Light valve element and liquid crystal display device

Abstract

The disclosed embodiment proposes a light valve element and a liquid crystal display device, wherein the light valve element comprises a first substrate and a second substrate arranged in parallel with each other, transparent insulating layers are arranged on the surfaces opposite to each other of the first substrate and the second substrate, a plurality of columns are arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, the columns divide the space formed between the first substrate and the second substrate into at least one chamber, at least one laser device is arranged inside each column, and a lithium niobate film is applied on at least part of the side surface of the column along the laser emission direction. The disclosed embodiment utilizes the interaction between the laser device and the lithium niobate film to realize convenient control of the controllable particles in the liquid crystal display device through the light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology, so as to realize the switching between the transmissive display and the reflective display, facilitate the control and utilization of the light source, can better improve the display effect and display performance, and has low power consumption.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of display devices, and in particular to a light valve element and a liquid crystal display device. Background Art

[0002] Existing liquid crystal display devices can be divided into various types according to different light sources, such as transmissive, reflective, and semi-transmissive and semi-reflective. Among them, the transmissive liquid crystal display device generally uses LED lamps as the backlight source. The backlight emitted by the backlight source passes through the substrate, irradiates the color film substrate, and then emits to form an image; the reflective liquid crystal display device uses ambient light or front light as the light source, and a material with good reflective performance is prepared on the display substrate. The ambient light or front light is irradiated on the display substrate and then reflected and emitted to form an image; the semi-transmissive and semi-reflective display device is a combination of the above two. A reflective area and a transmissive area can be set on the array substrate. It can be displayed with a backlight source or with ambient light and front light. However, the above various forms of liquid crystal display devices have disadvantages. For example, the backlight source power consumption of the transmissive liquid crystal display device is high, and it cannot achieve full black display in the dark state, and the CR value is low; the reflective liquid crystal display device relies on an external light source and cannot display in a dark environment; the semi-transmissive and semi-reflective liquid crystal display device leads to a low utilization rate of light. The reflected light is idle during transmission display, and the transmitted light is idle during reflection. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a light valve element and a liquid crystal display device to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the transmissive liquid crystal display device, reflective liquid crystal display device or semi-transmissive and semi-reflective liquid crystal display device in the prior art.

[0004] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a light valve element, including a first substrate and a second substrate arranged relatively parallel to each other, transparent insulating layers are respectively arranged on the opposite surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate, a plurality of columns are arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, the columns divide the space formed between the first substrate and the second substrate into at least one chamber, at least one laser device is arranged inside each of the columns, and a lithium niobate film is applied on at least part of the side surface of the column along the laser emission direction.

[0005] In some embodiments, a first electrode and a second electrode are respectively disposed on opposite surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate, and the first electrode and the second electrode are respectively connected to the laser device.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first electrode and / or the second electrode is a layered electrode or a point electrode.

[0007] In some embodiments, the lithium niobate film includes a silicon substrate on which a C-cut lithium niobate crystal is disposed.

[0008] In some embodiments, the lithium niobate film has a thickness of 0.3-1.0 μm.

[0009] In some embodiments, particles are disposed in at least one of the chambers.

[0010] In some embodiments, the particles are charged particles.

[0011] In some embodiments, the laser device is a nanolaser.

[0012] In some embodiments, a light absorbing layer is disposed on a portion of the side surface of each of the pillars, and the light absorbing layer on each of the pillars is opposite to the laser emission direction of the laser device on the adjacent pillar.

[0013] In some embodiments, a plurality of the laser devices are disposed inside at least one of the columns, and the plurality of the laser devices are sequentially disposed along a direction from the first substrate to the second substrate.

[0014] In some embodiments, a plurality of shift registers are further included, each of the shift registers being connected to a corresponding laser device.

[0015] The disclosed embodiment further provides a liquid crystal display device, which includes a backlight source, a liquid crystal layer and a color film substrate, wherein the light valve element described in any one of the above technical solutions is arranged between the backlight source and the liquid crystal layer.

[0016] In some embodiments, the column is disposed within the range of the orthographic projection of the black matrix in the color filter substrate.

