Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a method for making an optical device which can be used as a privacy screen or for contrast enhancement, particularly daytime/high ambient light contrast enhancement, of a viewing display, such as a plasma display panel, a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) panel, an inorganic light emitting diode (“iLED”) display panel, or organic light emitting diode (“OLED”) display panel. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Flat panel screens, in particular plasma display panels (PDPs), enable color pictures with high definition, large screen diagonals, and have a compact structure. A plasma screen comprises a sealed gas-filled glass cell with grid-like arranged electrodes. By applying an electric voltage, a gas discharge is caused which mainly generates light in the vacuum ultraviolet range (“VUV”). Fluorescence transforms this VUV light into visible light and the front plate of the glass cell emits this visible light to the viewer. 
         [0003]    When compared to LCD-type large area displays or televisions, PDPs suffer from poor contrast in bright viewing conditions, because ambient light is reflected by the emission cells of the PDP and washes out the blacks in an image. Since LCD and plasma TV&#39;s are now comparable in selling price, contrast performance is becoming a deciding factor in the purchase of a flat panel TV. Plasma TV manufacturers are searching for a simple and low-cost method of improving the contrast, in particular, daytime or high ambient light contrast, of their displays, that does not degrade other PDP performance characteristics, such as resolution and on-axis luminance or brightness. 
         [0004]    Several solutions to this problem have been proposed involving various louvre structures. In general, there is a tradeoff between increasing contrast and decreasing transmission (i.e., increasing contrast with a filter decreases the brightness). In practice, the best systems can achieve 70% transmission. 
         [0005]    A prior-art method for improving the black-level of a PDP is presented in  FIG. 1 . In this setup, PDP pixels  10 A and  10 B are situated behind a glass layer  12  of the display panel onto which is installed a film  15  for ambient light absorption. The ambient light absorption film  15  has a substrate  18  onto which is installed a series of black light-absorbing strips  14  between which are transparent apertures  16 . The front face  20  of the ambient light absorption film  15  is transparent, but may be textured to reduce ambient light glare. 
         [0006]    In operation, ambient light ray  30  that originates from a light source in the vicinity of the PDP, typically from an overhead room light, is incident on the front face  20  and refracts into the substrate  18  before striking a black stripe  14  at location  40  where it is absorbed. In this way ambient light is absorbed and prevented from reaching the highly reflective pixels  10 A and  10 B. However, light rays such as ray  32  refract through the front surface  20  into the substrate  18 , but then miss the black stripes  14  and pass through an aperture  16  at position  42  unattenuated. This ray then passes through the glass layer  12  and is then incident on a PDP pixel  10 A, at location  44  whereupon it is backscattered into a full hemisphere. Some of the backscattered light, such as ray  36 , will be incident on a black stripe and be absorbed, such as at location  48 . However other rays, such as ray  34 , will pass through an aperture at position  46  between the black stripes and will exit the PDP system. These rays can be easily seen by the TV viewer, and degrade the viewing performance of the PDP by making the black colors appear gray, and by making the saturated colors appear dingy and pale. 
         [0007]    The ambient light absorption film  15  also impacts the brightness of the PDP because a large portion of the light rays emitted by the pixels are absorbed by the black stripes. For example, light ray  62  emitted from pixel  10 B at location  52  passes through the glass  12  and immediately strikes the backside of a black stripe at location  54  and is absorbed. On the other hand, light ray  64  emitted from pixel  10 B at location  50  is able to pass through an aperture of the ambient light absorption film  15  at location  56  unattenuated. 
         [0008]    To obtain maximum brightness then, the ratio of the width of the apertures  16  to the pitch of the black stripes needs to be maximized. But this is at odds with how black-level performance is maximized, and typically a trade-off between transmittance and ambient light absorption must be made at the light absorption film  15 . Because of this compromise generally both the light transmission of the film and the ambient light absorption characteristics are deemed to be inferior to the performance of the LCD-type displays. 
