Electronic device with infrared transparent and visible opaque coating

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic device with infrared transparent and visible opaque coatings. Electronic devices may be provided with visible light and infrared light transparent cover layers. The electronic device may include an infrared device that operates on infrared light passing through the cover layer. One or more infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layers may be disposed on the cover layer overlapping the infrared device. An optional infrared anti-reflective coating may be laminated onto the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer. The ink layer may pass infrared light while blocking visible light to help hide the infrared device from being seen. Stacking the ink layer onto the cover layer may make the cover layer less fragile than when the physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating is stacked directly onto the cover layer.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 19 / 000,150, filed December 23, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 691,928, filed September 6, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates in its entirety to coatings for electronic devices, including coatings for optically transparent electronic device structures. Background Technology

[0003] Electronic devices (such as cell phones, computers, watches, and other devices) contain electronic device structures. These structures may have coatings. These coatings can affect one or more optical properties of the electronic device structure.

[0004] Providing coatings that impart the desired optical properties to electronic device structures across different wavelength ranges can be challenging. Furthermore, if not handled carefully, coatings can make electronic device structures overly fragile and easily damaged. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The electronic device may have a housing and a display mounted to the housing. The display may include a display cover. The display may include an active region surrounding the passive island. An infrared sensor and an infrared emitter may be aligned with the passive island. The infrared sensor and the infrared emitter may operate on infrared light passing through the display cover within the passive island.

[0006] The display overlay may include one or more infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers that overlap with the infrared sensor and infrared emitter in the passive island. If desired, an infrared anti-reflective coating may be laminated onto the infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers. The infrared anti-reflective coating may be formed, for example, by a multilayer thin-film interference filter. The infrared anti-reflective coating may include a gap between the infrared sensor and the infrared emitter to minimize crosstalk. The infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers help to conceal the infrared sensor and infrared emitter from view while still allowing the infrared sensor to collect sensor data through the display overlay. The infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers make the display overlay less fragile compared to when a multilayer physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating is deposited directly onto the display overlay. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic device that may be provided with an infrared-transparent and visible-opaque coating according to some implementation schemes.

[0008] Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of an exemplary circuit in an electronic device according to some implementation schemes.

[0009] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary infrared transparent and visible opaque coating stack for use in an electronic device, according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary electronic device according to some embodiments, the exemplary electronic device having an infrared transparent and visible opaque coating stack overlapping an infrared emitter and an infrared sensor.

[0011] Figure 5 It is an exploded perspective view of an illustrative infrared-transparent and visible-opaque coating stack according to some implementation schemes.

[0012] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary infrared antireflective coating in an infrared transparent and visible opaque coating stack according to some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 7 It is a graph showing the light transmittance of an exemplary infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer in an infrared transparent and visible opaque coating stack according to some embodiments, as a function of wavelength. Detailed Implementation

[0014] Electronic devices may have visible and infrared transparent overlays, such as display overlays. The device may include an infrared device that transmits infrared light through the visible and infrared transparent overlay. A coating stack may be laminated onto the inner surface of the visible and infrared transparent overlay and overlap the infrared device. The coating stack may include one or more infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers on the visible and infrared transparent overlay. An optional infrared anti-reflective coating may be laminated onto the infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers. The coating stack allows infrared light to pass through while blocking visible light to help conceal the infrared device from being seen. Laying infrared-transparent and visible-opaque ink layers on the visible and infrared transparent overlay makes the visible and infrared transparent overlay less brittle compared to specific implementations where physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings are directly laminated onto the visible and infrared transparent overlay.

[0015] Figure 1This is a perspective view of an exemplary electronic device 10, which may be provided with a stack of infrared (IR) transparent and visible opaque coatings. Device 10 can be a portable electronic device or other suitable electronic device. For example, device 10 can be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smaller device such as a wristwatch, a hanging device, a headphone device, an earpiece device, a head-mounted device (e.g., virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed reality glasses or goggles), a ring device, or another wearable or micro-device, a handheld device such as a cellular phone, a media player, or another small portable device. Device 10 can also be a set-top box, a speaker device, a desktop computer, a display with integrated computer or other processing circuitry, a display without integrated computer circuitry, a game controller, a computer pen, a keyboard device, a touchpad device, a mouse, or another type of peripheral or accessory device, a wireless access point, a wireless base station, an electronic device integrated into a kiosk, building, or vehicle, or other suitable electronic equipment. Figure 1 In the illustrative configuration shown, device 10 forms a cellular phone, tablet computer, wristwatch device, or another device with a substantially rectangular outline. This is illustrative and not limiting.

[0016] Device 10 may include a housing such as housing 12. Housing 12 (which may sometimes be referred to as a shell) may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramic, fiber composite material, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), other suitable materials, or combinations thereof. In some cases, parts of housing 12 may be formed of dielectric materials or other low-conductivity materials (e.g., glass, ceramic, plastic, sapphire, etc.). In other cases, housing 12 or at least some of the structures constituting housing 12 may be formed of metallic elements.

[0017] If desired, device 10 may include a display such as display 14. Display 14 may be mounted on the front of device 10. Display 14 may be a touchscreen incorporating capacitive touch electrodes or may be insensitive to touch. The back side of housing 12 (i.e., the side of device 10 opposite to the front of device 10) may have a generally flat housing wall, such as a rear housing wall 12R (e.g., a planar housing wall). The rear housing wall 12R may have a gap that extends completely through the rear housing wall, thus separating portions of housing 12 from each other. The rear housing wall 12R may include conductive portions and / or dielectric portions. If desired, the rear housing wall 12R may include a planar metal layer covered by a thin layer or dielectric coating such as glass, plastic, sapphire, or ceramic (e.g., a dielectric overlay). Housing 12 may also have shallow grooves that do not extend completely through housing 12. The gaps or grooves may be filled with plastic or other dielectric materials. If necessary, the portions of the housing 12 that are separated from each other (e.g., by means of through-slits) can be joined by internal conductive structures (e.g., metal sheets or other metal components bridging the gaps).

[0018] The housing 12 may include peripheral housing structures such as peripheral structure 12W. The conductive portions of peripheral structure 12W and the conductive portions of the rear housing wall 12R are sometimes collectively referred to herein as the conductive structure of housing 12. Peripheral structure 12W may extend around the periphery of device 10 and display 14. In a configuration where device 10 and display 14 have a rectangular shape with four edges, peripheral structure 12W may be implemented using a peripheral housing structure having a rectangular ring shape with four corresponding edges and extending from the rear housing wall 12R to the front of device 10 (by way of example). In other words, device 10 may have a length (e.g., measured parallel to the Y-axis), a width less than the length (e.g., measured parallel to the X-axis), and a height less than the width (e.g., measured parallel to the Z-axis). If desired, peripheral structure 12W or a portion thereof may serve as a frame for display 14 (e.g., surrounding all four sides of display 14 and / or decorative embellishments that help hold display 14 to device 10). If necessary, the peripheral structure 12W can form the sidewall structure of the device 10 (e.g., by forming a metal strip with vertical sidewalls, curved sidewalls, etc.).