[0017] In some embodiments, the interval between adjacent columns is the interval between one or more adjacent black matrices.

[0018] The disclosed embodiment utilizes the interaction between a laser device and a lithium niobate film to realize convenient control of controllable particles in a liquid crystal display device through light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology, so as to realize switching between transmissive display and reflective display, facilitate the control and utilization of the light source, and can better improve the display effect and display performance with low power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a light valve element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of a light valve element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the arrangement of a laser device in a light valve element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the arrangement of a laser device in a light valve element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Fig. 9 FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a liquid crystal display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure numerals: 1-first substrate; 2-second substrate; 3-transparent insulating layer; 4-column; 5-chamber; 6-laser device; 7-lithium niobate film; 8-first electrode; 9-second electrode; 10-light absorption layer; 100-light valve element; 200-backlight source; 300-liquid crystal layer; 400-color film substrate; 500-filter layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the present disclosure should be understood by people with ordinary skills in the field to which the present disclosure belongs. The "first", "second" and similar words used in the present disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. "Include" or "comprise" and similar words mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word cover the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. "Connect" or "connected" and similar words are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0032] In order to keep the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure clear and concise, the present disclosure omits detailed descriptions of well-known functions and well-known components.

[0033] The first aspect of the disclosed embodiments provides a light valve element, especially a light valve element for a liquid crystal display device, wherein the light valve element can control the backlight source or the external environment light source of the liquid crystal display device through light-assisted virtual electric field micro-control technology, so as to realize the actual function of transmission or reflection as needed. Among them, light-assisted virtual electric field control technology is a new type of micro-control technology developed in recent years. This new type of micro-control technology mainly uses materials with excellent optoelectronic properties as the core material of the chip in the light valve element. Specifically, it can form a non-uniform virtual electric field on the surface of the chip through laser irradiation, thereby attracting and controlling controllable particles, such as microparticles or microdroplets, and finally realizing the control and utilization of the light source.

[0034] The present disclosure provides a light valve element 100, such as Figure 1As shown, it includes a first substrate 1 and a second substrate 2 arranged in parallel with each other, for example, the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can be arranged up and down, and light beams from different sources can be transmitted from the first substrate 1 to the second substrate 2 or from the second substrate 2 to the first substrate 1, wherein, in order to facilitate the display function in the liquid crystal display device, the first substrate 1 can be a TFT substrate; transparent insulating layers 3 are respectively arranged on the surfaces opposite to each other of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, wherein the transparent insulating layers 3 are used to allow the light beam to pass through, but isolate or limit the particles between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 in the space formed between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2. When the light valve element 100 is used in the liquid crystal display device, the thickness between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 can be set to 10um, or other suitable thickness values ​​can be set according to the size of the liquid crystal display device.

[0035] Furthermore, a plurality of columns 4 are arranged between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and the columns 4 are used to divide the space formed between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 into at least one chamber 5, wherein the chamber 5 can allow a light beam to pass through, and particles are arranged in at least one of the chambers 5, wherein the particles can be charged particles, and the charged particles can be easily attracted by the electric field. Of course, the particles can also be reflective particles so as to reflect the light beam; preferably, a plurality of the columns 4 can be arranged in an array between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and when the number of the columns 4 is large, the divided chambers 5 can also be arranged in an array.

[0036] Furthermore, at least one laser device 6 is arranged inside each of the columns 4, and the laser device 6 is used to emit laser light of a specified wavelength; a lithium niobate film 7 is laid on at least part of the side surface of the column 4 along the laser emission direction, and the lithium niobate film 7 here is used to receive the laser light of a specified wavelength emitted by the laser device 6, and mainly includes a lithium niobate crystal. According to the above-mentioned light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology, the laser device 6 and the lithium niobate film 7 here cooperate with each other, specifically, the laser device 6 emits a laser light of a specific wavelength in the direction of the lithium niobate film 7, so as to form a virtual electric field on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 to attract or manipulate the controllable particles in the chamber 5 between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and finally realize the control and utilization of the light source based on the position change of the particles.

