Substrateless structured optical film and optical stack and display including same

Abstract

An optical stack includes a substrateless radiation-cured optical film having opposing first and second major surfaces; and first and second acrylate layers disposed on, and substantially coextensive with, the respective first and second major surfaces of the optical film. Each of the first and second acrylate layers can have an average thickness in a range of about 10 to 1500 nm. The optical film includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between the first and second major surfaces of the optical film; and a first land region. The optically transmissive regions have an average height H from the first land region to the second major surface along a thickness direction of the optical film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the optical film orthogonal to the thickness direction. H / W is greater than about 1.

Description

[0001] SUBSTRATELESS STRUCTURED OPTICAL FILM AND OPTICAL STACK AND DISPLAY INCLUDING SAME

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present description relates generally to structured optical films.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] A structured layer of an optical film can be made by casting and curing a resin in contact with a structured tool surface and a substrate.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] In some aspects, the present description provides an optical stack including a substrateless radiation-cured optical film having opposing first and second major surfaces; and first and second acrylate layers disposed on, and substantially coextensive with, the respective first and second major surfaces of the optical film. Each of the first and second acrylate layers can have an average thickness in a range of about 10 to 1500 nm. The optical film can include a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between the first and second major surfaces of the optical film; and a first land region. The optically transmissive regions have an average height H from the first land region to the second major surface along a thickness direction of the optical film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the optical film orthogonal to the thickness direction. HAY is greater than about 1. The optical film can be a light control film and / or can be incorporated into a display.

[0008] In some aspects, the present description provides an optical film including a first monolithic radiation cured layer having a structured first major surface and an opposite second major surface, where the structured first major surface includes a plurality of structures having an average height H in a thickness direction of the optical film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the optical film, and where H / W can be greater than about 1 ; a second monolithic radiation cured layer having a structured first major surface and an opposite second major surface, where the structured first major surfaces of the first and second radiation cured layers are disposed on, and substantially conform to, one another; and first and second acrylate layers disposed on, and substantially coextensive with, the second major surface of the respective first and second radiation cured layers. Each of the first and second acrylate layers has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm.

[0009] In some aspects, the present description provides an optical stack including a substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces; and a first acrylate layer disposed on, substantially coextensive with, and fixedly attached to, the first major surface of the light control film. The first acrylate layer can have an average thickness in a range of about 10 to about 1500 nm. The light control film includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and optically absorptive regions disposed between the opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions. The first land region includes the first major surface and extends from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions. The first land region can have an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers.

[0010] In some aspects, the present description provides an optical stack including a self-supporting substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces; and a multilayer substrate, where the light control film is formed directly on, and is substantially coextensive with, the multilayer substrate. The light control film includes a plurality of alternating transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between the opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a land region integral with a plurality of the transmissive regions, where the land region includes the first major surface and extends from the first major surface to the absorptive regions. The land region can have an average thickness in a range of 0.05 to 200 micrometers. The multilayer substrate includes first and second layers substantially coextensive with one another, where the first layer is disposed between the second layer and the light control film. The first layer can be disposed directly on, and fixedly attached to, the first major surface of the light control film, and the second layer can be disposed on, and releasably attached to, the first layer.

[0011] In some aspects, the present description provides a display including an emissive layer; a substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces where the second major surface faces the emissive layer; a first acrylate layer disposed on the second major surface and having an average thickness in a range of about 10 to 1500 nm; a first adhesive layer disposed between the first acrylate layer and the emissive layer and having an average thickness greater than about 15 micrometers; and a room-temperature adhesive layer having an average thickness greater than about 15 micrometers, where the light control film is disposed between the first adhesive layer and the roomtemperature adhesive layer. An average distance between the first major surface and the roomtemperature adhesive layer can be less than about 10 micrometers. An average minimum distance between the optically absorptive regions and the emissive layer is less than about 35 micrometers. The light control film includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions. The first land region includes the first major surface and extends from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions. The first land region can have an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers. The optically transmissive regions have an average height Ht from the first land region to the second major surface along a thickness direction of the light control film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the light control film orthogonal to the thickness direction. Ht / W can be greater than about 1.

[0012] In some aspects, the present description provides a display including an emissive layer; a substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces where the second major surface faces the emissive layer; first and second acrylate layers disposed directly on the respective first and second major surfaces, where each of the first and second acrylate layers has an average thickness in a range of about 10 to 1500 run; a first adhesive layer disposed between the second acrylate layer and the emissive layer; a cover glass; and a second adhesive layer disposed between the cover glass and the first acrylate layer, where the second adhesive layer can be disposed directly on the first acrylate layer. Hie cover glass, the light control film, the first and second acrylate layers, the first and second adhesive layers, and the emissive layer are substantially coextensive with one another. Each of the first and second adhesive layers is a room-temperature adhesive layer. The light control film includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between the first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region integral with a first plurality of tire optically transmissive regions. The first land region includes the first major surface and extends from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions. The first land region can have an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers. The optically transmissive regions having an average height Ht from the first land region to the second major surface along a thickness direction of tire light control film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the light control film orthogonal to the thickness direction. Ht / W can be greater than about 1. These and other aspects will be apparent from the following detailed description. In no event, however, should this brief summary be construed to limit the claimable subject matter.

