e.g., polybutadiene, polyisoprene, and neoprene), and polyurethanes. Also suitable are copolymers, e.g., copolymers of PEN (e.g., copolymers of 2,6-, 1,4-, 1,5-, 2,7-, and/or 2,3-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, or esters thereof, with (a) terephthalic acid, or esters thereof; (b) isophthalic acid, or esters thereof; (c) phthalic acid, or esters thereof; (d) alkane glycols; (e) cycloalkane glycols (e.g., cyclohexane dimethanol diol); (f) alkane dicarboxylic acids; and/or (g) cycloalkane dicarboxylic acids (e.g., cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid)), copolymers of polyalkylene terephthalates (e.g., copolymers of terephthalic acid, or esters thereof, with (a) naphthalene dicarboxylic acid, or esters thereof; (b) isophthalic acid, or esters thereof; (c) phthalic acid, or esters thereof, (d) alkane glycols; (e) cycloalkane glycols (e.g., cyclohexane dimethanol diol); (f) alkane dicarboxylic acids; and/or (g) cycloalkane dicarboxylic acids (e.g., cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid)), and styrene copolymers (e.g., styrene-butadiene copolymers and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers), 4,4′-bibenzoic acid and ethylene glycol. In addition, each individual layer may include blends of two or more of the above-described polymers or copolymers (e.g., blends of SPS and atactic polystyrene). The coPEN described may also be a blend of pellets where at least one component is a polymer based on naphthalene dicarboxylic acid and other components are other polyesters or polycarbonates, such as a PET, a PEN or a co-PEN.
Particularly preferred combinations of layers in the case of polarizers include PEN/co-PEN, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/co-PEN, PEN/sPS, PET/sPS, PEN/Eastar, and PET/Eastar, where “co-PEN” refers to a copolymer or blend based upon naphthalene dicarboxylic acid (as described above) and Eastar is polycyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate commercially available from Eastman Chemical Co.
Particularly preferred combinations of layers in the case of mirrors include PET/Ecdel, PEN/Ecdel, PEN/sPS, PEN/THV, PEN/co-PET, and PET/sPS, where “co-PET” refers to a copolymer or blend based upon terephthalic acid (as described above), Ecdel is a thermoplastic polyester commercially available from Eastman Chemical Co., and THV is a fluoropolymer commercially available from 3M Co.
The number of layers in the device is selected to achieve the desired optical properties using the minimum number of layers for reasons of film thickness, flexibility and economy. In the case of both polarizers and mirrors, the number of layers is preferably less than 10,000, more preferably less than 5,000, and (even more preferably) less than 2,000.
As discussed above, the ability to achieve the desired relationships among the various indices of refraction (and thus the optical properties of the multilayer device) is influenced by the processing conditions used to prepare the multilayer device. In the case of organic polymers which can be oriented by stretching, the devices are generally prepared by co-extruding the individual polymers to form a multilayer film and then orienting the film by stretching at a selected temperature, optionally followed by heat-setting at a selected temperature. Alternatively, the extrusion and orientation steps may be performed simultaneously. In the case of polarizers, the film is stretched substantially in one direction (uniaxial orientation), while in the case of mirrors the film is stretched substantially in two directions (biaxial orientation).
The film may be allowed to dimensionally relax in the cross-stretch direction from the natural reduction in cross-stretch (equal to the square root of the stretch ratio) to being constrained (i.e., no substantial change in cross-stretch dimensions). The film may be stretched in the machine direction, as with a length orienter, in width using a tenter.
The pre-stretch temperature, stretch temperature, stretch rate, stretch ratio, heat set temperature, heat set time, heat set relaxation, and cross-stretch relaxation are selected to yield a multilayer device having the desired refractive index relationship. These variables are inter-dependent; thus, for example, a relatively low stretch rate could be used if coupled with, e.g., a relatively low stretch temperature. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill how to select the appropriate combination of these variables to achieve the desired multilayer device. In general, however, a stretch ratios in the range from 1:2 to 1:10 (more preferably 1:3 to 1:7) in the stretch direction and from 1:0.5 to 1:10 (more preferably from 1:0.5 to 1:7) orthogonal to the stretch direction is preferred.