[0037] Here, it should be noted that the core chips mainly used in the light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology used in the embodiments of the present disclosure include bulk heterojunction polymer (BHJ), titanium phthalocyanine (TiOPc), amorphous silicon (a-SiH), lithium niobate (LN) crystals, etc. However, it should be pointed out that based on the first three materials, electrodes are required to assist in the formation of light-assisted non-uniform electric fields. However, lithium niobate crystals have good photoelectric, thermoelectric and piezoelectric properties, and virtual electric fields can be obtained on their surfaces by simple laser irradiation. In other words, the chip structure of the lithium niobate crystals in the lithium niobate film 7 only requires lithium niobate crystals, without other auxiliary materials or special processing methods. For example, in the process of forming a virtual electric field, no auxiliary electrodes are required, and no chemical treatments such as thermal deposition or even spin coating steps are required. Its chip structure is the simplest and the experimental steps are the simplest. Therefore, the lithium niobate crystals can be used as the preferred chip material for realizing light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology.

[0038] In traditional display devices, only the electro-optical effect of lithium niobate crystals is often used, that is, voltage is applied to the lithium niobate crystals to change the refractive index, light absorption, light scattering and other properties of the crystals, or the piezoelectric, ferroelectric, photoelastic, pyrolytic and other characteristics are used in the preparation of optical components, such as optical communication modulators, optical waveguide substrates, etc.

[0039] The disclosed embodiment adopts light-assisted virtual electric field technology, and utilizes the photovoltaic effect of the lithium niobate crystal to control the particles on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7, and is used to control the movement of the particles, and realize the corresponding display function by controlling the light source. By using the lithium niobate crystal, a relatively small light intensity can be used to generate a strong force, with low power consumption and obvious control effect.

[0040] The following is a further explanation of the application of the lithium niobate crystal in the light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology, wherein the working principle of the lithium niobate crystal is to irradiate the lithium niobate crystal with a laser of a specific wavelength, so that carriers are excited inside the crystal, and the carriers move along the polarization axis of the crystal and gather on the surface of the lithium niobate crystal to form a virtual electric field, that is, a photovoltaic effect occurs. Specifically, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the laser device 6 can emit a laser of a specific wavelength to irradiate the surface of the lithium niobate film 7, thereby forming a virtual electric field between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 and on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 to attract or manipulate the controllable particles on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7. For example, when the laser device 6 is turned on and emits laser light on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7, the particles in the chamber 5 can be attracted to the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 of the column 4, such as Figure 2As shown, this can make the light beam of the backlight source, for example, be transmitted from the second substrate 2 to the first substrate 1 to realize the transmissive display function; when the laser device 6 is turned off, the particles in the chamber 5 will not be attracted by the lithium niobate film 7, and thus, for example, will be laid on the transparent insulating layer 3 at the bottom of the chamber 5 based on gravity, so that the light beam of the backlight source cannot pass through the chamber 5, and only the light beam of the external ambient light source can be reflected on the transparent insulating layer 3 to realize the reflective display function. That is, by turning on and off the laser device 6, the liquid crystal display device can be switched between transmissive display and reflective display, thereby enriching the use occasions of the liquid crystal display device, for example, different display modes can be realized under different light conditions.

[0041] As a preference, the laser light generated by the laser device 6 can be limited to a certain short wavelength range, so that the virtual electric field formed on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 can be obtained by receiving the short wavelength laser light emitted by the laser device 6, that is, by emitting a short wavelength laser light through the laser device 6 and irradiating the lithium niobate crystals in the lithium niobate film 7, this micro-manipulation technology based on the photovoltaic effect of the lithium niobate crystals can capture a large number of particles at the same time with high efficiency.

