Patent ID: 8587501

Claim:
An electroluminescent display, comprising: (a) a display substrate having a device side and a display area; (b) a plurality of patterned first electrodes formed over the display substrate device side in the display area, one or more layers of light-emitting material formed over the plurality of first electrodes, and at least one second electrode formed over the one or more layers of light-emitting material, the first and second electrodes providing current to cause the light-emitting material to emit light in a light-emitting area within the display area; (c) a plurality of chiplets distributed over the substrate, each chiplet having: a chiplet substrate separate and independent from the display substrate located over, and adhered to, the device substrate device side in the display area; one or more connection pads; and a chiplet circuit formed in the chiplet, the chiplet circuit electrically connected to one or more connection pads and at least one connection pad electrically connected to a first electrode; (d) wherein each chiplet further includes a light detector and a light emitter, each separate from the one-or-more layers of light-emitting material connected to the chiplet circuitry and located on and in the surface of the chiplet, arranged so that light emitted by the light emitter of a first chiplet is received by the light detector of a second chiplet and the chiplet circuitry includes a modulating circuit for modulating light emitted by the light emitter and a demodulating circuit for demodulating light detected by the light detector; and (e) further comprising at least one transparent layer covering a portion of the chiplets and wherein the light emitter of the first chiplet emits light into the transparent layer so that the light can propagate through the transparent layer to the second chiplet.