[0019] The peripheral structure 12W may be formed of a conductive material (such as a metal) and is therefore sometimes referred to as a peripheral conductive shell structure, conductive shell structure, peripheral metal structure, peripheral conductive sidewall, peripheral conductive sidewall structure, conductive shell sidewall, peripheral conductive shell sidewall, sidewall, sidewall structure, or peripheral conductive shell member (by way of example). The peripheral conductive shell structure 12W may be formed of a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, alloy, or other suitable material. One, two, or more than two separate structures may be used to form the peripheral conductive shell structure 12W.

[0020] The peripheral conductive housing structure 12W does not necessarily have a uniform cross-section. For example, if desired, the top of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may have an inwardly projecting flange that helps hold the display 14 in place. The bottom of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may also have an enlarged lip (e.g., in the plane of the rear surface of the device 10). The peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may have generally straight vertical sidewalls, may have curved sidewalls, or may have other suitable shapes. In some configurations (e.g., when the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W is used as the frame of the display 14), the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may extend around the lip of the housing 12 (i.e., the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W may only cover the edge of the housing 12 surrounding the display 14 without covering the remaining sidewalls of the housing 12).

[0021] The rear housing wall 12R may be located in a plane parallel to the display 14. In the configuration of device 10, where some or all of the rear housing walls 12R are formed of metal, it may be desirable to form a portion of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W as an integrated part of the housing structure forming the rear housing wall 12R. For example, the rear housing wall 12R of device 10 may include a planar metal structure, and a portion of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W on the side of housing 12 may be formed as a flat or curved vertically extending integrated metal portion of the planar metal structure (e.g., housing structures 12R and 12W may be formed from a single continuous sheet of metal). If desired, housing structures (such as these housing structures) may be machined from a block of metal and / or may include multiple metal pieces assembled together to form housing 12. The rear housing wall 12R may have one or more, two or more, or three or more portions. The conductive portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and / or the rear housing wall 12R may form one or more outer surfaces of the device 10 (e.g., user-visible surfaces of the device 10), and / or may be implemented using internal structures that do not form outer surfaces of the device 10 (e.g., conductive housing structures not visible to the user of the device 10, such as conductive structures covered with layers (e.g., thin decorative layers, protective coatings, and / or other coatings / covers that may include dielectric materials such as glass, ceramics, and plastics) or other structures that form outer surfaces of the device 10 and / or serve to conceal the conductive portions of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and / or the rear housing wall 12R from being seen by the user).

[0022] Display 14 may have a pixel array forming an active region AA, which displays an image to the user of device 10. For example, the active region AA may include a display pixel array. The pixel array may be formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, electrophoretic pixel arrays, plasma display pixel arrays, organic light-emitting diode display pixels or other light-emitting diode pixel arrays, electrowetting display pixel arrays, or display pixels based on other display technologies. If desired, the active region AA may include a touch sensor, such as a touch sensor capacitive electrode, a force sensor, or other sensors for collecting user input.

[0023] Display 14 may have a passive boundary region extending along one or more edges of the active region AA. The passive region AA of display 14 may have no pixels for displaying images and may overlap with circuitry and other internal device structures within housing 12. To prevent these structures from being seen by the user of device 10, an opaque masking layer may be coated on the underside of the display overlay or on other layers in display 14 that overlap with the passive region AA. The opaque masking layer may have any suitable color.

[0024] If desired, the passive region IA at the upper region 20 of device 10 may include a passive region such as region 24. Region 24 may be laterally surrounded by active regions AA (e.g., on all sides, on four sides, etc.). Region 24 is sometimes also referred to herein as a notch 24 or passive island 24 in display 14. In some specific embodiments, region 24 may be surrounded by active regions AA on three sides (e.g., region 24 may have a fourth side defined by the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W).

[0025] The active area AA may be defined, for example, by a display module of display 14 (e.g., a display module including pixel circuitry, touch sensor circuitry, etc.) or a lateral area of ​​the panel. The active area AA may display (emit) display light. The display light may contain an image (e.g., a video stream representing image frames of a virtual object, a graphical user interface, video file playback, etc.). The display module may have a recess or notch in the upper area 20 of device 10 that does not contain active display circuitry (e.g., overlap area 24). For example, there may be no active pixels emitting images for display 14 within area 24 in display 14. Area 24 may have a rectangular outline, a circular outline, an elliptical outline, a substantially rectangular outline with rounded edges, or any other desired shape with any desired number of curved edges and / or straight edges.

[0026] Device 10 may include one or more device components aligned with region 24. For example, device 10 may include an image sensor 16 (e.g., a forward-facing camera) aligned with region 24. Image sensor 16 may capture an image of visible light within region 24 received via display 14. If desired, device 10 may include a phased antenna array aligned with region 24. The phased antenna array may transmit and / or receive radio frequency signals (e.g., in the millimeter-wave band) within region 24 via display 14. If desired, device 10 may include an ambient light sensor within region 24. The ambient light sensor may receive light within region 24 via display 14.

[0027] The device 10 may also include one or more IR devices 8 overlapping and / or aligned with zone 24. The IR devices 8 may include one or more IR emitters (e.g., a dot projector, a floodlight illuminator, an IR light-emitting diode, etc.) that emit IR light within zone 24 via display 14. Additionally or alternatively, the IR devices 8 may include one or more IR sensors (e.g., one or more IR cameras having IR image sensor pixels) that receive IR light within zone 24 via display 14. The IR sensors may capture an image of the IR light received via display 14 within zone 24.

[0028] If needed, the control circuitry on device 10 can process the images captured by the IR sensor to identify the proximity between device 10 and one or more objects (e.g., the IR sensor could be an IR proximity sensor), to generate a spatial map (e.g., a depth map) between device 10 and one or more points on one or more objects outside device 10, to map and / or detect one or more facial features of a user (e.g., to perform facial authentication or recognition operations, which, if needed, can be used to unlock device 10 for user use), and / or to perform any other desired operation. If needed, the images captured by the IR sensor can be used as user input provided to device 10. Device 10 can perform any desired operation based on IR light emitted by an IR transmitter and / or based on IR light received by an IR sensor in IR device 8.