[0042] Further, as described above, the lithium niobate crystal will generate many carriers under the irradiation of short-wavelength laser, for example, and the carriers move along the polarization axis of the crystal to form a photovoltaic field on the surface of the crystal. The cut lithium niobate crystals here include c-cut lithium niobate crystals, y-cut lithium niobate crystals and x-cut lithium niobate crystals, etc., wherein the polarization axis of the y-cut and x-cut lithium niobate crystals is perpendicular to the crystal surface, also known as a vertical configuration, that is, the charge formed by the photovoltaic effect will form positive and negative charge areas on both sides of the light spot along the c-axis; however, the polarization axis of the c-cut lithium niobate crystal is parallel to the surface of the lithium niobate crystal, and this arrangement is called a parallel configuration, and the charge formed by the photovoltaic effect will form positive and negative charge areas on the upper and lower surfaces of the lithium niobate crystal, respectively, which can be more conducive to forming a virtual electric field between the multiple columns 3 in the embodiment of the present disclosure to achieve the charge being attracted and manipulated in a direction perpendicular to the first substrate 1 or the second substrate 2, so as to facilitate the control and utilization of the light source.

[0043] Further, the lithium niobate film 7 here includes a silicon substrate, and a C-cut lithium niobate crystal is arranged on the silicon substrate. When preparing the lithium niobate film 7, the growth of the C-cut lithium niobate crystal can be induced by low voltage, for example, a weak electric field is applied to the silicon substrate to control the orientation of the C-cut lithium niobate crystal. Preferably, considering the size of the liquid crystal display device, the thickness of the lithium niobate film 7 is 0.3-1.0 μm.

[0044] Further, the laser device 6 used here can select a nano laser. Considering that the traditional optical fiber, broadband and other lasers are large in size, they cannot be applied to the characteristics of display modules requiring lightness and thinness, and are not suitable for use in display modules. However, a nano laser refers to a micro-nano device that uses nano materials such as nano wires as a resonant cavity and can emit a laser of a specific wavelength under optical excitation or electrical excitation. The size of this nano laser is often only hundreds of microns or even tens of microns, and the diameter reaches the nanometer level. Its working principle is to control the current to enter the nano wire through the conductive coating on its surface, so that the end of the nano wire emits a laser. This laser is an important component in the fields of thin film display, integrated optics, etc., and is very suitable for display products with light and thin requirements. In one embodiment, the nano laser can be made to emit a laser of a specific wavelength by inputting a pump current at both ends of the nano laser, so that it is easy to operate by controlling the external circuit. In a preferred embodiment, the nano laser can be selected from semiconductor nano lasers, such as cadmium sulfide nano sensors.

[0045] In another embodiment, considering that the laser emitted by the laser device 6 may interfere with the light during emission, Figure 2 As shown, for this purpose, a light absorption layer 10 is provided on a partial side surface of each of the pillars 4, and the light absorption layer 10 on each of the pillars 4 is opposite to the laser emission direction of the laser device 6 on the adjacent pillars 4, so that the laser emission can be more targeted and will not affect the light beam such as the backlight source and the ambient light source.

[0046] In addition, in order to drive the laser device 6 to emit laser light in the direction of the lithium niobate film 7, a first electrode 8 and a second electrode 9 are respectively arranged on the surfaces opposite to each other of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and the first electrode 8 and the second electrode 9 are respectively connected to the laser device 6, and the laser device 6 is provided with electric energy by, for example, combining with an external power supply, so as to drive the laser device 6 to emit laser light. Further, the first electrode 8 and / or the second electrode 9 are layered electrodes or point electrodes, for example, layered electrodes can be laid on the surfaces opposite to each other of the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, and of course, point electrodes can also be arranged at a distance.

[0047] Further, as described above, when the particles in the chamber 5 move to the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 attached to both sides under the control of the interaction between the laser device 6 and the lithium niobate film 7, for example, a light beam from a backlight source can be transmitted through the chamber 5; when the particles in the chamber 5 move to the transparent insulating layer 3 flatly laid on the bottom of the chamber 5, the light beam cannot be transmitted through the chamber 5 or is emitted less. At this time, if it is an external ambient light source or a front light source, it can be reflected and emitted. In this way, in some embodiments, a transmissive display function or a reflective display function can be achieved through the cooperation of the laser device 6 and the lithium niobate film 7.

[0048] In order to more finely control the movement of the particles in the chamber 5 and thus switch between different display modes, in other embodiments, the arrangement and control of the laser device 6 can not only attract the particles on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7, but also drive the gradual movement of these particles, thereby achieving the purpose of finely manipulating the movement of particles, and ultimately better switching between transmissive display functions, reflective display functions, etc., to achieve control and utilization of the light source.