         [0009]    Consequently there is a genuine need for an ambient light absorption film that has high display light transmission and also high ambient light absorption that is easily constructed. The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    A method for making an optical device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention includes providing a first film having a first plurality of transparent protrusions extending from a first surface, providing a second film having a second plurality of transparent protrusions extending from a second surface, joining the first and second films, wherein the first plurality of transparent protrusions self-aligns with the second plurality of transparent protrusions to form a plurality of spaced openings, and at least partially filling the openings with an opaque material to form an optical device having alternating opaque and transparent sections. In one embodiment, the optical device is positioned proximate at least a portion of a viewing display to produce a system for contrast improvement. 
         [0011]    Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for producing devices and systems for improving the privacy and/or contrast of viewing displays, such as plasma display panels, LCD display panels, iLED display panels, and OLED display panels. The devices and systems of the present invention do not degrade other performance characteristics, such as resolution. In particular, transmitted light from the viewing display passes through the optical device with very little attenuation, i.e., over 90% transmission, whereas ambient light which strikes the viewing display from oblique angles, such as the sun or overhead lighting, will generally strike the opaque areas and be absorbed. In this way ambient light absorption is maximized without unduly impacting display light transmittance through the optical device. Additionally, the present invention provides an easy and inexpensive method to manufacture an optical device which has a compact design. In particular, the optical device includes self-aligning portions which easily fit together in the method of the present invention in a saw-tooth or zipper fashion to form the resulting optical device having opaque regions with the desired size, shape, and aspect ratio. This is in contrast to prior art designs which have to be carefully aligned in order to correctly position the light absorbing regions as desired, thereby increasing the time and cost of manufacture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a partial, cross-sectional view of a prior art device for improving the black level of a plasma display panel; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a schematic of a method for making an optical device in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIGS. 3A-C  are partial, cross-sectional views of an optical device in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a partial cross-sectional view of the optical device illustrated in  FIGS. 3A-C  in a system in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view of the optical device and system illustrated in  FIG. 4  showing the various rays and symbols used to analyze and eliminate the pixel-ghosting problem that arises in the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a partial, front view of an optical device and system in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention which includes an optical device installed atop the pixels of a display panel in which the optical device runs horizontally; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a partial, front view of an optical device and system in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention which includes an optical device installed atop the pixels of a display panel in which the optical device runs vertically; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a partial, cross-sectional view of an optical device and system in accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIGS. 9A-B  are partial, cross-sectional views of an optical device in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention in which the sides of the opaque sections are curved; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a partial, cross-sectional view of an optical device and system in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention in which the sides of the opaque sections are curved. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the present invention relates to a method of making an optical device  100  including first and second transparent portions  102  and  103 . As shown in  FIGS. 3A-C , the resulting optical device  100  includes a first transparent portion  102  having a first plurality of transparent protrusions  110  extending from the first surface  106  and a second transparent portion  103  having a second plurality of transparent protrusions  112  extending from the second surface  108 . 
         [0023]    In accordance with this embodiment of the method of the present invention, first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  having their first and second plurality of transparent protrusions  110  and  112 , respectively, are produced with a microreplication process. In particular, in this embodiment, the first and second portions  102  and  103  with protrusions  110  and  112  are fabricated from UV curable resin in a casting process, or they can be made with a molding process such as injection molding or embossing (e.g., embossing or continuous embossing), using any suitable material, such as acrylic, polycarbonate, or vinyl. In another embodiment, each of the transparent portions  102  and  103  can be formed in a two-step process in which a substrate of the transparent portion  102 ,  103  is formed and then the protrusions  110 ,  112 , respectively, (which may be different materials than the substrate portions) are formed on top of the substrate portion. 
