A flexible display device based on an MZI structure and its applications

Abstract

The present invention discloses a flexible display device based on an MZI structure and its application. The display device includes a laser unit, a flexible substrate, an MZI structure disposed on the first surface of the flexible substrate, and an output grating. The laser unit is used to generate laser light, which is incident into the MZI structure. The MZI structure includes a plurality of MZI units arranged in an array, and adjacent MZI units in each row are connected by a transmission waveguide. The MZI units correspond one-to-one with the output grating, and are used to couple laser light of a wavelength matching therewith and transmit the coupled laser light to the output grating for display. The present invention uses laser as a light source and combines the MZI structure disposed on the flexible substrate to realize the selection and transmission of laser light, so that the display device has many advantages such as a wide display color gamut, a long service life, a high integration degree, a high light efficiency, and a low cost, and is particularly suitable for mass production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention discloses a flexible display device based on an MZI structure and its application in a multimedia resource playback system, belonging to the technical field of display devices. Background Art

[0002] Traditional display devices are liquid crystal display devices (LCDs for short). In an LCD, a liquid crystal cell is placed between two parallel glass substrates. Thin Film Transistors (TFTs for short) are provided on the lower substrate glass, and color filters are provided on the upper substrate glass. By changing the signals and voltages on the TFTs, the rotation direction of liquid crystal molecules is controlled, and whether polarized light is emitted from each pixel point is controlled, thereby achieving the purpose of display.

[0003] However, with the development of society, people have put forward higher requirements for display devices, demanding high-quality pictures, long lifespan, and environmental friendliness. Therefore, display devices based on Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs for short) have emerged. The power consumption ratio of LEDs to LCDs is approximately 1:10, and the higher refresh rate enables LEDs to have better performance in videos. LEDs can provide a viewing angle as wide as 160°, can display various characters, numbers, color images, and animation information, and can also play color video signals such as TVs, videos, VCDs, and DVDs. Multiple display screens can also be networked for broadcasting.

[0004] However, with the improvement of living quality, display devices based on LEDs have begun to fail to meet people's requirements for colorfulness and portability. Thus, display devices based on Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs for short) have emerged. OLEDs are a type of flexible display device, with many advantages such as self-luminescence, pixel-level light control, wide viewing angle, high color gamut, fast dynamic response, and infinite contrast ratio, making the pictures displayed by OLED-based display devices more vivid, three-dimensional, and textured.

[0005] However, since OLEDs are organic light-emitting semiconductor materials, their lifespan is usually only 5000 hours, and there are still problems with insufficient color purity, making OLED-based display devices have the disadvantages of short lifespan and difficulty in displaying bright and rich colors. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this application is to provide a flexible display device based on an MZI structure and its application, so as to solve the technical problems of short lifespan and insufficient color performance existing in existing OLED-based display devices.

[0007] The first aspect of the present invention provides a flexible display device based on an MZI structure, comprising a laser unit, a flexible substrate, an MZI structure disposed on the first surface of the flexible substrate, and an output grating;

[0008] The laser unit is configured to generate laser light, which is incident into the MZI structure;

[0009] The MZI structure includes a plurality of MZI units arranged in an array, and adjacent MZI units in each row are connected by a transmission waveguide;

[0010] The MZI units correspond to the output grating one by one, and are configured to couple laser light of a wavelength matching therewith and transmit the coupled laser light to the output grating for display.

[0011] Preferably, the MZI structure further includes an adjustable dielectric unit connected to the MZI units;

[0012] The adjustable dielectric unit is configured to adjust the refractive index of the MZI units.

[0013] Preferably, the adjustable dielectric used in the adjustable dielectric unit includes one or more of an electro-optic dielectric, a thermo-optic dielectric, and a magneto-optic dielectric.

[0014] Preferably, the electro-optic dielectric is a metal oxide thin film.

[0015] Preferably, the laser unit includes a laser and a plurality of MZI input structures;

[0016] Adjacent MZI input structures are connected by an input waveguide;

[0017] Each MZI input structure is connected to the first MZI unit in each row of MZI units.

[0018] Preferably, the display device further includes a reflective film layer, which is disposed on the second surface of the flexible substrate and is configured to increase the display brightness of the display device.

[0019] Preferably, the display device further includes a beam expanding unit;

[0020] The beam expanding unit is disposed on the light output path of the output grating and is configured to expand the angle of the laser light output by the output grating.

[0021] Preferably, the material of the flexible substrate is one or more of polyimide, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polydimethylsiloxane.

[0022] Preferably, the input waveguide and / or the transmission waveguide is prepared by a method of direct laser writing or photolithography.

[0023] The second aspect of the present invention provides a multimedia resource playback system, which includes the flexible display device based on the MZI structure described above.

[0024] The flexible display device based on the MZI structure of the present invention and its application in a multimedia resource playback system have the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0025] The flexible display device based on the MZI structure of the present invention uses laser as a light source and combines multiple MZI structures arranged on a flexible substrate to realize the selection, transmission, and path switching of the laser, so that the display device has a wide color gamut, long lifespan, high integration, and can be made into various special-shaped structures according to needs. The flexible display device of the present invention is convenient for customized processing and has low cost, and is especially suitable for mass production. Description of the Drawings

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the flexible display device based on the MZI structure provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] In the figure, 1 is a laser; 2 is an input waveguide; 3 is an MZI input structure; 4 is a flexible substrate; 5 is a transmission waveguide; 6 is an MZI unit; 7 is an output grating. Detailed Embodiments

[0028] In the following description, specific details such as specific system structures and technologies are presented for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, so as to thoroughly understand the embodiments of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art should clearly understand that the present invention can also be implemented in other embodiments without these specific details. In other cases, detailed descriptions of well-known systems, devices, circuits, and methods are omitted to avoid unnecessary details from interfering with the description of the present invention.