[0029] A display cover can be used to protect the display 14. The display cover may be made of a transparent glass, transparent plastic, transparent ceramic, sapphire, or other transparent crystalline material layer, or one or more other transparent layers. The display cover may have a planar shape, a convex curved profile, a shape with planar and curved portions, a layout including a planar main area surrounding one or more edges (part of which one or more edges bend out from the plane of the planar main area), or other suitable shapes. The display cover may cover the entire front of the device 10. In another suitable arrangement, the display cover may substantially cover all of the front of the device 10 or only a portion of the front of the device 10. Openings may be formed in the display cover. For example, openings may be formed in the display cover to accommodate buttons and / or fingerprint sensors. Openings may also be formed in the display cover to accommodate ports such as speaker ports and / or microphone ports. If desired, openings may be formed in the housing 12 to form communication ports (e.g., audio jack ports, digital data ports, etc.) and / or audio ports for audio components (such as speakers and / or microphones).

[0030] Pixel circuitry in the active area AA of display 14 can emit visible light (e.g., containing a visible image for a user to view) through the display overlay (e.g., outside area 24). The visible light is in a visible wavelength (e.g., in one or more bands or channels between 400 nm and 700 nm). As used herein, IR light transmitted by one or more IR emitters in IR device 8 and / or received by one or more IR sensors in IR device 8 may include near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths (e.g., between 700 nm and about 1100 nm), IR wavelengths longer than 1100 nm, and / or any other desired wavelength greater than or equal to 700 nm. IR device 8 can operate on the IR light and / or deliver the IR light within area 24 through the display overlay. As used herein, the term "operate on the IR light" means the transmission / emission of IR light and / or the reception / sensing of IR light (e.g., IR device 8 can operate on the IR light by transmitting / emitting only IR light, by receiving / sensing only IR light, or by both transmitting / emitting and receiving / sensing IR light). If necessary, device 10 may include IR device 8, which emits and / or receives IR light through other surfaces of device 10 (e.g., through the rear housing wall 12R, through windows in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W, etc.).

[0031] Display 14 may include conductive structures such as capacitive electrode arrays for touch sensors, conductive lines for addressing pixels, driver circuitry, etc. Housing 12 may include internal conductive structures such as metal frame members and planar conductive housing members (sometimes referred to as conductive support plates or back plates) spanning the walls of housing 12 (e.g., a substantially rectangular sheet formed by welding or otherwise connecting one or more metal portions between opposing sides of the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W). The conductive support plate may form the outer rear surface of device 10, or may be covered by a dielectric overlay (such as a thin decorative layer, protective coating, and / or other coatings that may include dielectric materials such as glass, ceramic, or plastic) or other structures that form the outer surface of device 10 and / or serve to conceal the conductive support plate from being seen by the user (e.g., the conductive support plate may form part of the rear housing wall 12R). Device 10 may also include conductive structures such as printed circuit boards, components mounted on the printed circuit boards, and other internal conductive structures. For example, these conductive structures, which may be used to form a ground plane in device 10, may extend under the active area AA of display 14.

[0032] In zones 22 and 20, openings may be formed within the conductive structures of device 10 (e.g., between the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W and the opposing conductive grounding structure (such as the conductive portion of the rear housing wall 12R, conductive traces on a printed circuit board, conductive electronic components in display 14, etc.)). If desired, these openings, sometimes referred to as gaps, may be filled with air, plastic, and / or other dielectrics and may be used to form slot antenna resonant elements for one or more antennas in device 10.

[0033] The conductive housing structure and other conductive structures in device 10 can be used as a ground plane for the antenna in device 10. The openings in zones 22 and 20 can be used as slots in open or closed slot antennas, as a central dielectric region surrounded by conductive paths of material in a loop antenna, as spaces separating antenna resonant elements (such as strip antenna resonant elements or inverted F-shaped antenna resonant elements) from the ground plane, to aid in the performance of parasitic antenna resonant elements, or otherwise as part of the antenna structure formed in zones 22 and 20. If desired, the ground plane under the active region AA of the display 14 and / or other metallic structures in device 10 may have a portion extending into a portion of the end of device 10 (e.g., the ground portion may extend toward the dielectric-filled openings in zones 22 and 20), thereby narrowing the slots in zones 22 and 20. Zone 22 may sometimes be referred to herein as the lower zone 22 or lower end 22 of device 10. Zone 20 may sometimes be referred herein as the upper zone 20 or upper end 20 of device 10.

[0034] Generally, device 10 may include any suitable number of antennas (e.g., one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more, etc.). The antennas in device 10 may be located along one or more edges of the device housing at opposite first and second ends of the elongated device housing (e.g., in...). Figure 1 The device 10 may be located in the lower region 22 and / or the upper region 20, in the center of the device housing, in other suitable locations, or in one or more of these locations. Figure 1 The arrangement is illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0035] The outer conductive shell structure 12W may include an outer gap structure. For example, the outer conductive shell structure 12W may have one or more dielectric-filled gaps, such as... Figure 1The gap 18 is shown. Gaps in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W can be filled using dielectrics such as polymers, ceramics, glass, air, other dielectric materials, or combinations thereof. Gaps 18 divide the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W into one or more peripheral conductive segments. If desired, conductive segments formed in this way can form a portion of an antenna in device 10. Other dielectric openings can be formed in the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W (e.g., dielectric openings other than gap 18) and can serve as dielectric antenna windows for antennas mounted within device 10. Antennas within device 10 can be aligned with dielectric antenna windows for transmitting radio frequency signals through the peripheral conductive housing structure 12W. Antennas within device 10 can also be aligned with the passive region IA of display 14 for transmitting radio frequency signals through display 14.

[0036] If desired, device 10 may include one or more upper antennas and one or more lower antennas. For example, an upper antenna may be formed in the upper region 20 of device 10. For example, a lower antenna may be formed in the lower region 22 of device 10. If desired, additional antennas may be formed along the edge of the housing 12 extending between region 22 and region 20. The antennas may be used individually to cover the same communication frequency band, overlapping communication frequency bands, or separate communication frequency bands. The antenna may be used to implement an antenna diversity scheme or a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna scheme. Figure 1 The examples are illustrative and not limiting. If desired, the housing 12 may have other shapes (e.g., square, cylindrical, spherical, or combinations of these shapes and / or different shapes).

[0037] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an exemplary component that can be used in device 10 is shown. For example... Figure 2 As shown, device 10 may include control circuitry 38. Control circuitry 38 may include storage devices, such as storage device circuitry 30. Storage device circuitry 30 may include hard disk drive storage devices, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random access memory), etc.

[0038] Control circuitry 38 may include processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 32. Processing circuitry 32 may be used to control the operation of device 10. Processing circuitry 32 may include one or more processors, such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, host processors, baseband processor integrated circuits, application-specific integrated circuits, graphics processing units, central processing units (CPUs), etc. Control circuitry 38 may be configured to perform operations in device 10 using hardware (e.g., dedicated hardware or circuitry), firmware, and / or software. Software code for performing operations in device 10 may be stored on storage device circuitry 30 (e.g., storage device circuitry 30 may include a non-transitory (tangible) computer-readable storage medium storing software code). This software code may sometimes be referred to as program instructions, software, data, commands, or code. The software code stored on storage device circuitry 30 may be executed by processing circuitry 32.