[0013] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a structured layer of an optical film disposed on another layer, according so some embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical film including optically absorptive regions disposed on a structured major surface of a layer of the optical film, according to some embodiments.

[0016] FIGS. 3-4 are schematic cross-sectional views of optical films and stacks, according to some embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a peel force measurement, according to some embodiments. FIGS. 6-7 are schematic cross-sectional views of displays, according to some embodiments.

[0018] FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a comparative display that may be equivalent to the display of FIG. 7 except that the comparative display includes an additional substrate between a cover glass and an emissive layer of the display.

[0019] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof and in which various embodiments are shown by way of illustration. The drawings are not necessarily to scale. It is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the present description. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0021] -3-

[0022] RECTIFIED SHEET(RULE91J As is known in the art, a structured layer of an optical film may be fabricated via microreplication from a tool by casting and curing a polymerizable resin composition in contact with a structured surface of the tool and with a substrate. Such cast and cure methods are generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,175,030 (Lu et al.) and 5,183,597 (Lu) and in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2012 / 0064296 (Walker, JR. et al.), for example. In such conventional cast and cure methods, the resulting structured layer is fixedly attached to the substrate which is thick enough to be self-supporting in conventional cast and cure processes. Light control films, for example, often include such a structured layer as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,012,567 (Gaides et al.); 8,213,082 (Gaides et al.); 9,791,709 (Ouderkirk et al.); and 11,550,183 (Schmidt et al.) and in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2022 / 0019007 (Schmidt et al.); 2020 / 0341173 (Schmidt et al.); 2020 / 0400865 (Schmidt et al.); and 2023 / 0028958 (Liu et al.), for example.

[0023] In some cases, it is desired to provide an optical film having a structured layer without the substrate. This can be due to the substrate adding undesirable thickness to the optical film and / or due to undesirable optical effects of the substrate (e.g., undesired reflection from an interface with the substrate or undesired effects of any birefringence of the substrate) and / or due to undesirable physical properties of the substrate (e.g., some polymeric substrates can off-gas which forms bubbles and / or pockets when the optical film is laminated to an optically clear adhesive). However, conventional cast and cure processes result in the structured layer being fixedly attached to the substrate since the structured layer is cured in contact with the substrate and bonds to the substrate so that the structures of structured layer can be removed from the tool. Attempting to cast and cure a structured layer on a conventional release liner used as a substrate results in the structured layer not properly being released from the tool upon curing. This is particularly problematic for structures having a large aspect ratio (e.g., a height to width ratio greater than about 1 or 1.2 or 1.6 or 2 or in a range described elsewhere herein). However, it has been found, according to some embodiments, that a structured layer can be formed on a multilayer substrate such that the resulting structured layer at an outer layer of the multilayer substrate has a peel resistance from the remaining layer(s) of the substrate sufficiently high to allow the structured layer to be formed with high replication fidelity while still allowing release from the remaining layer(s) of the substrate. The outer layer of the substrate that is peeled from the remaining layer(s) with the structured layer may be selected to be sufficiently thin (e.g., less than 1.5 micrometers) and / or sufficiently non-birefringent (e.g., a cyclo olefin or isotropic copolyester layer having a birefringence of no more than about 0.006) that the outer layer does not result in substantially objectionable optical artifacts. After forming the structured layer on the substrate, additional layer(s) can be added on the structured layer. The remaining layers of the substrate can be removed and replaced with a different substrate (e.g., a premask providing a lower peel force of the structured layer from the substrate) or the film can be attached to another layer or component via an adhesive layer, for example.

[0024] In some cases, after the structured layer is formed on a first (e.g., multilayer) substrate, a resin coated onto a second (e.g., multilayer) substrate is applied to the structured layer with the resin facing the structures so that the resin substantially fills spaces between the structures and substantially planarizes the structured layer, and then the resin is cured in contact with the structured layer and with the second substrate. Conventionally, the second substrate would have been fixedly attached to the cured resin layer. However, it has been found, according to some embodiments, that the second substrate can be selected such that the cured backfill resin is attached to an outer layer of the second substrate and remaining layer(s) can be peeled from the outer layer.

