Electrode means, comprising polymer materials, with or...

Details Electrode means, comprising polymer materials, with or... Electrode means, comprising polymer materials, with or...

1999-03-18

2001-12-04

Shalwala, Bipin (Department: 2673)

Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system

Plural physical display element control system

Display elements arranged in matrix

C345S206000, C257S700000, C257S708000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06326936

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns an electrode means, particularly for addressing of a functional element, comprising a first and a second electrode. The invention also concerns an electrode means with detecting information storing and/or information indicating function, comprising a first and a second electrode and a functional element and with passive electrical addressing of the functional element. Further the invention concerns an electrode device with detecting, information storing and/or information indicating function, wherein the electrode device comprises two or more electrode means each with a functional element and with passive electrical addressing of the functional elements in the electrode device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Finally, the invention also concerns uses of an electrode device of this kind.
There are known a number of technical solutions for addressing functional elements, for instance in the form of pixels, on a surface. However, few of them allow a simple passive addressing of the functional element and a number thereof requires fairly complicated thin-film transistor technologies. Such very sophisticated solutions are encumbered with a low manufacturing yield and the problems are also amplified when a very large surface element shall be covered with functional elements, such as is the case for instance in the manufacturing of a “screen” which shall consist of pixels.
One solution of the problem with addressing of functional elements is to provide the functional elements such that they form elements in the rows and the columns in a x,y-matrix and applying a voltage at x to one row and at y to one column such that a given voltage is supplied at the functional element, symbolically denoted as V
x
+V
y
, V
x
+V
y
>V
0
, where V
0
is a critical threshold voltage for the process to be controlled by the functional element, for instance switching of a liquid crystal display material between two orientation states. In order to cover a surface with rows and columns of functional elements in this way it is required that the rows and the columns are not electrically connected in any point, apart from in the functional element in the x,y-position to be addressed, in other words in the intersection between the row x and the column y. This is not achieved when it is simultaneously required that the functional element shall comprise a very large portion of the active surface. One solution to this problem is providing the rows in one plane and the columns in another plane and connecting them electrically over current paths from a lower electrode pattern to an upper electrode pattern. If for instance there are n rows and n columns, it is necessary to form n
2
current paths which shall all work.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The first object of the invention is hence to provide an electrode means which makes possible a passive addressing of a functional element without the necessity of forming current paths of this kind, particularly where such functional elements are part of a two-dimensional matrix, for instance formed as pixels in an image screen.
Another object of the invention is to provide an electrode means with a functional element, wherein the functional element can be given a detecting, information storing and/or information indicating function.
A third object of the invention is to provide an electrode means with a functional element of the above-mentioned kind and an electrode device consisting of such electrode means integrated in a two-dimensional matrix, wherein the functional element is not provided between the electrodes but is located on one side of the electrodes. This will make it possible to form e.g. image screens wherein the functional element in the form of pixels is turned towards the outside and exposed to an observer or a sensor device, the functional elements in the form of sensor elements being exposed to the environment.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide an electrode means wherein the electrical connection between the electrodes can be generated by using a contact layer with an anisotropic electrical conductor, something which implies the possibility of providing a rectifying connection between an anisotropic conductor and one or both electrodes, such that the problem with constructing a passive addressable electrode device hence is significantly simplified relative to the prior art.
The above features and advantages are achieved according to the invention with an electrode means which is characterized in that the first electrode is provided in the form of a substantially strip-like structure of an electrical conducting material, that the second electrode is provided over the first electrode in the form of likewise substantially strip-like structure of an electrically conducting material and in substantially orthogonal intersecting relationship to the first electrode, that a layer of electrical isolating material is provided at the intersection between the first and the second electrode, such that the electrodes intersect each other without direct physical and electrical contact and hence form a bridge structure, and that a contact layer of an electrical conducting or semiconducting material is provided above the first electrode and the second electrode, contacting both the first and the second electrode electrically; an electrode means which is characterized in that the first electrode is provided in the form of a substantially strip-like structure of an electrical conducting material, that the second electrode is provided over the first electrode in the form of a likewise substantially strip-like structure of an electrical conducting material and in substantially orthogonal intersecting relationship to the first electrode, that a layer of electrical isolating material is provided at the intersection between the first and the second electrode, such that the electrodes intersect each other without direct physical or an electrical contact and hence forms a bridge structure, that a contact layer of an electrical conducting or semiconducting material which contacts both the first and the second electrically is provided over the first electrode and the second electrode, and that a functional element is provided substantially adjacent to or at the intersection of the electrodes, said functional elements being configured either as a sensor element or an information storing and/or information indicating element; and an electrode device which is characterized in that the electrode means are integrated in a quasi two-dimensional matrix, that the first electrodes form a patterned layer of row electrodes in the matrix, that the second electrodes without being in direct physical or electrical contact with the row electrodes form a patterned layer of column electrodes in the matrix, that the contact layer either integrated forms a global contact layer in the matrix or patterned is assigned to each separate electrode means, that the electrical conducting or semiconducting material in the contact layer is provided over both electrode layers and contacts these electrically, and that the fictional elements provided in or over the contact layer form one or more patterned or non-patterned layers of functional elements provided in respective two-dimensional matrices, the separate functional element registering with the respective intersection between a row electrode and a column electrode in the electrode layers.
The use of the electrode device in an electronic camera is disclosed by the independent claim
35
.
The use of the electrode device in a chemical camera is disclosed by the independent claim
36
.
The use of the electrode device in an electrically addressable memory device or electrically addressable data processing device is disclosed by the independent claim
37
.
The use of the electrode device in an electrically addressable display device is disclosed by the independent claim
38
.
According to the invention the first and the second electrode advantageously consist of metal with high or low work function or v

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