         [0024]    In accordance with one embodiment, the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  are cast with a casting process in which a UV curable resin is placed into a microstructured mold and then the UV curable resin is exposed to UV light which polymerizes the resin and causes it to harden. The mold is then removed. This process is typically done in a continuous roll-to-roll process in which the mold is in the form of a cylinder in which a negative of the plurality of protrusions  110  and  112  is formed into the surface, and then the UV resin is continually rolled over the mold&#39;s surface as it rotates about its axis. 
         [0025]    Alternately, the protrusions  110  and  112  of the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  can be formed by the use of an embossing molding process, a compression molding process, or an injection molding process. 
         [0026]    The method further involves positioning the first transparent portion  102 , which is in the form of a film, on a first feed roll  402  and positioning the second transparent portion  103 , which is also in the form of a film, on a second feed roll  404 . The first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  are joined at point  406  using nip rollers  410  and  412 , wherein the first plurality of transparent protrusions are positioned adjacent the second plurality of transparent protrusions and self-align to form a plurality of spaced openings  109  (see  FIGS. 3A-C ). In particular, self-aligning in accordance with the present invention includes first transparent portion  102  having the first plurality of transparent protrusions  110  zippering with second transparent portion  103  having the second plurality of transparent protrusions  112  to form the openings  109  in the optical device  100 . More specifically, referring to  FIG. 3A , the first plurality of transparent protrusions  110  include at least one surface  105  designed to mate with at least one surface  107  of the second plurality of transparent protrusions  112 . The mating surfaces  105  and  107  self-align, i.e., fit together in one configuration which forms the plurality of openings  109  having a desired size, shape, and aspect ratio. As shown in  FIGS. 3A-C , transparent portions  102  and  103  are identical to each other, but transparent portion  102  is inverted with respect to transparent portion  103 . 
         [0027]    The openings are filled with opaque material  114 . A reservoir  408  of opaque adhesive material  114  is positioned to dispense the material  114 . In this embodiment, reservoir  408  is positioned to gravity feed the opaque adhesive material, although other configurations may be used, for example, a pump dispenser or system, or capillary action. The opaque adhesive material creates a bond between the first and second portions by at least partially filling the plurality of spaced openings formed when the first and second transparent portions are joined and creating alternating opaque and transparent sections. A pair of nip rollers  410  and  412  is used to form a nip to force the opaque material into the openings (and leave the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  and protrusions  110  and  112  substantially free of the opaque material  114 ) as the optical device  100 , with a bead of opaque material at the nip, passes between the rollers. As used herein, a nip is the point of intersection between two rollers. As the optical device  100  moves around roller  412  it is cured with an ultraviolet source  414  and the finished product is wound onto roll  416 . Although  FIG. 2  shows an ultraviolet source  414 , if non-UV curable materials are used as the opaque material  114  an ultraviolet source would be unnecessary. Alternatively, heat could be applied through IR lamps, air, or by heating the roll  412 . 
         [0028]    Filling can also be achieved by other methods known to one of ordinary skill in the art. In particular, the opaque material  114 , can be installed between the protrusions  110  and  112 , respectively, in any of a number of different ways. By way of example only, the openings  109  and transparent portions  102  and  103  can both be sprayed with the opaque material, and the transparent portions  102  and  103  can be wiped or squeegeed so that they are free of the opaque material, with the result that the opaque material is only present in the openings  109 . Alternately, the opaque material can simply be squeegeed across the openings  109  and transparent portions  102  and  103  with the result that the transparent microstructures are free of the opaque material but the opaque material will be present in the openings  109 . Then the first and second transparent portions can be fit together such that the protrusions  110  and  112  self-align. 
         [0029]    The surface  108  of the transparent portion  103  can then be attached to the output surface of the viewing display  12  using an adhesive  104 , resulting in the final construction shown in  FIGS. 3-4 . 