[0039] Control circuitry 38 can be used to run software on device 10, such as internet browsing applications, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calling applications, email applications, media playback applications, operating system functions, etc. To support interaction with external equipment, control circuitry 38 can be used to implement communication protocols. Communication protocols that can be implemented using control circuitry 38 include Internet Protocol, wireless LAN protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11 protocol—sometimes referred to as Wi-Fi). ® Protocols used for other short-range wireless communication links, such as Bluetooth. ® Protocols or other WPAN protocols, IEEE 802.11ad protocols, cellular phone protocols, MIMO protocols, antenna diversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols, antenna-based spatial ranging protocols (e.g., Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) protocols or other required distance detection protocols for signals transmitted at millimeter-wave and centimeter-wave frequencies), etc. Each communication protocol may be associated with a corresponding radio access technology (RAT) specifying the physical connection method used to implement the protocol.

[0040] Device 10 may include input-output circuitry 26. Input-output circuitry 26 may include input-output device 28. Input-output device 28 may be used to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to be provided from device 10 to external devices. As an example, input-output device 28 may include IR device 8 and display 14. If desired, IR device 8 may include forward-facing optics that emit IR light and / or collect IR sensor data (e.g., an image of incident IR light) through display 14. If desired, IR device 8 may include backward-facing optics that transmit through device 10 ( Figure 1 The rear housing wall 12R emits IR light and / or collects IR sensor data.

[0041] If necessary, input-output device 28 may also include user interface devices, data port devices, sensors, and other input-output components. For example, input-output device 28 may include a touchscreen, a display without touch sensor capability, buttons, joysticks, scroll wheels, touchpads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, cameras, speakers, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks, and other audio port components, digital data port devices, light sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, or other components capable of detecting motion and device orientation relative to the earth, capacitive sensors, proximity sensors (e.g., capacitive proximity sensors and / or infrared proximity sensors), magnetic sensors, and other sensors and input-output components.

[0042] Input-output circuitry 26 may include wireless circuitry, such as wireless circuitry 34 for wirelessly transmitting radio frequency signals. Although for clarity... Figure 2 In the example, the control circuit 38 is shown separately from the wireless circuit 34, but the wireless circuit 34 may include processing circuitry forming part of the processing circuitry 32 and / or storage circuitry forming part of the storage circuitry 30 of the control circuitry 38 (e.g., a portion of the control circuitry 38 that may be implemented on the wireless circuitry 34). For example, the control circuitry 38 may include baseband processor circuitry or other control components forming part of the wireless circuitry 34.

[0043] Wireless circuit 34 may include radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry comprising one or more integrated circuits, power amplifier circuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive radio frequency (RF) components, one or more antennas, transmit lines, and other circuitry for processing RF wireless signals. Light (e.g., infrared communication, fiber optic communication, etc.) may also be used to transmit wireless signals.

[0044] Wireless circuit 34 may include radio frequency transceiver circuitry 36 for transmitting and / or receiving radio frequency signals within a corresponding frequency band (sometimes referred to herein as a communication band or simply a "band") of a radio frequency. The frequency band processed by radio frequency transceiver circuitry 36 may include a wireless local area network (WLAN) band (e.g., Wi-Fi). ® (IEEE 802.11) or other WLAN communication bands such as the 2.4 GHz WLAN band (e.g., 2400 MHz to 2480 MHz), the 5 GHz WLAN band (e.g., 5180 MHz to 5825 MHz), Wi-Fi ® 6E band (e.g., 5925MHz to 7125MHz) and / or other Wi-Fi ® Frequency bands (e.g., 1875MHz to 5160MHz), Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) bands such as 2.4GHz Bluetooth ®Frequency bands or other WPAN communication bands, cellular telephone communication bands such as cellular low frequency band (LB) (e.g., 600MHz to 960MHz), cellular low intermediate frequency band (LMB) (e.g., 1400MHz to 1550MHz), cellular intermediate frequency band (MB) (e.g., 1700MHz to 2200MHz), cellular high frequency band (HB) (e.g., 2300MHz to 2700MHz), cellular ultra-high frequency band (UHB) (e.g., 3300MHz to 5000MHz, or other cellular communication bands between approximately 600MHz and approximately 5000MHz), 3G bands, 4G LTE bands, 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) frequency range 1 (FR1) bands below 10GHz, 3GPP 5G New Radio frequency range 2 (FR2) bands between 20GHz and 60GHz, other centimeter or millimeter wave bands between 10GHz and 300GHz, 3GPP 6GHz bands (e.g., between approximately 100GHz and 10THz, or below 100GHz), near-field communication bands (e.g., 13.56MHz), satellite navigation bands such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) L1 band (e.g., 1575MHz), L2 band (e.g., 1228MHz), L3 band (e.g., 1381MHz), L4 band (e.g., 1380MHz), and / or L5 band (e.g., 1176MHz), GLONASS bands, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) bands, ultra-wideband bands operating according to the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and / or other ultra-wideband (UWB) communication protocols (e.g., a first UWB communication band of 6.5GHz and / or a second UWB communication band of 8.0GHz), communication bands according to the 3GPP wireless communication standard family, and according to IEEE The 802.XX standard series of communication bands, satellite communication bands such as L-band, S-band (e.g., 2 GHz to 4 GHz), C-band (e.g., 4 GHz to 8 GHz), X-band, Ku-band (e.g., 12 GHz to 18 GHz), Ka-band (e.g., 26 GHz to 40 GHz), industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands such as ISM bands between approximately 900 MHz and 950 MHz or other ISM bands below or above 1 GHz, one or more unlicensed bands, one or more bands reserved for emergency and / or public services, and / or any other desired bands. If needed, radio circuit 34 can also be used to perform space ranging operations.

[0045] like Figure 2As shown, wireless circuit 34 may include antenna 40. Radio frequency transceiver circuit 36 ​​may use one or more antennas 40 to transmit radio frequency signals (e.g., antenna 40 may transmit radio frequency signals for the transceiver circuit). Antenna 40 in wireless circuit 34 may be formed using any suitable antenna structure. For example, antenna 40 may include an antenna with a resonant element, formed from a stacked patch antenna structure, a loop antenna structure, a patch antenna structure, an inverted F-shaped antenna structure, a slot antenna structure, a planar inverted F-shaped antenna structure, a waveguide structure, a monopole antenna structure, a dipole antenna structure, a helical antenna structure, a Yagi-Uda antenna structure, a hybrid of these designs, etc. If desired, antenna 40 may include an antenna with a dielectric resonant element, such as a dielectric resonator antenna (e.g., with...). Figure 1 (A one-dimensional dielectric resonator antenna array aligned with region 24). If desired, one or more antennas 40 may be cavity-backed antennas. If desired, two or more antennas 40 may be arranged in a phased antenna array (e.g., for delivering centimeter and / or millimeter-wave signals within a signal beam formed in a desired beam pointing direction that can be manipulated / adjusted over time).