Suitable multilayer devices may also be prepared using techniques such as spin coating (e.g., as described in Boese et al., J. Polym. Sci.: Part B, 30:1321 (1992) for birefringent polyimides, and vacuum deposition (e.g., as described by Zang et. al., Appl. Phys. Letters, 59:823 (1991) for crystalline organic compounds; the latter technique is particularly useful for certain combinations of crystalline organic compounds and inorganic materials.
The invention will now be described by way of the following examples. In the examples, because optical absorption is negligible, reflection equals 1 minus transmission (R=1−T).
PEN and a 70 naphthalate/30 terephthalate copolyester (coPEN) were synthesized in a standard polyester resin kettle using ethylene glycol as the diol. The intrinsic viscosity of both the PEN and the coPEN was approximately 0.6 dl/g. Single layer films of PEN and coPEN were extruded and then uniaxially stretched, with the sides restrained, at approximately 150° C. As extruded, the PEN exhibited an isotropic refractive index of about 1.65, and the coPEN was characterized by an isotropic refractive index of about 1.64. By isotropic is meant that the refractive indices associated with all axes in the plane of the film are substantially equal. Both refractive index values were observed at 550 nm. After stretching at a 5:1 stretch ratio, the refractive index of the PEN associated with the oriented axis increased to approximately 1.88. The refractive index associated with the transverse axis dropped slightly to 1.64. The refractive index of the coPEN film after stretching at a 5:1 stretch ratio remained isotropic at approximately 1.64.
A satisfactory multilayer polarizer was then made of alternating layers of PEN and coPEN by coextrusion using a 51-slot feed block which fed a standard extrusion die. The extrusion was run at approximately 295° C. The PEN was extruded at approximately 23 lb/hr and the coPEN was extruded at approximately 22.3 lb/hr. The PEN skin layers were approximately three times as thick as the layers within the extruded film stack. All internal layers were designed to have an optical ¼ wavelength thickness for light of about 1300 nm. The 51-layer stack was extruded and cast to a thickness of approximately 0.0029 inches, and then uniaxially stretched with the sides restrained at approximately a 5:1 stretch ratio at approximately 150° C. The stretched film had a thickness of approximately 0.0005 inches.
The stretched film was then heat set for 30 seconds at approximately 230° C. in an air oven. The optical spectra were essentially the same for film that was stretched and for film that was subsequently heat set.
A satisfactory 204-layered polarizer was made by extruding PEN and coPEN in the 51-slot feedblock as described in Example 1 and then employing two layer doubling multipliers in series in the extrusion. The multipliers divide the extruded material exiting the feed block into two half-width flow streams, then stack the half-width flow streams on top of each other. U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,985 describes similar coextrusion multipliers. The extrusion was performed at approximately 295° C. using PEN at an intrinsic viscosity of 0.50 dl/g at 22.5 lb/hr while the coPEN at an intrinsic viscosity of 0.60 dl/g was run at 16.5 lb/hr. The cast web was approximately 0.0038 inches in thickness and was uniaxially stretched at a 5:1 ratio in a longitudinal direction with the sides restrained at an air temperature of 140° C. during stretching. Except for skin layers, all pairs of layers were designed to be ½ wavelength optical thickness for 550 nm light.
Two 204-layer polarizers made as described above were then hand-laminated using an optical adhesive to produce a 408-layered film stack. Preferably the refractive index of the adhesive should match the index of the isotropic coPEN layer.
The iridescence is essentially a measure of nonuniformities in the film layers in one area versus adjacent areas. With perfect thickness control, a film stack centered at one wavelength would have no color variation across the sample. Multiple stacks designed to reflect the entire visible spectrum will have iridescence if significant light leaks through random areas at random wavelengths, due to layer thickness errors. The large differential index between film layers of the polymer systems presented here enable film reflectivities of greater than 99 percent with a modest number of layers. This is a great advantage in eliminating iridescence if proper layer thickness control can be achieved in the extrusion process. Computer based optical modeling has shown that greater than 99 percent reflectivity across most of the visible spectrum is possible with only 600 layers for a PEN/coPEN polarizer if the layer thickness values are controlled with a standard deviation of less than or equal to 10 percent.