         [0030]    A system  99  including an optical device  100  produced in accordance with embodiments of the method of the present invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 3-4 . Referring to  FIGS. 3A-B , an optical device  100  is shown having a first surface  106  and an opposing second surface  108 . In one embodiment, the optical device  100  has a thickness of from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm. Normally first surface  106  is a planar, optically smooth surface. 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 3C , the first plurality of transparent protrusions  110  is positioned adjacent and in contact with the second plurality of transparent protrusions  112 . Suitable transparent materials include, but are not limited to, polymer sheets or films, such as acrylics, polycarbonates, vinyls, polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”), and polyethylene naphthalate (“PEN”). Although in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3A-C , the first portion  102  and first plurality of protrusions  110  are formed of one material, the first plurality of transparent protrusions  110  can be formed of a different material than the remainder of transparent portion  102 . Similarly, the second plurality of transparent protrusions  112  can be formed of a different material than the remainder of transparent portion  103 . The protrusions  110  and  112  can have a triangular cross-sectional shape as shown in  FIGS. 3A-C , although other cross-sectional shapes such as trapezoidal, rectangular, or square, are possible. If the cross-sectional shape of the transparent protrusions  110  and  112  is triangular, the triangle can be a right triangle, or it can be tilted, asymmetric, or otherwise formed so that the ambient light absorption, the display light emission, or both, can be asymmetric. The angle of the sidewalls of the triangular-shaped protrusions in  FIGS. 3A-C  and  4  is from about 3° to about 80°, most preferably from about 5° to about 50°, from a line parallel to the optical axis O. Furthermore, although the sides of the protrusions  110  and  112  are shown as straight in  FIGS. 3A-C  and  4 , other embodiments are possible, including curved sides (see  FIGS. 9A ,  9 B, and  10  and the description below). 
         [0032]    In one embodiment, the refractive index of the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  and first and second plurality of transparent protrusions  110  and  112  is between 1.4 and 1.6, although lower indices perform better, as described below. In a further embodiment, the refractive index of the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  and protrusions  110  and  112  is substantially equal. In yet another embodiment, the first and second plurality of transparent protrusions  110  and  112  have an aspect ratio of from about 1 to about 5. As used herein, aspect ratio is defined, for a two-dimensional shape, as the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It is also applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, especially for the longest and shortest ‘axes’ or for symmetrical objects (e.g. rods) that are described by just two measures (e.g. length and diameter). Normally the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  have minimal amounts of haze, although some haze may be beneficial to overcome the louvering effects imparted by the opaque material  114  on the light emitted by the display panel. Furthermore, the normally transparent first and second portions  102  and  103  can have bulk diffusive properties obtained by dispersing particles of a different refractive index throughout the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103 , including the first and second plurality of transparent protrusions  110  and  112 . 
         [0033]    The transmittance of the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  should not be spectrally dependent, but instead should transmit all wavelengths approximately the same between 400 nm and 700 nm so that it does not impart a strong tint to the viewed image. However, if a mild tint is imparted, the spectral emissive properties of the display panel can be changed to reduce or eliminate the effect. Alternately, tinting can be intentionally added to the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  to compensate for spectral irregularities of the light emitted by the display panel. Furthermore, IR absorbing additives can be provided that reduce the amount of infra-red light that is emitted by the display. Such IR emissions have been known to disrupt IR-based handheld remote controls, and blocking these emissions would be beneficial. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 3B , when the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  are joined they form a plurality of rectangular-shaped openings (in cross-section)  109  in the optical device  100 . As shown in  FIG. 3B , in this embodiment, the rectangular-shaped openings  109  are positioned substantially centrally between the first surface  106  and second surface  108 . However, in alternative embodiments, the openings may be positioned in any desired location within the optical device  100  and may extend substantially from the first surface  106  to the second surface  108 . 