[0046] Device 10 may be provided with a dielectric cover (sometimes referred to herein as a dielectric cover, device cover, or wall). If desired, the dielectric cover may form the outer surface of device 10. As two examples, the dielectric cover may be display 14 ( Figure 1 The display overlay or for device 10 ( Figure 1 The dielectric overlay of the rear housing wall 12R of the device 10. It may be desirable for the dielectric overlay to be transparent to both visible and infrared light. For example, it may be desirable for the display overlay of the display 14 to be transparent to visible light (e.g., wavelengths of 400 nm–700 nm) to allow the display 14 to display images through the display overlay with minimal attenuation for user viewing. The visible light transparency of the display overlay also allows the image sensor 16 in area 24 to capture images of visible light through the display overlay with minimal attenuation. It may also be desirable for the display overlay to be transparent to infrared light within area 24 to allow the IR device 8 to transmit and / or receive (sensor) IR light through the display overlay. However, simultaneously, it may be desirable for the portion of area 24 overlapping with the IR device 8 to be opaque to visible light to help conceal the potentially unsightly IR device 8 from being seen by the user during operation of the device 10.

[0047] To mitigate these problems, device 10 may be provided with an IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack located on the dielectric overlay of device 10 and overlapping with IR device 8. The IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may be transparent to IR light and opaque to visible light (e.g., may exhibit more transmittance to IR wavelengths than to visible wavelengths, may exhibit less than a first threshold amount of transmittance to visible wavelengths and more than a second threshold amount of transmittance to IR wavelengths, etc.). Figure 3 It is a cross-sectional side view that can be provided as an example of an IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack overlapping with IR device 8.

[0048] like Figure 3 As shown, device 10 may include a dielectric overlay such as a visible and IR transparent overlay 52. ​​The visible and IR transparent overlay 52 may be formed of glass, sapphire, plastic, ceramic, polymer, and / or any other desired material. The visible and IR transparent overlay 52 may, for example, transmit both visible and infrared light exceeding a threshold amount (e.g., 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 99%, 99.9%, etc.). If desired, the visible and IR transparent overlay 52 may form an outer wall or surface of device 10. The visible and IR transparent overlay 52 may, for example, be applied to device 10 (… Figure 1 A display cover layer for display 14 is formed on the front of device 10. Figure 1 Part or all of the rear housing wall 12R is formed on the back of the device 10. Figure 1 The outer conductive shell structure 12W forms dielectric sidewalls or dielectric windows for the device.

[0049] Device 10 may include a stack of IR transparent and visible opaque coatings layered (stacked) onto a visible and IR transparent overlay 52. ​​The IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may include one or more IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 stacked onto the visible and IR transparent overlay 52. ​​If desired, the IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may also include an IR antireflective coating 48 stacked onto the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 (e.g., the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 may be inserted, sandwiched, or stacked between the IR antireflective coating 48 and the visible and IR transparent overlay 52). One, two, three, four, five, or more than five IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 may be present between the visible and IR transparent overlay 52 and the IR antireflective coating 48. The IR antireflective coating 48 may be omitted if desired. If desired, an optional black masking layer (not shown) may be included in the coating stack between the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 and the visible and IR transparent overlay 52.

[0050] Each IR-transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50 may include, for example, an acrylic resin and one or more IR-transmitting and visible-opaque pigments dispersed or suspended in the acrylic resin. As an example, the pigment molecules may each have a diameter less than or equal to 120 nm, 110 nm, or 100 nm. One type of pigment, two types of pigment, three types of pigment, or more than three types of pigment may be present in the acrylic resin. The pigments may collectively absorb visible light while concurrently transmitting IR light (e.g., without blocking or absorbing IR light). This allows the IR-transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50 to be configured to block or filter visible light through the coating stack while concurrently allowing IR light to transmit through the coating stack.

[0051] Depositing an IR-transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50 onto a visible and IR-transparent overlay layer 52 makes the visible and IR-transparent overlay layer 52 less fragile than when an IR-transparent and visible-opaque physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating (e.g., a 37-layer thin-film interference filter) is directly laminated onto the visible and IR-transparent overlay layer 52 (e.g., because the acrylic resin in the IR-transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50 has a lower modulus compared to the PVD coating). This helps prevent damage to the visible and IR-transparent overlay layer 52, such as cracking over time, compared to a specific implementation that directly laminates a PVD coating onto the visible and IR-transparent overlay layer 52 during the PVD process.

[0052] An IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50, a visible and IR transparent overlay layer 52, and an IR antireflective coating (ARC) 48 may overlap with an IR device 8. The IR ARC 48 may be separated from the IR device 8 by an air gap 51. The IR device 8 may include one or more IR emitters that emit IR light 44 (e.g., wavelength greater than or equal to 700 nm) through the IR ARC 48, the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50, and the visible and IR transparent overlay layer 52. Additionally or alternatively, the IR device 8 may include one or more IR sensors that receive IR light 46 through the visible and IR transparent overlay layer 52, the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50, and the IR ARC 48. The IR light 46 may include reflected IR light (e.g., a reflected version of IR light 44 that has been reflected from one or more points on one or more external objects and returned toward the device 10) and / or may include IR light emitted by one or more IR emitters external to the device 10.

[0053] Because the visible and infrared transparent overlay 52 is transparent to infrared light, IR light 46 passes through the visible and IR transparent overlay 52 with minimal attenuation to reach the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50. Because the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 is transparent to infrared light, IR light 46 then passes through the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 with minimal attenuation to reach the IR ARC 48. Because the IR ARC 48 is transparent to infrared light, IR light 46 then passes through the IR ARC 48 to reach the IR device 8, which captures the image of the IR light 46.

[0054] Conversely, IR ARC 48 transmits IR light 44 to the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 with minimal attenuation. The IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 transmits IR light 44 to the visible and IR transparent overlay layer 52 with minimal attenuation. The visible and IR transparent overlay layer 52 transmits IR light 44 to the surrounding environment of device 10 (e.g., free space) with minimal attenuation. In practice, there may be a relatively large difference between the refractive index of the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 and the air gap 51. If not careful, this relatively large refractive index difference can cause excessive IR light 44 and / or IR light 46 to be reflected at the interface between the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 and the air gap 51. The reflected IR light can interfere with other optical components in device 10, generate undesired crosstalk between IR light 44 and one or more IR sensors in IR device 8, produce undesired image artifacts in images captured by one or more IR sensors in IR device 8, and / or reduce the contrast in images captured by one or more IR sensors in IR device 8.

