Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for providing white light color output from an electromechanical systems (EMS) device with reduced likelihood of stiction. In one aspect, interferometric modulators are configured to provide a white color output while having a non-zero modulator gap dimension. Such a feature can reduce problems associated with zero modulator gap dimensions such as stiction. Various methodologies can be used to yield such a non-zero modulator gap and a white color output. In some implementations, for example, an optical element that introduced wavelength dependent phase shift is used. In some implementations this wavelength dependent phase shifting optical element includes a stack of color filters, a hologram, a diffraction grating, or layers of material having specific thicknesses and wavelength dependent indices of refraction.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for fabricating thin film transistor devices. In one aspect, a substrate having a source region, a drain region, and a channel region between the source region and the drain region is provided. The substrate also includes an oxide semiconductor layer, a first dielectric layer overlying the channel region, and a first metal layer on the dielectric layer. A second metal layer is formed on the oxide semiconductor layer overlying the source region and the drain region. The oxide semiconductor layer and the second metal layer are treated to form a heavily doped n-type oxide semiconductor in the oxide semiconductor layer overlying the source region and the drain region. An oxide in the second metal layer also can be formed.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods, and devices for actuating, charging and calibrating the charge on a movable electrode in electromechanical systems (EMS) devices. The electromechanical systems device can include a first electrode, a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode by a gap, a complementary electrode, at least one electrical contact, and a movable third electrode disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. In one implementation, a method of calibrating charge on the movable electrode of the EMS device includes electrically connecting a complementary electrode to the first electrode to form a compound electrode and applying a calibration voltage across the compound electrode and the second electrode to produce a uniform electric field in the gap. Under the electric field the third electrode moves towards the first electrode until it connects with the at least one electrical contact.

Abstract: In various embodiments described herein, a display device includes a front illumination device that comprises a light guide disposed forward of an array of display elements, such as an array of interferometric modulators, to distribute light across the array of display elements. The light guide may include a turning film to deliver uniform illumination from a light source to the array of display elements. For many portable display applications, the light guide comprises the substrate used in fabricating the display elements. The display device may include additional films as well. The light guide, for example, may include a diffuser and/or an optical isolation layer to further enhance the optical characteristics of the display.

Abstract: Display elements of a display array include at least one fixed layer and a movable layer. The movable layer is positioned with respect to the at least one fixed layer by placing a charge on the movable layer and applying a voltage to the at least one fixed layer. The at least one fixed layer may be two layers positioned on either side of the movable layer. The movable layer may be positioned in a desired position when driving an array of display elements by executing a reset stage, a charging stage, and a bias stage.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for a thin film transistor (TFT) device on a substrate. In one aspect, the TFT device includes a gate electrode, an oxide semiconductor layer, and a gate insulator between the gate electrode and the oxide semiconductor layer. The oxide semiconductor layer includes at least two metal oxides, with the two metal oxides having a varying concentration relative to one another between a lower surface and an upper surface of the oxide semiconductor layer. The TFT device also includes a source metal adjacent to a portion of the oxide semiconductor layer and a drain metal adjacent to another portion of the oxide semiconductor layer. The composition of the oxide semiconductor layer can be precisely controlled by a sequential deposition technique using atomic layer deposition (ALD).

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for reducing image artifacts that arise when a display is exposed to sunlight over time. Various implementations disclosed herein can be implemented to prevent charge injection from inducing a negative offset voltage shift for display elements in the display. In one aspect, a buffer layer is applied to block electrons from being photoelectrically ejected from a movable reflective layer of a display element and into a stationary optical stack of the display element.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus for providing illumination by using a light guide to distribute light. In one aspect, the light guide has a surface, such as an edge, into which light is injected. The surface is treated to create a diffusive interface with a light source. For example, the surface may be subjected to abrasion to form a frosted surface that acts as the diffusive interface, or a diffusive structure may be attached to the edge, with the attached diffusive structure functioning as the diffusive interface. The diffusive interface diffuses light entering into the light guide, and can thereby increase the uniformity of light propagating within the light guide. The light guide may be provided with light turning features that redirect light out of the light guide. In some implementations, the redirected light may be applied to illuminate a display.

Abstract: Charge balanced display data writing methods use write and hold cycles of opposite polarity during selected frame update periods. The transitions between voltages of opposite polarity are sufficiently brief that the display elements do not change state. A release cycle may be provided to reduce the chance that a given display element will become stuck in an actuated state.

