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Degree

MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering : Electrical Engineering, 2008.

Abstract

Transmissive displays dominate the current portable display marketplace. However, there is significant room for improvement, because the average transmission efficiency of the leading commercial liquid crystal displays is less than 10%. We introduce a reflector technique for increasing the transmission performance of back-lit electrowetting displays. The combination of the high efficiency reflector and electrowetting light valve can lead to transmission efficiencies exceeding 80%.

Presented here is a transmissive display technology utilizing electrowetting. Electrowetting is an electrical induced change in materials’ wettability and has presented attractive application in display technology. In this thesis three generations of standard electrowetting displays have been developed. Contact angle measurements are performed for various thicknesses of hydrophobic fluoropolymer surface corresponding to different materials to optimize the best performance of electrowetting displays. Furthermore, electrowetting displays on thin film transistor and flexible substrates are also demonstrated. The novel technique presented here utilizes integrated reflectors and results show that this reflector enhanced electrowetting displays can boost the effective transmission up to 10X that of a commercial liquid crystal display. This technology could be a viable solution for future battery-powered, high-brightness, sunlight-legible displays.

Subject Headings

Electrical engineering

Keywords

transmission; electrowetting displays

Committee / Advisors

Jason Heikenfeld, PhD (Advisor)
Joseph Boyd, PhD (Committee Member)
David Klotzkin, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

82p.

Document number: ucin1212782355
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1212782355

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