[0055] IR ARC 48 can be used to minimize IR light reflection between the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 and the air gap 51. IR ARC 48 can be, for example, a multilayer thin-film interference filter (TFIF) stacked on the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50. The TFIF can be a coating having two or more layers deposited on the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50. Unlike IR ARC 48, the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 is not an interference filter that operates via interference from reflections between filter layers. Instead, the optical properties of the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 are defined by pigments in the layers. Since the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 has already been deposited on the visible and IR transparent overlay layers 52 when IR ARC 48 is deposited onto the coating stack, the deposition of IR ARC 48 does not make the visible and IR transparent overlay layers 52 brittle, even when deposited using a PVD process.

[0056] IR ARC 48 can be deposited on the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 using any suitable deposition technique. Examples of techniques that can be used to deposit layers in IR ARC 48 include physical vapor deposition (PVD) (e.g., evaporation and / or sputtering), cathodic arc deposition, chemical vapor deposition, ion plating, laser ablation, etc. IR ARC can form a TFIF comprising a stack of two or more material layers, such as inorganic dielectric layers with different refractive index values. Layers in the TFIF can have higher refractive index values ​​(sometimes referred to as "high" refractive index values) and lower refractive index values ​​(sometimes referred to as "low" refractive index values). If desired, high refractive index layers can be interleaved with low refractive index layers. Incident light can be transmitted through each of the layers in the TFIF, and also reflected from the interfaces between each of the layers, as well as at the interface between the TFIF and the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50, and at the interface between the TFIF and the air gap 51. By controlling the thickness and refractive index (e.g., composition) of each layer in the TFIF, the light reflected at each interface can be destructively interfered to minimize the amount of reflected IR light transmitted back to the IR device 8 and / or the surrounding environment.

[0057] Because the visible and IR transparent capping layer 52 is transparent to visible light, in device 10 (e.g., Figure 1 The display circuitry in the display 14 can minimize attenuation of display light through a portion of the visible and IR transparent overlay 52 that does not overlap with the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 and the IRARC 48. Simultaneously, because the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 is opaque to visible light (light-blocking), it prevents, blocks, or obstructs visible light that would otherwise pass through the visible and IR transparent overlay 52 from the surrounding environment of the device 10. This prevents visible light from entering the interior of the device 48 and then being reflected from components inside the device 10 (e.g., IR device 8) and returned through the visible and IR transparent overlay 52, where the reflected visible light would otherwise be visible to an observer. This can be used to conceal the IR device 8 and other components inside the device 10 from easy viewing or perception by the user, thus providing an attractive aesthetic appearance for the device 10.

[0058] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional side view of device 10 (e.g., as along...). Figure 1 (The direction of line BB' is intercepted), which shows Figure 3 An example of how IR-transparent and visible-opaque coatings can be stacked onto area 24 of display 14. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the display 14 may include a display cover layer 54. The display cover layer 54 may be formed Figure 3The display 14 may include a visible and IR transparent overlay 52. ​​The display 14 may include pixel circuitry 59 in an active region AA (i.e., outside region 24). Pixel circuitry 59 may emit visible light 57. The display overlay 54 may transmit visible light 57 from the pixel circuitry to the exterior of the device 10 with minimal attenuation.

[0059] The IR device 8 in device 10 may include one or more IR emitters 8A and / or one or more IR sensors 8B overlapping region 24 of display 14. The IR emitter 8A may emit IR light 44 within region 24 through an IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack and through display overlay 54. The IR emitter 8A is sometimes also referred to herein as IR light source 8A. The IR sensor 8B may receive IR light 46 within region 24 through display overlay 54 and the IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack.

[0060] An IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may be laminated onto the inner surface of the display overlay 54. The IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may be separated from the IR sensor 8B and IR emitter 8A by an air gap 51. The IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may include an optional black masking layer 56 laminated onto the inner surface of the display overlay 54. The IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may include an IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 laminated onto the black masking layer 56. The IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may include an IR ARC 48 laminated onto the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50.

[0061] like Figure 4 As shown, IR ARC 48 can be patterned onto an IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50, such that at least one gap 58 separates a first region of IR ARC 48 from a second region of IR ARC 48. The first region may overlap with IR emitter 8A. The second region may overlap with IR sensor 8B. The gap 58 may not overlap with respect to IR emitter 8A and IR sensor 8B. IR ARC 48 can help minimize IR light reflection at the interface between air gap 51 and the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50. The gap 58 can help further minimize unwanted IR crosstalk between IR emitter 8A and IR sensor 8B.

[0062] If desired, the black masking layer 56 may include a ring of black masking material (e.g., ink or other visible opaque material) laterally surrounding an opening without black masking material. The opening may overlap with the IR emitter 8A and the IR sensor 8B. An IR-transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 may allow IR light 44 and 46 to pass through area 24 of the display 14 while simultaneously blocking visible light from passing through area 24 of the display 14, thereby helping to conceal the interior of the device 10 from being seen. If desired, stacks of IR-transparent and visible opaque coatings may overlap area 24 relative to one or more visible light components of the display 14 (e.g., ...). Figure 1 The image sensors 16 and 14 are not overlapped so that visible light can pass through the display 14 for those visible light components.

[0063] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 An exploded perspective view of an IR-transparent and visible stack of opaque coatings. Figure 5 In the example, for clarity, the display overlay 54, IR transmitter 8A, and IR sensor 8B have been omitted. Figure 5 As shown, the IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack may include N IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 between the black masking layer 56 and the IR ARC 48. N can be equal to one, two, three, four, five, or greater than five. Generally, a larger number of IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50 can be used to increase the opacity of the IR transparent and visible opaque coating stack to visible light.

[0064] The black masking layer 56 may include a ring of masking material laterally surrounding a central opening, such as opening 60. Opening 60 may be connected to an IR transmitter 8A and an IR sensor 8B. Figure 4 The two layers overlap. The black masking layer 56 can be omitted if necessary. The gap 58 separates the first region of IR ARC 48 from the second region of IR ARC 48. IR light 44 passes through the first region of IR ARC 48, through N IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50, and through the opening in the black masking layer 56. Conversely, IR light 46 passes through the opening in the black masking layer 56, the N IR transparent and visible opaque ink layers 50, and the second region of IR ARC 48.

[0065] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional side view illustrating an example of how an IR ARC 48 can be implemented as a multilayer TFIF. Figure 6In the example, IR ARC 48 is a four-layer interference filter having a first layer 64 stacked on an IR transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50, a second layer 66 stacked on layer 64, a third layer 68 stacked on layer 66, and a fourth layer 70 stacked on layer 68. Layer 70 may be the bottommost layer of IR ARC 48. Layer 68 may be the second bottommost layer of IR ARC 48. Layer 66 may be the second topmost layer of IR ARC 48. Layer 64 may be the topmost layer of IR ARC 48. Layers 64-70 may have alternating high and low refractive indices.