A coextruded film containing 601 layers was made on a sequential flat-film-making line via a coextrusion process. A Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.6 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and Ecdel 9966 (a thermoplastic elastomer available from Eastman Chemical) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 65 pounds per hour. The PET was on the skin layers. The feedblock method (such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,429) was used to generate 151 layers which was passed through two multipliers producing an extrudate of 601 layers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,985 describes exemplary coextrusion multipliers. The web was length oriented to a draw ratio of about 3.6 with the web temperature at about 210° F. The film was subsequently preheated to about 235° F. in about 50 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 4.0 at a rate of about 6% per second. The film was then relaxed about 5% of its maximum width in a heat-set oven set at 400° F. The finished film thickness was 2.5 mil.
The cast web produced was rough in texture on the air side, and provided the transmission as shown in
For comparison, film made by Mearl Corporation, presumably of isotropic materials (see
A coextruded film containing 151 layers was made on a sequential flat-film-making line via a coextrusion process. A Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.6 dl/g (60 wt phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and Ecdel 9966 (a thermoplastic elastomer available from Eastman Chemical) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 65 pounds per hour. The PET was on the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 151 layers. The web was length oriented to a draw ratio of about 3.5 with the web temperature at about 210° F. The film was subsequently preheated to about 215° F. in about 12 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 4.0 at a rate of about 25% per second. The film was then relaxed about 5% of its maximum width in a heat-set oven set at 400° F. in about 6 seconds. The finished film thickness was about 0.6 mil.
The transmission of this film is shown in
A coextruded film containing 225 layers was made by extruding the cast web in one operation and later orienting the film in a laboratory film-stretching apparatus. A Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.5 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 18 pounds per hour and Ecdel 9966 (a thermoplastic elastomer available from Eastman Chemical) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 17 pounds per hour. The PEN was on the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 57 layers which was passed through two multipliers producing an extrudate of 225 layers. The cast web was 12 mils thick and 12 inches wide. The web was later biaxially oriented using a laboratory stretching device that uses a pantograph to grip a square section of film and simultaneously stretch it in both directions at a uniform rate. A 7.46 cm square of web was loaded into the stretcher at about 100° C. and heated to 130° C. in 60 seconds. Stretching then commenced at 100%/sec (based on original dimensions) until the sample was stretched to about 3.5×3.5. Immediately after the stretching the sample was cooled by blowing room temperature air on it.
A coextruded film containing 449 layers was made by extruding the cast web in one operation and later orienting the film in a laboratory film-stretching apparatus. A Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.53 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 56 pounds per hour and THV 500 (a fluoropolymer available from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 11 pounds per hour. The PEN was on the skin layers and 50% of the PEN was present in the two skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 57 layers which was passed through three multipliers producing an extrudate of 449 layers. The cast web was 20 mils thick and 12 inches wide. The web was later biaxially oriented using a laboratory stretching device that uses a pantograph to grip a square section of film and simultaneously stretch it in both directions at a uniform rate. A 7.46 cm square of web was loaded into the stretcher at about 100° C. and heated to 140° C. in 60 seconds. Stretching then commenced at 10%/sec (based on original dimensions) until the sample was stretched to about 3.5×3.5. Immediately after the stretching the sample was cooled by blowing room temperature air at it.
A coextruded film containing 449 layers was made by extruding the cast web in one operation and later orienting the film in a laboratory film-stretching apparatus. A Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.56 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 43 pounds per hour and a CoPEN (70 mol % 2,6 NDC and 30 mol % DMT) with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.52 (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 25 pounds per hour. The PEN was on the skin layers and 40% of the PEN was present in the two skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 57 layers which was passed through three multipliers producing an extrudate of 449 layers. The cast web was 10 mils thick and 12 inches wide. The web was later uniaxially oriented using a laboratory stretching device that uses a pantograph to grip a square section of film and stretch it in one direction while it is constrained in the other at a uniform rate. A 7.46 cm square of web was loaded into the stretcher at about 100° C. and heated to 140° C. in 60 seconds. Stretching then commenced at 10%/sec (based on original dimensions) until the sample was stretched to about 5.5×1. Immediately after the stretching the sample was cooled by blowing room temperature air at it.