[0029] As Figure 1 shown, the flexible display device based on the MZI structure of the embodiment of the present invention includes a laser unit, a flexible substrate 4, an MZI structure arranged on the first surface of the flexible substrate 4, and an output grating 7; the material of the flexible substrate 4 in this embodiment is one or more of polyimide, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polydimethylsiloxane. The flexible substrate 4 made of the above materials has high flexibility, flexibility, and variability, and can be made into various special-shaped structures according to needs.

[0030] The above laser unit is used to generate laser, and the generated laser is injected into the MZI structure;

[0031] The above MZI structure includes multiple MZI units 6 arranged in an array, and adjacent MZI units 6 in each row are connected by a transmission waveguide 5; the MZI units 6 correspond one-to-one with the output gratings 7, and are used to couple lasers of wavelengths matching them and transmit the coupled lasers to the output gratings 7 for display.

[0032] The flexible display device based on the MZI structure of the present invention uses a laser as a light source, and combines multiple MZI structures arranged on a flexible substrate to realize the selection, transmission, and path switching of the laser, so that the display device has a wide color gamut, long life, high integration, can be made into various special-shaped structures according to needs, is convenient for customized processing, and has low cost, and is especially suitable for mass production.

[0033] The MZI structure in the embodiment of the present invention further includes an adjustable dielectric unit connected to the MZI unit, and the adjustable dielectric unit is used to adjust the refractive index of the MZI unit 6. Since the refractive index has a linear relationship with the frequency, adjusting the refractive index of the MZI structure will cause its frequency to change accordingly, and then the wavelength of the laser that can match the MZI structure in the transmission waveguide 5 will also change accordingly, so that lasers of different wavelengths are output to the external space through the output grating 7.

[0034] Furthermore, the adjustable dielectric used in the above adjustable dielectric unit includes one or more of electro-optic dielectrics, thermo-optic dielectrics, and magneto-optic dielectrics. In this embodiment, the adjustable dielectric unit is an electro-optic dielectric made of a metal oxide thin film, and the frequency of the MZI unit 6 is modulated by electric energy.

[0035] The laser unit in the embodiment of the present invention includes a laser 1 and multiple MZI input structures 3; adjacent MZI input structures 3 are connected by an input waveguide 2; each MZI input structure 3 is connected to the first MZI unit 6 in each row of MZI units 6.

[0036] The above input waveguide 2 and / or transmission waveguide 5 can be a finished waveguide, such as a finished waveguide obtained by 3D printing, or a waveguide formed inside the flexible substrate 4 by laser direct writing or photolithography.

[0037] Since there is a problem that the unidirectional light output of the output grating 7 is not high, a reflective film layer is provided on the other surface of the flexible substrate 4 where the transmission waveguide 5 is not provided in this embodiment, and the reflective film layer can increase the output brightness.

[0038] Since there is also a problem that the viewing angle of the output grating 7 is narrow, a beam expanding unit is provided on the light output path of the output grating 7 in this embodiment, so as to expand the angle of the laser output by the output grating 7, making the uniformity of the picture displayed by the display device better. The beam expanding device is a microlens.

[0039] The second aspect of the present invention provides a multimedia resource playback system, which includes the above-mentioned flexible display device based on the MZI structure.

[0040] The flexible display device based on the MZI structure of the present invention has a wide display color gamut, long lifespan, high integration, convenient customized processing, low cost, and is suitable for mass production.

[0041] The above are only several embodiments of the present application and do not impose any form of limitation on the present application. Although the present application is disclosed with preferred embodiments as above, it is not intended to limit the present application. Any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present application, making some changes or modifications using the disclosed technical content is equivalent to equivalent implementation cases and all fall within the scope of the technical solution.

Claims

1. A flexible display device based on an MZI structure, characterized in that, It includes a laser unit, a flexible substrate, an MZI structure disposed on the first surface of the flexible substrate, and an output grating; The laser unit is configured to generate laser light, and the laser light is incident into the MZI structure; The MZI structure includes a plurality of MZI units arranged in an array, and adjacent MZI units in each row are connected by a transmission waveguide; The MZI units correspond to the output grating one by one, and are configured to couple laser light of a wavelength matching thereto and transmit the coupled laser light to the output grating for display; The MZI structure further includes an adjustable dielectric unit connected to the MZI units; The adjustable dielectric unit is configured to adjust the refractive index of the MZI units; The display device further includes a reflective film layer and a beam expanding unit; The reflective film layer is disposed on the second surface of the flexible substrate and is configured to increase the display brightness of the display device; The beam expanding unit is disposed on the light output path of the output grating and is configured to expand the angle of the laser light output by the output grating.

2. The flexible display device based on an MZI structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The adjustable dielectric used in the adjustable dielectric unit includes one or more of an electro-optic dielectric, a thermo-optic dielectric, and a magneto-optic dielectric.

3. The flexible display device based on an MZI structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The electro-optic dielectric is a metal oxide thin film.

4. The flexible display device based on an MZI structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The laser unit includes a laser and a plurality of MZI input structures; Adjacent MZI input structures are connected by an input waveguide; Each MZI input structure is connected to the first MZI unit in each row of MZI units.

5. The flexible display device based on an MZI structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The material of the flexible substrate is one or more of polyimide, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polydimethylsiloxane.

6. The flexible display device based on an MZI structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The input waveguide and / or the transmission waveguide is prepared by a method of direct laser writing or photolithography.

7. A multimedia resource playback system, characterized in that, It includes a flexible display device based on an MZI structure according to any one of claims 1-6.

Images