[0049] When the distance between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 is large, or in order to better realize the switching between display modes and improve the display effect, specifically, in order to irradiate the lithium niobate film 7 between the adjacent columns 4 through the laser device 6 to form a virtual electric field to guide the particles in the chamber 5 between the columns 4 to move in a specific direction, in one embodiment, a plurality of the laser devices 6 are arranged inside at least one of the columns 4, and the plurality of the laser devices 6 are evenly arranged in the direction from the first substrate 1 to the second substrate 2, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, for example, a plurality of laser devices 6 are sequentially arranged in the same column 4 along the direction from the first substrate 1 to the second substrate 2. The number of laser devices 6 in the column 4 can be set based on multiple factors such as the required virtual electric field strength and the distance between the substrates.

[0050] Furthermore, in order to control the particles in the chamber 5 to move in a specific direction between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2 after the virtual electric field is formed, the light valve element 100 further includes a plurality of shift registers, each of which is correspondingly connected to each of the laser devices 6, and the shift register is used to control the opening and closing of the laser devices 6, so that the particles can move in a specific direction, wherein, for example, more than two laser devices 6 are placed in each of the columns 5, and the laser devices 6 are turned on and emit lasers in sequence from bottom to top, and then turned off, so that the emission of the laser can be simulated to move from bottom to top, thereby controlling the particles on the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 to move from bottom to top following the changes in the laser emission.

[0051] Since the columns 4 are arranged in an array between the first substrate 1 and the second substrate 2, the laser devices 6 in the columns 4 in the same row or column can be controlled by the shift register to be turned on or off in sequence. All the shift registers here are controlled by an external circuit. For example, when the laser devices 6 in each column 4 in the same row are arranged up and down in the same arrangement, the shift register is controlled by a circuit signal during use, so that the laser devices 6 in the same layer or at the same height can be turned on at the same time or in sequence, and then the laser devices 6 in the next layer or at the next height can be controlled by a circuit signal to be turned on at the same time or in sequence, so that the particles in each chamber 5 can be moved in a specific direction. Of course, the above control method is only an example, and the opening or closing method of the laser device 6 can be adjusted according to actual needs. In this way, the movement trajectory of the particles in each chamber 5 can be adjusted, so as to realize the control and utilization of the light source.

[0052] The disclosed embodiment utilizes the interaction between a laser device and a lithium niobate film to achieve convenient control of controllable particles in a liquid crystal display device through light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology to achieve switching between transmissive display and reflective display. The working principle is simple and the power consumption is low.

[0053] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a liquid crystal display device, which can attract and manipulate particles through a virtual electric field, thereby realizing control and utilization of light sources, specifically, thereby realizing display functions that can perform both transmissive display and reflective display, such as Figure 5 As shown, the liquid crystal display device here includes a backlight source 200, a liquid crystal layer 300 and a color filter substrate 400, and the light valve element 100 described in any of the above embodiments is arranged between the backlight source 200 and the liquid crystal layer 300. Furthermore, a filter layer 500 is arranged on the inner side of the first substrate 1 of the light valve element 100 and on the upper side of the color filter substrate 400.

[0054] When the light valve element 100 is arranged between the backlight source 200 and the liquid crystal layer 300, the black matrix (BM) arranged at intervals in the color film substrate 400 can be located directly above any one of the pillars 4 of the valve element 100, that is, each of the pillars 4 in the light valve element 100 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is located directly below the black matrix, that is, within the range of the positive projection of the black matrix. Of course, as a preference, the intervals between adjacent pillars 4 of the light valve element 100 can be the intervals of one or more adjacent black matrices, and at the same time, each of the chambers 5 between adjacent pillars 4 is provided with controllable particles.