[0066] Layer 64 may comprise niobium (Nb) and oxygen (O) (e.g., niobium oxide (Nb₂O₅)), and is sometimes referred to herein as Nb₂O₅ layer 64. Layer 66 may comprise silicon (Si) and O (e.g., silicon dioxide (SiO₂)), and is sometimes referred to herein as SiO₂ layer 66. Layer 68 may comprise Nb and O (e.g., Nb₂O₅), and is sometimes referred to herein as Nb₂O₅ layer 68. Layer 70 may comprise Si and O (e.g., SiO₂), and is sometimes referred to herein as SiO₂ layer 70. This example is illustrative and not limiting. The IR ARC 48 may comprise five layers, more than five layers, three layers, two layers, or a single layer, if desired. The layers of the IR ARC 48 may comprise Nb₂O₅, SiO₂, titanium dioxide (TiO₂), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), other metals, other nonmetals, other oxides, and / or any other desired material.

[0067] Layer 64 may have a thickness T1. Layer 66 may have a thickness T2. Layer 68 may have a thickness T3. Layer 70 may have a thickness T4. The thicknesses T1-T4 and composition of layers 64-70 may be selected to impart the desired interference effect to the IR ARC 48 to minimize the amount of reflected IR light generated at the interface between the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 and the air gap 51.

[0068] Thickness T1 can be, for example, 40nm-50nm, 45nm-50nm, 45nm-55nm, 30nm-60nm, 20nm-70nm, greater than 45nm, greater than 40nm, greater than 30nm, less than 50nm, less than 60nm, less than 100nm, or other thicknesses. Thickness T2 can be, for example, 30nm-40nm, 30nm-35nm, 20nm-50nm, 10nm-50nm, greater than 30nm, greater than 20nm, greater than 10nm, less than 40nm, less than 50nm, less than 100nm, less than thickness T1, or other thicknesses. Thickness T3 can be, for example, 120nm-130nm, 110nm-140nm, 100nm-150nm, 125nm-130nm, greater than 120nm, greater than 110nm, greater than 100nm, less than 130nm, less than 140nm, less than 150nm, greater than thickness T1, or other thicknesses. Thickness T4 can be, for example, 170nm-180nm, 170nm-175nm, 160nm-190nm, 150nm-200nm, greater than 170nm, greater than 160nm, greater than 150nm, less than 180nm, less than 200nm, less than 250nm, greater than thickness T3 or other thicknesses.

[0069] Figure 7 Curve 72 plots the light transmittance of the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 in device 10 as a function of wavelength. The pigments in the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer can collectively configure the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer to exhibit the optical transmittance distribution characterized by curve 72. As shown in curve 72, the IR transparent and visible opaque ink layer 50 can exhibit relatively low transmittance at visible wavelengths less than 700 nm and relatively high transmittance at IR wavelengths greater than 700 nm.

[0070] For example, such as Figure 7As shown, the IR-transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50 can exhibit an optical transmittance less than a first threshold TH1 at wavelengths less than or equal to 700 nm, 750 nm, or another wavelength between 700 nm and 750 nm. The threshold TH1 can be 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%, 1%-10%, 1%-5%, 0.5%, 0.5%-5%, 3%, 6%, or other values. Simultaneously, the IR-transparent and visible-opaque ink layer 50 can exhibit an optical transmittance greater than a second threshold TH2 at wavelengths greater than or equal to 700 nm, 750 nm, 800 nm, or another wavelength between 700 nm and 800 nm. The threshold TH2 can be 50%, 60%, 50%-70%, 40%-80%, 50%-90%, 60%-90%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 99%, 99.5%, 80%-99.5%, 80%-90%, 80%-95%, 90%-95%, 96%, 85%, 88%, 89%, 91%, 75%-90%, or other values. Curve 72 can have other shapes in practice.

[0071] As used herein, the term "concurrent" means at least partially overlapping in time. In other words, the first and second events are referred to herein as "concurrent" if at least some of the first events occur simultaneously with at least some of the second events (e.g., if at least some of the first events occur during, concurrently with, or when at least some of the second events occur). The first and second events can be concurrent if they are synchronized (e.g., if the entire duration of the first event overlaps with the entire duration of the second event in time), but they can also be concurrent if they are asynchronous (e.g., if the first event begins before or after the second event, ends before or after the second event, or does not partially overlap in time). As used herein, the term "at the time of" is synonymous with "concurrent".

[0072] Device 10 may collect and / or use personally identifiable information. It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0073] According to an embodiment, an electronic device includes: an infrared device configured to operate on infrared light; a dielectric overlay layer overlapping the infrared device and configured to transmit the infrared light and visible light; an ink layer located on the dielectric overlay layer and overlapping the infrared device, the ink layer configured to transmit the infrared light and absorb the visible light; and a thin-film interference filter (TFIF) located on the ink layer and overlapping the infrared device, the ink layer being interposed between the TFIF and the dielectric overlay layer.

[0074] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally further includes an additional ink layer inserted between the ink layer and the TFIF, the additional ink layer being configured to transmit the infrared light and to absorb the visible light.

[0075] According to another embodiment, the ink layer optionally comprises an acrylic resin and at least one pigment dispersed in the acrylic resin.

[0076] According to another embodiment, the at least one pigment optionally configures the ink layer to exhibit less than 10% transmittance at a wavelength of less than or equal to 700 nm and to exhibit greater than 50% transmittance at a wavelength of greater than or equal to 750 nm.

[0077] According to another embodiment, the TFIF is optionally configured to form an anti-reflective coating against the infrared light.

[0078] According to another embodiment, the TFIF optionally includes a first layer on the ink layer, a second layer on the first layer, a third layer on the second layer, and a fourth layer on the third layer.

[0079] According to another embodiment, the first and third layers optionally contain Nb2O5, and the second and fourth layers contain SiO2.

[0080] According to another embodiment, the first layer and the third layer optionally comprise materials selected from the group consisting of Nb2O5, SiO2, TiO2 and Al2O3.

[0081] According to another embodiment, the infrared device optionally includes an infrared emitter configured to emit infrared light through the TFIF, the ink layer, and the dielectric overlay.

[0082] According to another embodiment, the infrared device optionally includes an infrared sensor configured to receive infrared light passing through the TFIF, the ink layer, and the dielectric overlay.

[0083] According to another embodiment, the infrared device optionally further includes an infrared emitter configured to emit infrared light through the TFIF, the ink layer, and the dielectric overlay.

[0084] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally further includes a gap separating a first region of the TFIF from a second region of the TFIF, wherein the first region of the TFIF overlaps with the IR sensor and the second region of the TFIF overlaps with the IR transmitter.