Abstract: This disclosure provides implementations of systems, devices, components, methods, and techniques for producing an optical sensing interface capable of detecting touches or gestures. In one aspect, an apparatus includes a light source, a photo-detector, and a substrate. The apparatus includes an emitting waveguide that extends at least partially over the substrate and that is configured to propagate light from the light source to one or more corresponding emitting portions. Each emitting portion is capable of emitting at least a portion of the light outwards from a plane defining the substrate. The apparatus further includes a sensing waveguide that extends at least partially over the substrate and that includes one or more sensing portions. Each sensing portion is arranged proximate an emitting portion and is capable of receiving light scattered by an object over the corresponding emitting portion. The sensing waveguide is configured to propagate the received light to the photo-detector.

Abstract: Systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, are used for driving a display. In one aspect, the method includes connecting a first segment line to a first voltage, connecting a second segment line to a second voltage, and connecting the least a first segment line to the second segment line through at least one inductor. The polarities of segment line voltages may therefore be switched by reusing energy in the system.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for providing a display device. In one aspect, the display device may include a light source system, a programmable hologram system, a light-turning layer and a control system. A control system may control the programmable hologram system to generate a sequence of holographic images of point light sources. The control system may control the programmable hologram system according to software stored in a non-transitory medium. By scanning a sequence of holographic images of point light sources across the light-turning layer, a frame of image data can be reproduced on the display device.

Abstract: This disclosure provides methods, apparatus, and computer programs encoded on computer storage media for reduced low tone pattern visibility. In one aspect, the disclosed methods receive an input image including a plurality of pixels, quantize the plurality of pixels, set half-tone image pixels corresponding to the portion of the input pixels that are below a crush threshold to a crushed value, and diffuse the quantization error resulting from the quantizing to half-tone image pixels other than the portion. In some implementations, the half-tone image pixels are then output to an output device such as an electronic display.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for calibrating display arrays. In one aspect, a method of calibrating a display array includes determining a particular drive response characteristic and updating a particular drive scheme voltage between updates of image data on the display array.

Abstract: Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for controlling launch effects of movable layers in electromechanical systems (EMS) devices. First and second EMS devices with first and second step creating layers are positioned over a substrate and spaced, by different gaps, from the movable layers of the EMS devices. The movable layers of the first and second EMS devices include steps having different heights and/or different edge spacing from the center of an anchoring region of each EMS device. The different steps can provide different launch effects for different EMS devices, and if the same thickness of sacrificial material is used for the different devices, the different launch effects can be responsible for different gap heights in the unbiased conditions.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for controlling a display device that includes a first display, a touch screen disposed on the first display and a second display. In one aspect, the first display may be disposed on a first side of the display device (e.g., the front side) and the second display may be disposed on a second side of the display device (e.g., the back side). The second display may consume less power than the first display. Even when the first display is switched off, a control system may be configured to control the second display in response to input received from the touch screen disposed on the first display. The control system may be further configured to control the first display in response to input received from the touch screen when the first display is switched on or when the second display is not in use.

Abstract: A system and method for an optical component that masks non-active portions of a display and provides an electrical path for one or more display circuits. In one embodiment an optical device includes a substrate, a plurality of optical elements on the substrate, each optical element having an optical characteristic which changes in response to a voltage applied to the optical element, and a light-absorbing, electrically-conductive optical mask disposed on the substrate and offset from the plurality of optical elements, the optical mask electrically coupled to one or more of the optical elements to provide electrical paths for applying voltages to the optical elements. In another embodiment, a method of providing an electrical signal to optical elements of a display comprises electrically coupling an electrically-conductive light-absorbing mask to one or more optical elements, and applying a voltage to the mask to activate the one or more optical elements.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for displaying high resolution images using an adaptive temporal dithering scheme on display devices having two or more color planes. The adaptive temporal dithering scheme includes identifying the dither visibility of an image to be displayed by the color planes and adaptively applying temporal dithering to the color plane having the highest dither visibility. In one aspect, temporal dithering can be adaptively applied between two different color planes on a frame-by-frame basis based at least partly on the dither visibility of the image content.

Abstract: This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for controlling a display device that includes a first display and a second display. In one aspect, one or more sets of content may be generated or provided by one or more applications. Content may be prioritized within the sets of content or among the sets of content or both. Information pertaining to at least a portion of at least one of the sets of content generated or provided by at least one of the applications may be rendered to one or more of a plurality of regions of the second display according to a result of the prioritizing such that each of the at least one of the applications or content types associated therewith is mapped to a different one of the plurality of regions of the second display.

Abstract: This disclosure provides methods and apparatus, including non-transitory processor instructions on computer storage media, which enable a dual-display device to automatically select and render content to a display. Dual-display devices may include devices with a primary and a secondary display, the secondary display consuming less power than the primary display and having reduced glare when viewed in sunlight. In one aspect, the selection of the display may be based upon at least two of: a battery state of the device, an ambient illumination, and an item of content to be displayed.