[0055] The liquid crystal display device provided in this embodiment can realize the transmissive display function and the reflective display function, and can also switch between different display functions or display modes at will, that is, the liquid crystal display device can be used in the transmissive display mode or the reflective display mode at the same time. Specifically, the transmissive display function or the reflective display function can be realized by the cooperation of the laser device 6 and the lithium niobate film 7. Further, as Figure 5 As shown, when the liquid crystal display device is used in the transmission display mode, the laser device 6 in the column 4 is turned on and emits a laser of a specific wavelength to the surface of the lithium niobate film 7, so as to attract and manipulate the particles in the chamber 5 to adhere to the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 located on the side of the column 4, and the light beam of the backlight source 200 can pass through each of the chambers 5 of the light valve element 100 to achieve transmission, and is emitted through the first substrate 1 located on the upper side, thereby achieving a transmission display function; when the liquid crystal display device is switched to the reflection display mode, as shown Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, first, the laser devices 6 in the column 4 having multiple laser devices 6 can be controlled to start and emit lasers in sequence from the first substrate 1 to the second substrate 2, that is, from top to bottom, and the particles in the chamber 5 are controlled to move from top to bottom step by step, and finally flattened on the transparent insulating layer 3 located at the bottom of the chamber 5, thereby blocking the transmission of the light beam, and each laser device 6 is turned off. At this time, the external ring beam light irradiates the particles and performs reflective display; when it is necessary to switch to the transmission display mode again, the laser device 6 is controlled to start from the second substrate 2 to the first substrate 1, that is, from bottom to top, and the particles in the chamber 5 are controlled to move from bottom to top and adhere to the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 located on the side wall of the column 4, thereby realizing the switching of the display mode. This liquid crystal display device can realize the transmission display function and the reflection display function, thereby realizing the diversified control of the light source and the display mode.

[0056] Compared with the particle manipulation technology in traditional display panels, this method of micro-manipulating particles by laser irradiation of lithium niobate crystals is often used for the manipulation of particles by direct electric field control such as electrophoresis, electrolytic precipitation, electronic paper, microcapsule electronic ink, microcup electronic ink display, and electrowetting display, which require the preparation of electrodes in contact with the manipulated substances and are prone to contamination. However, the liquid crystal display device involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure uses indirect electric field control of light-controlled electric field-electric field-controlled particles, which does not pollute the manipulated substances, has both the flexibility of light pressure manipulation and the rapidity of electric field manipulation, and is easy to operate.

[0057] As an improvement of the above embodiment, another aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a liquid crystal display device, which can attract and manipulate particles through a virtual electric field, thereby realizing the control and utilization of light sources, specifically, thereby realizing the display function of simultaneous transmission display and reflection display, such as Figure 8 As shown, the liquid crystal display device here includes a backlight source 200, a liquid crystal layer 300 and a color filter substrate 400, and the light valve element 100 described in any of the above embodiments is arranged between the backlight source 200 and the liquid crystal layer 300. Furthermore, a filter layer 500 can be arranged on the inner side of the first substrate 1 of the light valve element 100 and on the upper side of the color filter substrate 400.

[0058] When the light valve element 100 is arranged between the backlight source 200 and the liquid crystal layer 300, the black matrix (BM) arranged in intervals in the color film substrate 400 is located directly above any one of the pillars 4 of the valve element 100. In this way, each of the pillars 4 in the light valve element 100 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is located directly below the black matrix, that is, within the range of the positive projection of the black matrix. Of course, as a preference, the interval between the adjacent pillars 4 of the light valve element 100 can be the interval of one or more adjacent black matrices. Different from the above embodiment, controllable particles can be selectively arranged in the chambers 5 of the adjacent pillars 4, for example, controllable particles can be arranged in the interval chambers 5. The liquid crystal display device provided in this embodiment can realize the interval arrangement of the transmission area and the reflection area, so as to realize the semi-transmission and semi-reflection display function, which can better adapt to the changes in light conditions and further improve the energy utilization rate. The embodiment of the present disclosure can realize a transmissive display function or a reflective display function through the cooperation of the laser device 6 and the lithium niobate film 7 as described above.

[0059] Furthermore, the display mode can be switched based on the light source conditions. Figure 8As shown, when the lighting conditions of the ambient light source are good, the liquid crystal display device can adopt a reflective display mode. Specifically, the backlight source 200 is turned off, and the laser device 6 is controlled to be turned on from the first substrate 1 to the second substrate 2, that is, from top to bottom, and the particles are manipulated to move downward so as to be flattened on the transparent insulating layer 3 at the lower bottom of the corresponding chamber 5. At this time, the laser device 6 is turned off. At this time, the ambient light beam illuminates the particles for reflective display. In addition, when the backlight source 200 is turned off, the particles block a small part of the transmitted light beam in the environment due to the flattening of the particles, making the dark state of the display screen darker, further improving the contrast.