A coextruded film containing 601 layers was produced by extruding the web and two days later orienting the film on a different tenter than described in all the other examples. A Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.5 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and a CoPEN (70 mol % 2,6 NDC and 30 mol % DMT) with an IV of 0.55 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 65 pounds per hour. The PEN was on the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 151 layers which was passed through two multipliers producing an extrudate of 601 layers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,985 describes similar coextrusion multipliers. All stretching was done in the tenter. The film was preheated to about 280° F. in about 20 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 4.4 at a rate of about 6% per second. The film was then relaxed about 2% of its maximum width in a heat-set oven set at 460° F. The finished film thickness was 1.8 mil.
The transmission of the film is shown in
A coextruded film containing 449 layers was made by extruding the cast web in one operation and later orienting the film in a laboratory film-stretching apparatus. A Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.60 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 26 pounds per hour and a CoPEN (70 mol % 2,6 NDC and 30 mol % DMT) with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.53 (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by another extruder at a rate of 24 pounds per hour. The PET was on the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 57 layers which was passed through three multipliers producing an extrudate of 449 layers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,985 describes similar coextrusion multipliers. The cast web was 7.5 mils thick and 12 inches wide. The web was later uniaxially oriented using a laboratory stretching device that uses a pantograph to grip a square section of film and stretch it in one direction while it is constrained in the other at a uniform rate. A 7.46 cm square of web was loaded into the stretcher at about 100° C. and heated to 120° C. in 60 seconds. Stretching then commenced at 10%/sec (based on original dimensions) until the sample was stretched to about 5.0×1. Immediately after the stretching the sample was cooled by blowing room temperature air at it. The finished film thickness was about 1.4 mil. This film had sufficient adhesion to survive the orientation process with no delamination.
A coextruded film containing 601 layers was made on a sequential flat-film-making line via a coextrusion process. A Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.54 dl/g (60 wt % Phenol plus 40 wt % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by on extruder at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and the coPEN was delivered by another extruder at 65 pounds per hour. The coPEN was a copolymer of 70 mole % 2,6 naphthalene dicarboxylate methyl ester, 15% dimethyl isophthalate and 15% dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol. The feedblock method was used to generate 151 layers. The feedblock was designed to produce a gradient distribution of layers with a ration of thickness of the optical layers of 1.22 for the PEN and 1.22 for the coPEN. The PEN skin layers were coextruded on the outside of the optical stack with a total thickness of 8% of the coextruded layers. The optical stack was multiplied by two sequential multipliers. The nominal multiplication ratio of the multipliers were 1.2 and 1.27, respectively. The film was subsequently preheated to 310° F. in about 40 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 5.0 at a rate of 6% per second. The finished film thickness was about 2 mils.
A 481 layer multilayer film was made from a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.56 dl/g measured in 60 wt. % phenol and 40 wt % dichlorobenzene purchased from Eastman Chemicals and a syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) homopolymer (weight average molecular weight=200,000 Daltons, sampled from Dow Corporation). The PEN was on the outer layers and was extruded at 26 pounds per hour and the sPS at 23 pounds per hour. The feedblock used produced 61 layers with each of the 61 being approximately the same thickness. After the feedblock three (2×) multipliers were used. Equal thickness skin layers containing the same PEN fed to the feedblock were added after the final multiplier at a total rate of 22 pounds per hour. The web was extruded through a 12″ wide die to a thickness or about 0.011 inches (0.276 mm). The extrusion temperature was 290° C.
This web was stored at ambient conditions for nine days and then uniaxially oriented on a tenter. The film was preheated to about 320° F. (160° C.) in about 25 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 6:1 at a rate of about 28% per second. No relaxation was allowed in the stretched direction. The finished film thickness was about 0.0018 inches (0.046 mm).