[0025] The first and / or second substrate can include an acrylate layer disposed on a release surface of a release liner where the acrylate layer has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm (or in a range described elsewhere herein) and where the acrylate layer is fixedly attached to the film formed on the acrylate layer. Examples of multilayer substrates including a separable release liner with an acrylate layer disposed thereon are described in International Pat. Appl. Pub. No. WO 2023 / 111729 (Gotrik et al.), for example. As described in Gotrik et al., the release liner may include a substrate, a first (or planarizing) acylate layer disposed on the substrate (the acylate layer disposed on the release liner may then be referred to as a second acrylate layer or a transferrable acrylate layer), and a release layer disposed on the first acrylate layer, where the release layer may include a metal layer or a doped semiconductor (e.g., aluminum-doped silicon) layer. Suitable materials for the (first and / or second) acrylate layer are described in Gotrik et al. and include tricyclodecane dimethanol diacrylate, for example, which may be applied by ultrasonic atomization and flash evaporation followed by curing via electron beam curing, for example.

[0026] Alternatively, the first and / or second substrate can include multiple layers that are integrally formed with one another (e.g., coextruded) where an (e.g., isotropic) outer layer is releasably attached to remaining layer(s) of the substrate. Extruded multilayer substrates with peelable layer(s) are described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2020 / 0156355 (Johnson et al.) and 2021 / 0053320 (Patzman et al.), for example. As described in Johnson et al., for example, the outer layer of the multilayer substrate that remains fixedly attached to the optical film can be an isotropic (e.g., copolyester) layer that is coextruded with a peel layer, which provides a controlled release of the isotropic layer, and with an orienting layer.

[0027] In some embodiments, the optical film is a light control film that controls transmission versus viewing angle of light transmitted through the film. Such optical films are useful in display applications, for example, as described further elsewhere herein.

[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a structured layer 101 (e.g., a monolithic radiation cured layer) of an optical film (e.g., a light control film) disposed on another layer 331 (e.g., an acrylate layer no thicker than about 1500 nm), according so some embodiments. The layer 101 has a structured first major surface 141 and an opposite second major surface 142. The structured first major surface 141 includes a plurality of structures 143 having an average height H in a thickness direction (z-direction) of the optical film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction (x-direction) of the optical film orthogonal to the thickness direction. In some embodiments, H / W is greater than (or at least) about 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2, 2.5, or 3. H / W may be up to about 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 8, 6, or 5, for example. For example, in some embodiments, H / W is in a range of about 1 to about 50, or about 1.2 to about 40, or about 1.4 to about 30, or about 1.6 to about 20, or about 1.8 to about 10. The structures 143 can extend (e.g., substantially along an entire length or width of the layer) along a second in-plane direction (y- direction) orthogonal to the first in-plane and thickness directions. In-plane directions generally refer to directions in the plane of a layer or film which can be defined by the directions along which the layer or film primarily extend, and which can be understood to be a tangent plane in the case of a curved layer of film. The layer 101 includes a land region 135 integral with the structures 143, where the land region 135 comprises the second major surface 142 and extends from the second major surface 142 to the structures 143. The land region has an average thickness L. In some embodiments, the average thickness L is no more than about 200, 175, 150, 125, 100, 80, 60, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, 2, or 1 micrometers. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, the average thickness L is at least about 0.05, 0.06, 0.08, 0. 1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 micrometers. For example, in some embodiments, the average thickness L is in a range of about 0.05 micrometers to about 200 micrometers, or about 0.06 micrometers to about 175 micrometers, or about 0.08 micrometers to about 150 micrometers, or about 0. 1 micrometers to about 125 micrometers, or about 0.4 micrometers to about 100 micrometers, or about 0.6 micrometers to about 80 micrometers, or about 0.8 micrometers to about 60 micrometers, or about 1 micrometer to about 40 micrometers. In some cases, a thinner land (e.g., no more than about 30, 20, 10, 5, 2, or 1 micrometer) is desired to reduce the overall thickness of the film. In other cases, a thicker land (e.g., at least about 40 or 50 micrometers) is desired for improved replication fidelity with high aspect ratio (e.g., H / W greater than about 2) structures. In some embodiments, the sum of the height H and the land thickness L is Ht and Ht / W is in any of the ranges described for H / W. For example, in some embodiments, Ht / W is in a range of about 1 to about 50, or about 1.2 to about 40, or about 1.4 to about 30, or about 1.6 to about 20, or about 1.8 to about 10.