         [0035]    Although in this embodiment of the present invention, the optical device  100  includes rectangular-shaped openings  109  (in cross-section), other shapes of openings may be used including, but not limited to, triangles, square, trapezoidal, hexagonal, octagonal, and other polygons, and their side and base surfaces can be flat as shown in  FIGS. 3A-C  and  4 , or one of more of them can be curved or non-linear. An example of curved openings is shown in  FIGS. 9A-B  and  10 . 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIGS. 3A-C  and  4 , the rectangular-shaped openings are filled with an opaque material  114  to create alternating transparent and opaque sections in the optical device  100 . In this embodiment, the opaque material  114  is an adhesive and adheres the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103 . Alternatively, the opaque material  114  may not be an adhesive and a separate transparent adhesive can be used to adhere the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103 . In another embodiment, the rectangular-shaped openings can be partially filled with an opaque material  114  as long as the sides of the openings are coated with the opaque material. In this case the void behind the partially filled rectangular-shaped opening could be filled with a second material, or it can be left vacant. The opaque material  114  has a light absorbing characteristic. Also referring to  FIG. 4 , the distance D between adjacent opaque sections  114  is from about 0.03 mm to about 5 mm, the length A of the opaque sections  114  is from about 0.03 mm to about 5 mm, and the width B of the opaque sections  114  is from about 0.01 mm to about 2 mm. Suitable opaque materials  114  include, but are not limited to, a UV curable resin, a solvent-cured material, a paint, a heat-curing material, a cyanoacrylate adhesive such as Loctite&#39;s Black Max, or any other material that polymerizes without the use of UV radiation. In one embodiment, light absorbing particles are mixed into, for example, a UV curable resin to form the opaque material  114 . Suitable light absorbing particles include, but are not limited to, carbon, dyes, inks, or stains. 
         [0037]    In one embodiment, the opaque material  114  has a refractive index of from about 1.4 to about 1.6. In one particular embodiment of the present invention, the refractive index of the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  (including the first and second plurality of transparent protrusions  110  and  112 ) and opaque material  114  are substantially equal. This reduces fresnel reflection of light (both ambient light and light emitted from the display) at the interface between the opaque regions  114  and the transparent protrusions  110  and  112 . In one embodiment, the difference in refractive indices between the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  with protrusions  110  and  112  and the opaque material  114  is 0.03 or less. In another embodiment, the refractive index of the opaque material  114  is greater than the refractive index of the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103  with protrusions  110  and  112  so that Total Internal Reflection of ambient light or light emitted from a pixel  10  does not occur at the interface between the two materials. 
         [0038]    In addition, the opaque material  114  preferably has an optical density greater than 1.0, most preferably greater than 3.0, and superior ambient light absorbance is achieved when the optical density is 5.0 or more. 
         [0039]    In yet another embodiment, the opaque material  114  is composed of a dielectric material. However, in alternate embodiments, the opaque material may contain metallic components, particularly light-absorbing ferrous materials that can be magnetically mixed, dispersed, or deposited throughout a dielectric matrix of a supporting medium. The opaque material  114  may also contain particles of metallic oxides. 
         [0040]    In a further embodiment, opaque regions  114  can be tailored to preferentially absorb ambient light from a predetermined direction, such as from overhead. 
         [0041]    In one embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the openings filled with opaque material  114  extend horizontally across the optical device  100 . In another embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the openings filled with opaque material  114  extend vertically across the optical device  100 . In yet another embodiment, the optical device  100  includes multiple sets of openings. For example, the multiple sets of openings can be positioned such that they are cross-hatched (bi-directional) wherein two sets of openings are orthogonal to each other or three sets of openings can be positioned so that they are rotationally 60 degrees apart. Furthermore, two or more sets of optical devices  100  can be used in a cascade arrangement, either crossed or running parallel (either vertically, horizontally, or some other arbitrary angle to minimize moiré between the optical device  100  and the pixels  10 ). 
         [0042]      FIG. 6  is a front view of an optical device produced in accordance with the method of the present invention, showing the pixels  10  of the display panel in the background behind the opaque material  114  and  314  (described below). A duty factor of the opaque material  114 ,  314  can be defined as the ratio of the width of the widest part of an opaque material  114 ,  314 , designated as “W” in  FIG. 6 , divided by the pitch, P. That is, the duty factor DF=W/P. Larger duty factors allow for greater light absorption while smaller duty factors allow for greater display light transmittance through the optical device  100 . A typical value for DF is 0.15, although it can range from about 0.05 up to about 0.85. 