A coextruded film containing 601 layers was made on a sequential flat-film-making line via a coextrusion process. A Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.6 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered to the feedblock at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and Ecdel 9967 (a thermoplastic elastomer available from Eastman Chemical) was delivered at a rate of 60 pounds per hour. The PET was on the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 151 layers which was passed through two multipliers producing an extrudate of 601 layers. The multipliers had a nominal multiplication ratio of 1.2 (next to feedblock) and 1.27. Two skin layers at a total throughput of 24 pounds per hour were added symmetrically between the last multiplier and the die. The skin layers were composed of PET and were extruded by the same extruder supplying the PET to the feedblock. The web was length oriented to a draw ratio of about 3.3 with the web temperature at about 205° F. The film was subsequently preheated to about 205° F. in about 35 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 3.3 at a rate of about 9% per second. The film was then relaxed about 3% of its maximum width in a heat-set oven set at 450° F. The finished film thickness was about 0.0027 inches.
The film provided the optical performance as shown in
A coextruded film containing 601 layers was made on a sequential flat-film-making line via a coextrusion process. A Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.54 dl/g (60 wt % Phenol plus 40 wt % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by on extruder at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and the coPEN was delivered by another extruder at 65 pounds per hour. The coPEN was a copolymer of 70 mole % 2,6 naphthalene dicarboxylate methyl ester, 30% dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol. The feedblock method was used to generate 151 layers. The PEN skin layers were coextruded on the outside of the optical stack with a total thickness of 8% of the coextruded layers. The feedblock was designed to make a linear gradient in layer thickness for a 149 layer optical stack with the thinnest layers on one side of the stack. The individual layer thicknesses were designed in pairs to make equal thickness layers of the PEN and coPEN for each pair. Each pair thickness, d, was determined by the formula d=do+do*0.003*n, where do is the minimum pair thickness, and n is the pair number between 1 and 75. The optical stack was multiplied by two sequential multipliers. The nominal multiplication ratio of the multipliers were 1.2 and 1.27, respectively. The film was subsequently preheated to 320° F. in about 40 seconds and drawn in the transverse direction to a draw ratio of about 5.0 at a rate of 6% per second. The finished film thickness was about 2 mils.
A silical sol gel coating was then applied to one side of the reflecting polarizer film. The index of refraction of this coating was approximately 1.35. Two pieces of the AR coated reflecting polarizer film were cut out and the two were laminated to each other with the AR coatings on the outside. Transmission spectra of polarized light in the crossed and parallel directions were obtained. The sample was then rinsed with a 2% solution of ammonium bifluoride (NH4 HF2) in deonized water to remove the AR coating. Spectra of the bare multilayer were then taken for comparison to the coated sample.
A coextruded film containing 601 layers was made on a sequential flat-film-making line via a coextrusion process. A polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.6 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered to a feedblock by one extruder at a rate of 75 pounds per hour and Ecdel 9967 (a thermoplastic elastomer available from Eastman Chemical) was delivered to the feedblock by another extruder at a rate of 60 pounds per hour. The PET was on the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 151 layers which passed through two multipliers (2×) producing an extrudate of 601 layers. A side stream with a throughput of 50 pounds per hour was taken from the PET extruder and used to add two skin layers between the last multiplier and the die. The web was length oriented to a draw ratio of about 5.0 with the web temperature at about 210° F. The film was not tentered. The finished film thickness was about 2.7 mil.
A coextruded film containing 449 layers was made by extruding the cast web in one operation and later orienting the film in a laboratory film-stretching apparatus. A polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) with an Intrinsic Viscosity of 0.53 dl/g (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene) was delivered by one extruder at a rate of 26.7 pounds per hour to the feedblock and a different material was delivered by second extruder at a rate of 25 pounds per hour to the feedblock. The PEN was the skin layers. The feedblock method was used to generate 57 layers which passed through three multipliers producing an extrudate of 449 layers. The cast web was 0.0075 mils thick and 12 inches wide. The web was later uniaxially oriented using a laboratory stretching device that uses a pantograph to grip a square section of film and stretch it in one direction at a uniform rate while it is constrained in the other. A 7.46 cm square of web was loaded into the stretcher at about 100° C. and heated to 140° C. for 60 seconds. Stretching then commenced at 10%/sec (based on original dimensions) until the sample was stretched to about 5.5×1. Immediately after stretching, the sample was cooled by blowing room temperature air at it.