[0029] The layer 101 can be made in a cast and cure process as described further elsewhere. In some embodiments, the layer 101 is made on a layer 331 that may be disposed on a substrate 110 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2-4) such that the substrate is releasably attached to the layer 331. It has been found that a peel strength of the substrate 110 from the layer 331 can be suitably high (e.g., at least about 30 g / in) that the structures 143 can be formed from a cast and cure process even when the structures have a high aspect ratio (e.g., H / W greater than about 1 or 1.2 or 1.6 or 2) and still be low (e.g., no more than about 600 g / in) enough for the substrate 110 to be removed from the layer 331 without significant damage to the layer 101 or to the layer 331. A light control film, for example, can be made using the layer 101 as described further elsewhere herein. The layer 331 can be a thin acrylate layer or a peelable layer of multilayer substrate, for example.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical film (or optical stack) 202 including optical film 211 which includes optically absorptive regions 120 disposed on a structured major surface 141 of a layer 101 of the optical film 211, according to some embodiments. The optical film or stack 201 may be described as including optical film 211 (e.g., a substrateless light control film) disposed on substrate 110. The optical film 211 includes (e.g., radiation-cured) layer 101 disposed on (e.g., thin acrylate) layer 331 and may be described as including optical film 21 T disposed on layer 331. The layer 331 may be releasably attached to the substrate 110. Layer 331 and substrate 110 may be described as a multilayer substrate 410. The optical film 201 can be made by substantially conformally (e.g., nominally conformal or conformal up to variations small compared to the width W of the structures 143) coating optically absorptive material (e.g., via layer-by-layer deposition) onto the structured first major surface 141 and then removing (e.g., via reactive ion etching) the optically absorptive material from the horizonal (in the plane of the film) surfaces leaving optically absorptive regions on the vertical (thickness or z- direction) surfaces. Such processes and materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,550,183 (Schmidt et al.) and in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2022 / 0019007 (Schmidt et al.); 2020 / 0341173 (Schmidt et al.); 2020 / 0400865 (Schmidt et al.); and 2023 / 0028958 (Liu et al.), for example, and can result in optically absorptive regions having a high aspect ratio. The optically absorptive regions 120 can have an average height Hl in the thickness direction and an average width W1 in the first in-plane direction. In some embodiments, Hl / Wl is greater than (or at least) about 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95 or 100. Hl / Wl can be, for example, up to about 10000, 9000, 8000, 7000, 6000, 5000, 4000, 3000, 2000, 15000, or 1000. For example, Hl / Wl can be in a range of about 10 to about 10000, or about 20 to about 8000, or about 30 to about 7000, or about 50 to about 6000. Hl can be equal to or about equal to H. Optionally, a second layer (see, e.g., layer 102 schematically illustrated in FIG. 3) can be disposed over the first major surface 141 and the optically absorptive material. The substrate 110 can be releasably attached to the major surface 151, or the original releasable substrate 110 may be removed and replaced with a room -temperature adhesive layer fixedly attached to the major surface 151.

[0031] As used herein, a “room-temperature adhesive” is an adhesive adapted to form a bond to a nonadhesive layer at room temperature (about 23 deg. C). A room -temperature adhesive can be a pressure sensitive adhesive and / or an optically clear adhesive, for example. A light (e.g., ultraviolet light) cured adhesive is a room-temperature adhesive when elevated temperature is not needed for the adhesive to cure and form a bond to an adjacent layer. A hot-melt adhesive that needs an elevated temperature to achieve bonding is not a room-temperature adhesive. A thermoplastic polymer layer bonded to adjacent thermoplastic polymer layers as a result of the layers being coextruded at an elevated temperature is not a room -temperature adhesive. A primer that facilitates bonding to an adhesive layer but not to a nonadhesive layer at room temperature is not a room-temperature adhesive. Useful room-temperature adhesives include, for example, optically clear adhesives available from 3M Company (St. Paul, MN) or Norland Products (Jamesburg, NJ). In some embodiments, the adhesive layer 250 (see, e.g., FIG. 6) is a room-temperature adhesive layer and / or an optically clear adhesive layer.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical film (or optical stack) 202, according to some embodiments. The optical film 202 can be made from the optical film 201 by depositing (backfilling) the layer 102 over the layer 101. Each of the layers 101 and 102 can be radiation-cured layers. The optical film or stack 202 can be described as including an optical film 212 (e.g., a substrateless light control film) and additional layers. The optical film 212 can be described as including optical film 212' and layers 331 and 332 disposed on opposite sides of the optical film 212'. An optional multilayer stack 411 (e.g., a thin layer acrylate layer 332 releasably attached to a release liner 112) can be added to the layer 102 (on major surface 152' of the optical film 212') on the opposite side of layer 101. In some embodiments, the multilayer substrate 411 and the resin (e.g., backfill resin) that forms layer 102 are applied over the layer 101 in a same step and then the resin is cured. The layer 112 may be releasably attached to the layer 332 and may be removed and optionally replaced with a different layer 112 having a different peel resistance with layer 332. Optionally, an adhesive layer (e.g., corresponding to adhesive layer 115 schematically illustrated in FIG. 4) can be disposed on major surface 152 between layer 102 and the layer 112.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical film (or optical stack) 203, according to some embodiments. The optical film 203 can be made by filling or substantially filling spaces between the structures 143 with optically absorptive material (e.g., pigment, such as carbon black, and / or dye, dispersed in a binder) to define optically absorptive regions 120 between adjacent optically transparent regions 118. Suitable materials for filing the spaces between the resulting structures 143 are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,012,567 (Gaides et al.); 8,213,082 (Gaides et al.); and 9,791,709 (Ouderkirk et al.), for example. In the illustrated embodiment, an adhesive layer 115 is disposed on a major surface 152 of an optical film 213 (e.g., a substrateless light control film), a (e.g., release) layer 112 is disposed on adhesive layer 115 opposite optical film 213, and a layer 110 is disposed on a major surface 151 of the optical film 213. Optical film 213 includes (e.g., radiation cured) layer 101 disposed between (e.g., thin acylate) layers 331 and 332 and has opposing major surfaces 151 and 152. Optical film 213 includes optical film 213' and layers 331 and 332 disposed on opposite sides of optical film 213'. Optionally, optical film 213 can be considered to include adhesive layer 115 having major surface 152" opposite major surface 151.