         [0043]    The absorbance of the opaque material  114  should not be spectrally dependent, but instead should absorb all wavelengths approximately the same between 400 nm and 700 nm so that it does not impart a strong tint to the viewed image. However, if a mild tint is imparted, the spectral emissive properties of the display panel can be changed somewhat to compensate for spectral irregularities of the light emitted by the display panel. Furthermore, IR absorbing additives can be added to the opaque material  114  that reduce the amount of infra-red light that is emitted by the display. Such IR emissions have been known to disrupt IR-based handheld remote controls, and blocking these emissions would be beneficial. 
         [0044]    In another embodiment, the openings filled with opaque material  114  have an aspect ratio, defined as the ratio of A/B (see  FIG. 4 ), of greater than one for optimal ambient light absorption as described below. However, the aspect ratio of the openings filled with opaque material  114  may be from about 0.5 to 10. The material of the opaque material  114 , the first and second transparent portions  102  and  103 , or both can have elastomeric properties to facilitate molding of the high aspect ratio protrusions  110  and  112 . 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , in one embodiment, the optical device  100  has a pitch P of from about 10 μm to about 2 mm, which should be much less than the width of a pixel  10  so that moiré interference does not occur. The pitch of the optical device can be such that there are at least two, and preferably five or more, opaque regions  114  per pixel  10  of the viewing display. 
         [0046]    In one exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the optical device  100  is less than about 1 mm, and can be in the range of from about 0.1 mm to about 2.5 mm. In general it is desirable to keep the thickness of the optical device  100  as small as possible, in keeping with the trend to thinner displays. 
         [0047]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the optical device  100  is positioned proximate the front face panel  12  of a viewing display. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the optical device  100  and second surface  108  of the viewing display are in optical contact. However, another layer may be present between the optical device  100  and viewing display, such as an adhesive layer  104  which adheres second surface  108  of the optical device  100  to an output surface of a front face panel  12  of a viewing display. The adhesive layer  104  can be a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), although other types of adhesives can be used as well. The transmittance of the adhesive layer  104  should not be spectrally dependent, but instead should transmit all wavelengths approximately the same between 400 nm and 700 nm so that it does not impart a strong tint to the viewed image. However, if a mild tint is imparted to the adhesive layer  104 , the spectral emissive properties of the display panel can be changed. That is, tinting can be intentionally added to the adhesive layer  104  to compensate for spectral irregularities of the light emitted by the display panel. Furthermore, IR absorbing additives can be added to the adhesive layer  104  to reduce the amount of infra-red light that is emitted by the display. Such IR emissions have been known to disrupt IR-based handheld remote controls, and blocking these emissions would be beneficial. 
         [0048]    In one exemplary embodiment, the refractive index of the adhesive layer  104  is between that of the second portion  103  and the output surface of the viewing display  12  to reduce unwanted fresnel reflections at these interfaces. 
         [0049]    Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 8 , optical device  200  can be optionally installed onto a light-transmissive sheet of material  216  that is then placed in front of the display panel, leaving an air gap  218  between the optical device  200  and the viewing display. In another embodiment, the light-transmissive sheet of material  216  can be placed adjacent front face panel  12  without leaving an air gap. 
         [0050]    In one embodiment, the viewing display is a flat panel display. Suitable viewing displays include, but are not limited to, pixelated displays, such as plasma display panels, LCD display panels, iLED display panels, and OLED display panels.  FIGS. 4-8  and  10  show examples of pixelated displays including pixels  10 A,  10 B, and  10 C. In another embodiment, the display panel is curved, and the optical device  100  of the present invention can be formed to fit the curvature of such a non-flat device. 
         [0051]    In yet another embodiment, the optical device can be used as a privacy film, which when installed in front of a display restricts the angular emission profile width, so that, e.g., somebody sitting next to you on a plane, or looking over your shoulder, cannot view what you are viewing. 