[0085] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally further includes a display, the display including the dielectric overlay and pixel circuitry configured to display visible light passing through the dielectric overlay, wherein the display includes a passive region laterally surrounded by the pixel circuitry, and wherein the ink layer, the TFIF and the IR device overlap with the passive region.

[0086] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally further includes an annular black masking layer inserted between the ink layer and the dielectric cover layer, wherein the annular black masking layer has an opening that overlaps with the infrared device.

[0087] According to an embodiment, the apparatus includes: a substrate that is transparent to visible and infrared light; an ink layer located on the substrate and comprising one or more pigments that configure the ink layer to be transparent to the infrared light and opaque to the visible light; and an infrared anti-reflective coating located on the ink layer, the ink layer being interposed between the substrate and the infrared anti-reflective coating.

[0088] According to another embodiment, the infrared antireflective coating optionally includes a first layer on the ink layer, a second layer on the first layer, a third layer on the second layer, and a fourth layer on the third layer.

[0089] According to another embodiment, the first and third layers optionally contain Nb2O5, and the third and fourth layers contain SiO2.

[0090] According to another embodiment, the device optionally further includes an infrared emitter configured to emit infrared light through the infrared antireflective coating, the ink layer, and the substrate.

[0091] According to an embodiment, an electronic device includes: a display having a display overlay and pixel circuitry configured to display an image passing through the display overlay, wherein the pixel circuitry laterally surrounds a passive island in the display; an infrared transparent and visible-opaque ink layer located on the display overlay and overlapping the passive island; an infrared emitter overlapping the passive island and configured to emit first infrared light through the infrared transparent and visible-opaque ink layer and the display overlay; and an infrared sensor overlapping the passive island and configured to receive second infrared light passing through the display overlay and the infrared transparent and visible-opaque ink layer.

[0092] According to another embodiment, the electronic device optionally further includes: an annular black masking layer interposed between the display overlay and the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer, wherein the annular black masking layer has an opening overlapping the infrared emitter and the infrared sensor; a first Nb2O5 layer on the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer; a first SiO2 layer on the first Nb2O5 layer; a second Nb2O5 layer on the first SiO2 layer; a second SiO2 layer on the second Nb2O5 layer; and a gap separating a first region of the first Nb2O5 layer, the first SiO2 layer, the second Nb2O5 layer, and the second SiO2 layer from a second region of the first Nb2O5 layer, the first SiO2 layer, the second Nb2O5 layer, and the second SiO2 layer, wherein the first region overlaps with the infrared emitter and the second region overlaps with the infrared sensor.

[0093] The foregoing description is illustrative, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments can be implemented individually or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising: an infrared device configured to operate on infrared light; a dielectric cover layer overlapping the infrared device, the dielectric cover layer configured to transmit the infrared light and visible light; an ink layer on the dielectric cover layer and overlapping the infrared device, the ink layer configured to transmit the infrared light and configured to absorb the visible light; and a thin film interference filter (TFIF) on the ink layer and overlapping the infrared device, the ink layer interposed between the TFIF and the dielectric cover layer.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, the electronic device further comprising: an additional ink layer interposed between the ink layer and the TFIF, the additional ink layer configured to transmit the infrared light and configured to absorb the visible light.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the ink layer comprises an acrylic resin and at least one pigment dispersed in the acrylic resin.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the at least one pigment configures the ink layer to exhibit less than 10% transmittance at wavelengths less than or equal to 700 nm and configures the ink layer to exhibit greater than 50% transmittance at wavelengths greater than or equal to 750 nm.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the TFIF is configured to form an anti-reflective coating for the infrared light.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the TFIF comprises a first layer on the ink layer, a second layer on the first layer, a third layer on the second layer, and a fourth layer on the third layer.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the first and third layers comprise Nb2O5, and wherein the second and fourth layers comprise SiO2.

8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the first and third layers comprise a material selected from the group consisting of: Nb2O5, SiO2, TiO2, and Al2O3.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the infrared device comprises an infrared emitter configured to emit the infrared light through the TFIF, the ink layer, and the dielectric cover layer.

10. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the infrared device comprises an infrared sensor configured to receive the infrared light through the TFIF, the ink layer, and the dielectric cover layer.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the infrared device further comprises an infrared emitter configured to emit the infrared light through the TFIF, the ink layer, and the dielectric cover layer.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, the electronic device further comprising: ​ a gap separating a first region of the TFIF from a second region of the TFIF, wherein the first region of the TFIF overlaps the IR sensor and the second region of the TFIF overlaps the IR emitter.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a display including the dielectric cover layer; and pixel circuitry configured to display visible light through the dielectric cover layer, wherein the display includes a passive region laterally surrounded by the pixel circuitry, and wherein the ink layer, the TFIF, and the IR device overlap the passive region.

14. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a ring-shaped black mask layer interposed between the ink layer and the dielectric cover layer, wherein the ring-shaped black mask layer has an opening overlapping the infrared device.

15. An apparatus comprising: a substrate transparent to visible light and infrared light; an ink layer on the substrate and including one or more pigments that configure the ink layer to be transparent to the infrared light and opaque to the visible light; and an infrared anti-reflective coating on the ink layer, the ink layer interposed between the substrate and the infrared anti-reflective coating.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the infrared anti-reflective coating includes: a first layer on the ink layer; a second layer on the first layer; a third layer on the second layer; and a fourth layer on the third layer.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first layer and the third layer comprise Nb2O5, and wherein the third layer and the fourth layer comprise SiO2.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising: an infrared emitter configured to emit the infrared light through the infrared anti-reflective coating, the ink layer, and the substrate.

19. An electronic device comprising: a display having a display cover layer and pixel circuitry configured to display an image through the display cover layer, wherein the pixel circuitry laterally surrounds a passive island in the display; an infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer on the display cover layer and overlapping the passive island; an infrared emitter overlapping the passive island and configured to emit a first infrared light through the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer and the display cover layer; and an infrared sensor overlapping the passive island and configured to receive a second infrared light through the display cover layer and the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, further comprising: ​ a ring shaped black masking layer interposed between the display cover layer and the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer, wherein the ring shaped black masking layer has an opening overlapping the infrared emitter and the infrared sensor; a first layer of Nb2O5 over the infrared transparent and visible opaque ink layer; a first layer of SiO2 over the first layer of Nb2O5; a second layer of Nb2O5 over the first layer of SiO2; a second layer of SiO2 over the second layer of Nb2O5; and a gap separating a first region of the first layer of Nb2O5, the first layer of SiO2, the second layer of Nb2O5, and the second layer of SiO2 from a second region of the first layer of Nb2O5, the first layer of SiO2, the second layer of Nb2O5, and the second layer of SiO2, wherein the first region overlaps the infrared emitter and the second region overlaps the infrared sensor. ​

Images