[0034] As used herein, a “self-supporting” film is a film that is capable of supporting itself such that it generally maintains its shape without being supported by any layer or substrate that is not part of the film. For example, a film or layer that is sufficiently thick (e.g., greater than about 20 microns) is typically self-supporting, while a thin coating applied onto a substrate is typically not self-supporting since the coating needs the substrate to support the coating.

[0035] As used herein, a “substrateless radiation-cured” film is a film that includes at least one radiation- cured layer and that does not include, and is not directly fixedly attached to, any self-supporting substrate to support the at least one radiation-cured layer. For example, a substrateless radiation-cured film does not include, and is not directly fixedly attached to, a self-supporting primed or unprimed glass or thermoplastic polymer layer (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polycarbonate (PC)) supporting the at least one radiation-cured layer.

[0036] Any of the substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces described herein can be a light control film that includes first and second (typically monolithic) structured layers having respective first and second structured major surfaces disposed on and conforming to one another where the first and second structured layers comprise the respective first and second major surfaces of the light control film and where at least one of the first and second structured layers is a radiation-cured layer. In some embodiments, each of the first and second structured layers is a radiation-cured layer.

[0037] In some embodiments, an optical film includes a first monolithic radiation cured layer 101 having a structured first major surface 141 and an opposite second major surface 142; a second monolithic radiation cured layer 102 having a structured first major surface 161 and an opposite second major surface 162, where the structured first major surfaces of the first and second radiation cured layers are disposed on, and substantially conform to, one another; and first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332 disposed on, and substantially coextensive with, the second major surface of the respective first and second radiation cured layers 101 and 102. The first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332 are typically disposed directly on the second major surface of the respective first and second radiation cured layers 101 and 102. In some embodiments, each of the first and second acrylate layers have an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, each of the first and second acrylate layers has an average thickness of at least about 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, or 300 nm. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, each of the first and second acrylate layers has an average thickness of no more than about 1400, 1200, 1000, 900, 800, 700, 600, or 500 nm. For example, each of the first and second acrylate layers can have an average thickness of about 20 nm to about 1200 nm, or about 30 nm to about 1000 nm, or about 50 nm to about 800 nm, or about 75 nm to about 600 nm. In some embodiments, the structured first major surface 141 includes a plurality of structures 143 having an average height H in a thickness direction (z -direction) of the optical film and an average width W in an in-plane direction (x-direction) of the optical film. In some embodiments, H / W greater than about 1 or H / W can be in any range described elsewhere herein. The first and second monolithic radiation cured layers 101 and 102 may each be acrylate layers and may be substantially index matched (e.g., refractive indices within about 0.02 for at least one wavelength in a range of 400 nm to 700 nm) to the respective first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332 and may optionally be substantially index matched to one another.

[0038] Layers or elements can be described as substantially coextensive with each other if at least about 60% by area of each layer or element is coextensive with at least about 60% by area of each other layer or element. Here, area refers to the area of a major surface of the layer or element. In some embodiments, for layers or elements described as substantially coextensive, at least about 70%, or at least about 80%, or at least about 90%, or at least about 95% by area of each layer or element is coextensive with at least about 70%, or at least about 80%, or at least about 90%, or at least about 95% by area of each other layer or element.

[0039] In some embodiments, the optical film further includes a (first) substrate 110, with the first acrylate layer 331 disposed (e.g., directly) on, substantially coextensive with, and releasably attached to, the substrate 110. In some embodiments, the optical film further includes a (second) substrate 112, with the second acrylate layer 332 disposed (e.g., directly) on, substantially coextensive with, and releasably attached to, the substrate 112.

[0040] In some embodiments, the optical film further includes a plurality of optically absorptive regions 120 disposed between the first and second monolithic radiation cured layers 101 and 102, where the optically absorptive regions 120 have an average height Hl in the thickness direction (z -direction) and an average width W1 in the first in-plane direction (x-direction). In some embodiments, Hl AVI is greater than about 10 or H1 V1 can be in any range described elsewhere herein. The optically absorptive regions 120 may be sufficiently thin (e.g., H1 V1 at least about 10) that the first major surfaces of the layers 101 and 102 may be considered to substantially conform to one another even when the optically absorptive regions 120 are disposed between the first major surfaces.