         [0052]    In one embodiment, the first surface  106  of the optical device  100 , i.e. that which faces the viewer, is treated with an anti-reflective coating or a subwavelength antireflective microstructure to minimize reflections from surface  106 . Furthermore, in another embodiment, first surface  106  has a diffusive surface relief texture to minimize specular glare. 
         [0053]    One alternate optical device configuration is shown in  FIGS. 9A-B  and  10  where the transparent protrusions  310  and  312  have at least one side that is non-linear in cross-section or curved. Non-linear sides can have several potential advantages over a linear cross-sectional shape, such as the ability to fabricate molds or tools quickly and at a lower cost, faster and less costly molding processes, and better optical performance of the finished part. 
         [0054]    Referring back to  FIG. 4 , the operation of the device  100  can be illustrated by describing how a few different types of rays interact with the device  100 . Ambient light ray  130  originates at an ambient light source, such as an overhead room lamp, or it could be reflected off of a wall of a room of the ambient environment. Regardless of its source, it is highly desirable to prevent ambient light ray  130  from being reflected back into the viewing environment. Ambient light ray  130  enters into the transparent first portion  102 . After propagating some distance into the transparent first portion  102 , the ambient light ray  130  becomes incident upon an opening filled with opaque material  114  at location  132 . If the refractive index of the opaque material  114  is substantially the same as the refractive index of the transparent first portion  102 , then ambient light ray  130  will be substantially absorbed at location  132 , regardless of the angle of incidence of the ambient light ray  130  at location  132 . In this way, good ambient light absorption is achieved. Moreover, when the values for refractive indices of transparent portions  102  and  103  and first and second plurality of transparent protrusions  110  and  112  are lower, e.g., 1.4, ambient light in the device  100  will generally be less parallel to the optical axis  0 , and will have a better chance of hitting the side of an opaque region  114  to be absorbed. 
         [0055]    Ambient light ray  130  also illustrates an advantage of the present invention over the prior art. If the openings filled with opaque material  114  were instead replaced with thin opaque stripes  14  of the prior art, then ray  130  would not be absorbed at location  132 , but instead would propagate along path  131  and pass through transparent portion  103  at location  133 . This ray would then be backreflected by pixel  10 A, seen by a viewer, and result in an apparent reduction in contrast. In particular, the thickness “A” of the opaque regions in the prior art is very small, and essentially there are no sides that can absorb ambient light (ray  130  is shown to be incident on the side at location  132 ). In contrast, the opaque regions in the present invention provide for a substantial side area that can also absorb ambient light. 
         [0056]    Now consider light rays emitted by the display panel pixels themselves, such as light rays  134  and  136  emitted by pixel  10 B at locations  138  and  140 . Emitted light ray  134  is absorbed by an opening filled with opaque material  114  at location  142 , and reduces the apparent brightness of the display panel. Light ray  136  passes through the optical device  100  and contributes to the brightness of the display panel. The optical device  100  of the present invention will reduce the amount of transmitted light (emitted by the display panel) by approximately 20%, although in some cases it may approach 80%, or be as little as 5%, depending on the ambient light absorbing characteristics of the film. 
         [0057]    Light ray  144  exits the pixel  10 B from position  146  at an oblique angle and is subsequently incident on the side of an opening filled with opaque material  114  at location  148 . Light ray  144  is nominally absorbed, but if the refractive index of the transparent portion  103  is different than the refractive of the opaque material  114 , then a reflection ray  150  exists. To a viewer, reflection ray  150  appears to originate at pixel  10 C, by way of virtual ray  152  which appears to originate at location  154 . To the viewer, then, pixel  10 B and pixel  10 C appear to overlap to some extent, and results in a phenomenon that will be referred to as “pixel blur.” This pixel blur manifests itself as a reduction in spatial resolution of the display panel. 
         [0058]    However, pixel blur can be easily remedied by substantially matching the refractive index of the opaque material  114  to the refractive index of the transparent protrusions  110  and  112 , as this will reduce or eliminate the Fresnel reflection, or Total Internal Reflection (TIR) that can occur at the point of incidence. 
         [0059]    The analysis of the light reflection at the interface between the opaque material  114  and the transparent portions  102  and  103 , and the transparent protrusions  110  and  112 , can be facilitated by referring to  FIG. 5 . In this figure, the following list of variables are utilized in the optical analysis: 
         [0000]    θ PR  is the emission angle of real ray  144  as it leaves a pixel  10 B at location  146 ;
 