[0060] like Fig. 9 As shown, when in a dark environment, the backlight source 200 can be turned on to enable the transmissive display mode. Specifically, the laser device 6 is controlled to be turned on gradually from bottom to top, and the particles are controlled to move upward to adhere to the surface of the lithium niobate film 7 located on the side wall of the column 4. At this time, the light beam transmission of the backlight source 200 is used for display. The liquid crystal display device provided in this embodiment can increase the transmittance in the transmissive display mode and reduce the power consumption in the reflective display mode.

[0061] The disclosed embodiment utilizes the interaction between a laser device and a lithium niobate film to achieve convenient control of controllable particles in a liquid crystal display device through light-assisted virtual electric field micro-manipulation technology to achieve switching between transmissive display and reflective display. The working principle is simple and the power consumption is low.

[0062] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and an explanation of the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of disclosure involved in the present disclosure is not limited to the technical solutions formed by a specific combination of the above technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above technical features or their equivalent features without departing from the above disclosed concept. For example, the above features are replaced with the technical features with similar functions disclosed in the present disclosure (but not limited to) by each other to form a technical solution.

[0063] In addition, although each operation is described in a specific order, this should not be understood as requiring these operations to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order. Under certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Some features described in the context of a separate embodiment can also be implemented in a single embodiment in combination. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination mode.

[0064] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological logical actions, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. On the contrary, the specific features and actions described above are merely example forms of implementing the claims.

[0065] Multiple embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail above, but the present disclosure is not limited to these specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can make various variations and modifications to the embodiments based on the concepts of the present disclosure, and these variations and modifications should all fall within the scope of protection required by the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A light valve element, comprising a first substrate and a second substrate arranged in parallel with each other, transparent insulating layers being arranged on the surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate facing each other, characterized in that: A plurality of columns are arranged between the first substrate and the second substrate, and the columns divide the space formed between the first substrate and the second substrate into at least one chamber. At least one laser device is arranged inside each of the columns, and a lithium niobate film is applied on at least part of the side surface of the column along the laser emission direction. The laser device cooperates with the lithium niobate film to control particles in the chamber to be attracted to the surface of the lithium niobate film or not to be attracted to the surface of the lithium niobate film; the lithium niobate film includes a silicon substrate, a C-cut lithium niobate crystal is arranged on the silicon substrate, and particles are arranged in at least one of the chambers, and the particles are charged particles.

2. The light valve element according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first electrode and a second electrode are respectively disposed on opposite surfaces of the first substrate and the second substrate, and the first electrode and the second electrode are respectively connected to the laser device.

3. The light valve element according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first electrode and / or the second electrode is a layer electrode or a point electrode.

4. The light valve element according to claim 1, characterized in that The thickness of the lithium niobate film is 0.3-1.0 μm.

5. The light valve element according to claim 1, characterized in that The laser device is a nano laser.

6. The light valve element according to claim 1, characterized in that A light absorbing layer is disposed on a portion of the side surface of each of the pillars, and the light absorbing layer on each of the pillars is opposite to the laser emission direction of the laser device on the adjacent pillar.

7. The light valve element according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: A plurality of the laser devices are arranged inside at least one of the columns, and the plurality of the laser devices are arranged in sequence along a direction from the first substrate to the second substrate.

8. The light valve element according to claim 7, characterized in that: It also includes a plurality of shift registers, each of which is connected to the laser device accordingly.

9. A liquid crystal display device, comprising a backlight source, a liquid crystal layer and a color film substrate, characterized in that: The light valve element according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is arranged between the backlight source and the liquid crystal layer.

10. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The column is arranged within the range of the orthographic projection of the black matrix in the color filter substrate.

11. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The interval between adjacent columns is the interval between one or more adjacent black matrices.

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