[0041] In some embodiments, for each of the first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332, the acrylate layer has a major surface (e.g., 151, 152) that faces away from the first and second monolithic radiation cured layers 101 and 102 and that is not fixedly attached to any other layer. In some embodiments, for each of the first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332, the acrylate layer has a major surface that faces away from the first and second monolithic radiation cured layers and that is releasably attached to a release layer (e.g., 110, 112) substantially coextensive with the acrylate layer or fixedly attached to an adhesive layer (e.g., 115 in FIG. 4, or 250 or 260 in FIG. 6) substantially coextensive with the acrylate layer. In some embodiments, for at least one of the first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332, the major surface of the acrylate layer is releasably attached to the release layer. In some embodiments, for at least one of the first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332, the major surface of the acrylate layer is fixedly attached to the adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the adhesive layer is a room-temperature adhesive layer directly attached to the major surface of the acrylate layer.

[0042] In some embodiments, the adhesive layer is a room-temperature adhesive layer directly attached to a primer layer 492 (see, e.g., FIG. 5) that is directly attached to the major surface of the acrylate layer. In some embodiments, the primer layer has an average thickness less than about 3, 2, 1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.5, or 0.4 micrometers. The primer layer can, for example, be at least 10, 20, 30, 50, 75, or 100 nm thick.

[0043] In some embodiments, after one of the layers 110 or 112 is removed, and adhesive layer (e.g., layer 115) is applied to the exposed surface, the optical film is attached to an article (e.g., a display component) via the adhesive layer, and then the other of the layers 110 or 112 is removed. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the adhesive layer is applied to the article, one of the layers 110 or 112 is removed and the exposed surface is attached to the adhesive layer on the article, then the other of the layers 110 or 112 is removed.

[0044] In some embodiments, an optical stack 201, 202, 203 includes a substrateless radiation-cured light control film 211', 212', 213' having opposing first and second major surfaces 151' and 152'; and a first acrylate layer 331 disposed (e.g., directly) on, substantially coextensive with, and fixedly attached to, the first maj or surface 151' of the light control film . The light control film include s a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and optically absorptive regions 118 and 120 disposed between the opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region 135 integral with a first plurality of the transmissive regions (e.g., the optically transmissive regions comprised by first layer 101 (see, e.g., FIG. 3) or all of the optically transmissive regions (see, e.g., FIG. 4)). The first land region 135 comprises the first major surface and extends from the first major surface to the absorptive regions 120. The first land region can have an average thickness L in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers or the average thickness L can be in any range described elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the first acrylate layer has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm or the average thickness can be in any range described elsewhere herein for an acrylate layer. In some embodiments, the light control film is a self-supporting film.

[0045] In some embodiments, the first acrylate layer 331 has a major surface that faces away from the light control film and that is not fixedly attached to any other layer. In some other embodiments, the first acrylate layer 331 has a major surface that faces away from the light control film and that is directly fixedly attached to a room-temperature adhesive layer substantially coextensive with the first acrylate layer 331.

[0046] In some embodiments, the optical stack 201, 202, 203 further includes a release layer (e.g., layer 110 can be a release layer), where the first acrylate layer 331 is disposed between the light control film 211', 212', 213' and the release layer, and where the release layer is disposed directly on, is substantially coextensive with, and is releasably attached to, the first acrylate layer.

[0047] In some embodiments, the optical stack includes a second land region 235 integral with a second plurality of the transmissive regions 118 (e.g., the optically transmissive regions comprised by first layer 101 (see, e.g., FIG. 3)). The second land region 235 comprises the second major surface 152' and extends from the second major surface 152' to the absorptive regions 120. In some embodiments, the second land region 235 has an average thickness less than, or less than about 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, or 0.2 times, the average thickness of the first land region 135.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first land region 135 is integral with each transmissive region 118 of the plurality of alternating transmissive and absorptive regions 118 and 120 (see, e.g., FIG. 4).

[0049] In some embodiments, the optical stack further includes a second acrylate layer 332 disposed directly on, substantially coextensive with, and fixedly attached to, the second major surface 152' of the light control film. In some embodiments, the second acrylate layer 332 has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm or the average thickness can be in any range described elsewhere herein for an acrylate layer.

[0050] In some embodiments, an optical stack 201, 202, 203 includes a (e.g., self-supporting) substrateless radiation-cured light control film 211', 212', 213' having opposing first and second major surfaces 151' and 152'; and a multilayer substrate 410. The light control film 211', 212', 213' includes a plurality of alternating transmissive and absorptive regions 118 and 120 disposed between the opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a land region 135 integral with a plurality of the transmissive regions 118. The land region 135 comprises the first major surface 15 T and extends from the first major surface to the absorptive regions 120. The land region 135 can have an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 micrometers to 200 micrometers or the average thickness can be in any range described elsewhere herein. The light control film is formed directly on, and is substantially coextensive with, the multilayer substrate 410. The multilayer substrate includes first and second 331 and 110 layers substantially coextensive with one another, where the first layer 331 is disposed between the second layer 110 and the light control film, and the first layer 331 is disposed directly on, and fixedly attached to, the first major surface 15 T of the light control film, and the second layer 110 is disposed on, and releasably attached to, the first layer 331.