θ 1  is the angle of incidence that the emitted ray  144  makes at the interface between the opaque material  114  and the transparent protrusion  112 ;
 
θ T  (not shown) is the angle of exittance of the light ray transmitted into the opaque material  114 ;
 
θ Out  is the final output angle of the light ray  150  as it leaves the display panel relative to a normal line  156 ;
 
θ PV  is the apparent emission angle of virtual ray  152  as it leaves a pixel  10 C at location  154 ;
 
n c  is the refractive index of the transparent material of the protrusions  110  and  112 ; and
 
n o  is the refractive index of the opaque material  114 .
 
         [0060]    By inspection, θ PV =θ PR , and from Snell&#39;s Law 
         [0000]      Sin(θ Out )= n   C  Sin(θ PV )  (Equation 1) 
         [0000]      θ out   =A  sin [n C  Sin(θ PV )]  (Equation 2) 
         [0000]        n   C  Sin(θ 1 )= n   O  Sin(θ T )  (Equation 3) 
         [0000]      θ T   =A  sin [ n   C  Sin(θ 1 )/ n   O ]  (Equation 4) 
         [0061]    As discussed above, it is highly desirable to minimize the power in reflected rays  150 , which is accomplished by controlling the relative refractive indices of the opaque material  114  and the transparent portions  102  and  103  and protrusions  110  and  112 . The amount of power in the reflected rays  150  is known to follow the Fresnel reflection equations. There are two Fresnel equations which are used to compute the amount of reflected power: one for light whose E-field is oriented perpendicular to the plane of incidence (s-polarization), and another for light whose E-field is oriented parallel to the plane of incidence (p-polarization). These two equations are: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     R 
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                               n 
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                     2 
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   
                     Equation 
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                     5 
                   
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                               n 
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                       ] 
                     
                     2 
                   
                 
               
               
                 
                   ( 
                   
                     Equation 
                      
                     
                         
                     
                      
                     6 
                   
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         [0062]    Given that the light emitted by a display panel&#39;s pixel is generally randomly polarized, containing 50% P-polarization and 50% S-polarization, the total reflectance becomes an average of these two: 
         [0000]      %  R =( R   S   +R   P )/2×100%  (Equation 7) 
         [0063]    As a general rule of thumb, for the pixel-blur to be reduced to an acceptable level, the amount of power in the reflected ray  150  should be less than 10% of the amount of power in a ray  144  emitted by a pixel, but preferably the amount of reflected power should be less than 2%, for any given angle of incidence. This condition occurs when the refractive index difference is less than 0.01, although differences as high as 0.03 may be acceptable for some applications. Furthermore, the refractive index of the opaque material  114  should be greater than the refractive index of the transparent portions  102  and  103  and protrusions  110  and  112  in order to avoid total internal reflectance (TIR) conditions which can occur at large values of θ 1 . TIR can produce 100% reflectance, which clearly will result in objectionable pixel blur. 
         [0064]    Referring back to  FIGS. 9A-B  and  10 , an alternate configuration is shown in which at least one of the sides of the protrusions  310  and  312  is curved. The sides of the resulting opaque material  314  areas are now substantially curved in cross-section. The operation of this configuration follows that as described in connection with  FIGS. 4 and 5 , including the relative refractive index values of the opaque material and the transparent portions  102  and  103  and protrusions  110  and  112 . 
         [0065]    Having thus described the basic concept of the invention, it will be rather apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way of example only, and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, and modifications will occur and are intended to those skilled in the art, though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested hereby, and are within the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is not intended to limit the claimed processes to any order except as may be specified in the claims. Accordingly, the invention is limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereto.

Technology Category: 7