The input to the second extruder was varied by blending pellets of the following poly(ethylene esters) three materials: (i) a CoPEN (70 mol % 2,6-napthalene dicarboxylate and 30 mol % terephthalate) with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.52 (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene); (ii) the PEN, same material as input to first extruder; (iii) a PET, with an intrinsic viscosity of 0.95 (60 wt. % phenol/40 wt. % dichlorobenzene). TTF 9506 purchased from Shell.
For the film shown in
For the examples using the 57 layer feedblock, all layers were designed for only one optical thickness (¼ of 550 nm), but the extrusion equipment introduces deviations in the layer thicknesses throughout the stack resulting in a fairly broadband optical response. For examples made with the 151 layer feedblock, the feedblock is designed to create a distribution of layer thicknesses to cover a portion of the visible spectrum. Asymmetric multipliers were then used to broaden the distribution of layer thicknesses to cover most of the visible spectrum as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,094,788 and 5,094,793.
The above described principles and examples regarding the optical behavior of multilayer films can be applied to any of the display configurations shown in
Alternatively, in applications where a diffuser is located between the reflective polarizer and the LCD panel, a wide angle, low color polarizer is preferable. In this configuration, the diffuser will operate to randomize the direction of light incident on it from the reflective polarizer. If the reflective polarizer were not low color, then some of the off-axis color generated by the reflective polarizer would be redirected toward the normal by the diffuser. This would result in a display with a nonuniform appearance at normal viewing angles. Thus, for a display in which a diffuser is located between the reflective polarizer and the LCD panel, a low color, wide angle reflective polarizer is preferred.
Another advantage of a low color, wide angle polarizer in the displays shown in
In the displays of
If the reflective polarizer is not so attached to the optical cavity, use of an AR coated polarizer such as that described in Example 13 may be desirable. The AR coated polarizer described in Example 13 was place between the optical cavity and the LCD panel in a backlight computer display (Zenith Data Systems model Z-lite 320L). The brightness of the resulting display was measured with a Minolta brand luminance meter, model LS-100, at 90 degrees to the display surface and at a distance of 1 foot. The measured brightness of the modified display was 36.9 ft-lamberts. This was compared to the brightness of the unmodified display of 23.1 fl-lamberts, for a gain of 60% over the original, unmodified display. The brightness of the display using the reflective polarizer without the AR coating was measured at 33.7 ft-lamberts. The AR coated reflective polarizer gave a 9.5% brighter display than did the non-AR coated reflective polarizer.
For the display configurations shown in
The brightness enhanced reflective polarizer can thus benefit from the above discussion with respect to
In the displays of
In a display configuration such as that shown in
In the case shown in
In any of the above described display configurations, the reflectivity of the reflective polarizer at a normal angle for light polarized in the transmission axis as seen from the side facing the display backlight is preferably less than 50%, more preferably less than 30%, more preferably less than 20% and even more preferably less than 10%. These reflectivities include first surface reflection of the reflective polarizer. The reflectivity of the reflective polarizer for the orthogonal polarization and at a normal angle is desirably at least 50%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, and even more preferably at least 90. The reflective polarizer desirably has a % RMS color in the transmitted polarization of less than 10%, preferably less than 3.5%, more preferably less than 2.1%, at angles orthogonal to the polarization of at least 30 degrees, more preferably at least 45 degrees, and even more preferably at least 60 degrees.
The invention has been described with respect to illustrative examples, to which various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/171,239, 08/172,596, which were filed Dec. 21, 1993, and is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/359,436 and 08/359,592, which were filed Dec. 20, 1994, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10369014 | Feb 2003 | US |
| Child | 11189515 | Jul 2005 | US |
| Parent | 09451346 | Nov 1999 | US |
| Child | 10369014 | Feb 2003 | US |
| Parent | 08758624 | Nov 1996 | US |
| Child | 09451346 | Nov 1999 | US |
| Parent | 08402134 | Mar 1995 | US |
| Child | 08758624 | Nov 1996 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 07359592 | Jun 1989 | US |
| Child | 08402134 | Mar 1995 | US |
| Parent | 08359436 | Dec 1994 | US |
| Child | 08402134 | Mar 1995 | US |
| Parent | 08172596 | Dec 1993 | US |
| Child | 08359436 | Dec 1994 | US |
| Parent | 08171239 | Dec 1993 | US |
| Child | 08359436 | Dec 1994 | US |