[0051] In some embodiments, the multilayer substrate is integrally formed. As used herein, a first element “integrally formed” with a second element means that the first and second elements are manufactured together rather than manufactured separately and then subsequently joined. Integrally formed includes manufacturing a first element followed by manufacturing the second element on the first element. A substrate including a plurality of layers is integrally formed if the layers are manufactured together (e.g., combined as melt streams and then cast onto a chill roll to form a cast film having each of the layers) rather than manufactured separately and then subsequently joined (e.g., via an adhesive layer). For example, in some embodiments, the first and second layers 331 and 110 are coextruded and optionally co-stretched layers as generally described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. Nos. 2020 / 0156355 (Johnson et al.), for example. At least the first layer 331 may be substantially optically isotropic (e.g., a maximum birefringence of no more than about 0.01 for at least one wavelength in a range of 400 nm to 700 nm). The first layer 331 may be a cyclo olefin polymer (COP) layer, for example. The first layer 331 can have a thickness of about 5 to 15 micrometers, for example, when the first and second layers 331 and 110 are coextruded layers, for example.

[0052] In some embodiments, the first layer 331 is formed on the second layer 110 in a vapor deposition process. For example, (e.g., acrylate) monomer can be flash evaporated, vapor deposited, and then cured via applying actinic radiation. Such deposition processes can produce thin layers (e.g., less than about 1500 nm) and are described in in International Pat. Appl. Pub. No. WO 2023 / 111729 (Gotrik et al.), for example.

[0053] In some embodiments, the first layer 331 is an acrylate layer and the second layer 110 is a release liner, where the acrylate layer 331 is disposed on a release surface of the release liner and has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm or in another thickness range described elsewhere herein for acrylate layers. The acrylate layer 331 (or any of the acrylate layers described herein) may be a crosslinked acrylate layer.

[0054] In some embodiments, the optical stack further includes an acrylate layer 332 disposed (e.g., directly) on, substantially coextensive with, and fixedly attached to, the second major surface 152' of the light control film. The acrylate layer 332 can have an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm or in another thickness range described elsewhere herein for acrylate layers.

[0055] In some embodiments, the optical film 211, 212, 213 has a total thickness of less than about 300, 275, 250, 225, or 215 micrometers. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, the total thickness is at least 90, 100, 125, 150, or 160 micrometers. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, the total thickness is less than about 3, 2.75, 2.5, 2.25, 2, 1.75, or 1.5 times the height Hl of the optically absorptive regions 120.

[0056] In some embodiments, H is at least about 30, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, or 70 micrometers. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, H is no more than about 400, 300, 250, 200, 175, 150, 140, or 130 micrometers. For example, in some embodiments, H is in a range of about 30 to 300 micrometers, or about 40 to 200 micrometers, or about 50 to 175 micrometers. In some embodiments, Hl and / or Ht (see, e.g., FIGS. 6-8) are in any of these ranges.

[0057] An interface is generally present between the layer 331 and the layer 101. For example, the layer 331 and the layer 101 can have different (e.g., acrylate) compositions so that a sharp interface is present between the layers. Similarly, an interface is generally present between the layer 332 and the layer 102. In some embodiments, the interface between the layers 101 and 331 is substantially planar. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, the interface between the layers 102 and 332 is substantially planar. A substantially planar interface may be nominally planar but may include some degree of surface roughness due to ordinary manufacturing variations, for example, or may be planar up to deviations small (e.g., less than 5%) compared to a width of the film, or small (e.g., less than 15%) compared to a thickness of the film, for example. In some embodiments, a substantially planar interface is optically smooth (i.e., any surface roughness is small compared to visible light wavelengths and so does not significantly redirect light). In some embodiments, a substantially planar interface has a surface roughness Ra of less than about 200, 150, 100, or 50 nm, for example.

[0058] The layers 110 and / or 112 may be releasably attached to the respective layers 331 and / or 332 with suitable peel forces.

[0059] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a peel force (F) measurement, according to some embodiments. In FIG. 5, a layer 310 (e.g., a release layer) is being peeled at a 180 degree angle from an optical film 315 that is attached to a plate 705 via a double-sided tape 703. Unless indicated otherwise, peel force F refers to the peel force per unit length of film orthogonal to the peel direction determined in a 180 degree peel test. The peel test is typically carried out at a peel speed of about 90 in / min, though other peel speeds may be used.

[0060] In some embodiments, the release layer (e.g., 310 or 110 or 112) has a 180 degree peel force F at from the optical film (e.g., 315 or 211, 212, 213) that is in a range of about 2 g / in to about 600 g / in. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, the peel force F is at least about 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, or 50 g / in. In some such embodiments, or in other embodiments, the peel force F is no more than about 500, 400, 300, or 250 g / in. The 180 degree peel force F can be determined at a peel speed of about 90 in / min. The peel force F may be sufficiently high (e.g., at least about 30 g / in or at least about 50 g / in) for replication fidelity, or the original releasable layer that the structured layer (e.g., 101) is formed on may be removed and replaced with a release liner having a lower peel force (e.g., about 2 to 20 g / in) for ease of subsequent manufacturing steps, for example.

[0061] Any of the optical films of the present description can be incorporated into a display (e.g., after removing any releasably attached layers). In some embodiments, the optical film is a light control film. In some embodiments, the light control film is included in an automotive display. For example, the light control film can be disposed (e.g., with structures 143 extending primarily along a horizontal direction) in an automotive display such that a driver and / or a passenger can view the display through the light control film but such that light (e.g., sunlight) reflected from the display is blocked by the light control film so that it does not reach the driver and / or passenger. The display can be an emissive display (e.g., an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display) including an emissive layer and the light control film may be positioned with the light absorbing regions sufficiently close (e.g., within about 35 micrometers) to the emissive layer to prevent objectionable optical ghosting that might otherwise occur due to reflections at interfaces with the optically absorptive regions.

[0062] FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a display 500, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the display 500 includes an emissive layer 400; and the optical film or stack 314, 314' disposed on the emissive layer such that an average minimum distance Z1 between the optically absorptive regions and the emissive layer (unweighted mean over the absorptive regions of the minimum distance between the absorptive region and the emissive layer) is less than about 35 micrometers. The optical film or stack 314' (e.g., corresponding to any of 211', 212', 213') includes the optical film 314 (e.g., corresponding to any of 211, 212, 213) which can be a substrateless radiation-cured light control film. The average minimum distance can be less than about 34, 33, 32, 31, 30, 29, or 28 micrometers. The average minimum distance can be at least about 15 or 20 micrometers, for example.

[0063] In some embodiments, the second major surface 152' of the light control film 314' (or the major surface 152 of the optical film 314) faces the emissive layer 400. In some embodiments, the display 500 further includes an (e.g., room-temperature) adhesive layer 250 disposed between the second major surface 152' of the light control film 314' (or the major surface 152 of the optical film 314) and the emissive layer 400. In some embodiments, the adhesive layer 250 has an average thickness greater than about 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, or 23 micrometers.

[0064] In some embodiments, a display 500 includes an emissive layer 400; a substrateless radiation- cured light control film (314' or 211', 212', 213') having opposing first and second major surfaces 151' and 152', where the second major surface 152' faces the emissive layer 400; a first acrylate layer 332 disposed on the second major surface 152' and having an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm (or in another range described elsewhere herein); a first adhesive layer 250 disposed between the acrylate layer 332 and the emissive layer 400 and having an average thickness greater than about 15 micrometers (or in another range described elsewhere herein); and a room-temperature adhesive layer 260 having an average thickness greater than about 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, or 23 micrometers, where the light control film is disposed between the first adhesive layer 250 and the roomtemperature adhesive layer 260, and where an average distance between the first major surface and the room-temperature adhesive layer is less than about 10 micrometers. In some embodiments, the average distance between the first major surface and the room-temperature adhesive layer is less than about 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0.5 micrometers. In some embodiments, the adhesive layer 250 is a roomtemperature adhesive layer and / or an optically clear adhesive layer.

[0065] The light control film includes a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions 118 and 120 disposed between opposing first and second major surfaces 15 T and 152' of the light control film 314'; and a first land region 135 integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions. The first land region 135 comprises the first major surface 15 T and extends from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions 120. The first land region 135 can have an average thickness L (see, e.g., FIG. 1) in a range of about 0.05 micrometers to about 200 micrometers (or the average thickness can be in another range described elsewhere herein). The optically transmissive regions have an average height Ht from the first land region 135 to the second major surface 152' along a thickness direction (z-direction) of the light control film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the light control film orthogonal to the thickness direction. Ht may be equal to the height H (see, e.g., FIG. 4) or Ht may be equal to the height H plus the thickness of any land region 235 (see, e.g., FIG. 3), for example. The thickness of the land region 235 may be small compared to H so that Ht is about equal to H. Ht can be in any range described elsewhere herein for H. Ht / W can be greater than about 1 or can be in another range described elsewhere herein for Ht / W or for H / W. For example, Ht / W maybe greater than about 2. In some embodiments, an average minimum distance Z1 between the optically absorptive regions 120 and the emissive layer 400 is less than about 35 micrometers or Z1 can be in any range described elsewhere herein.

[0066] In some embodiments, the display 500 further include a second acrylate layer 331 disposed between the first major surface 151' and the room-temperature adhesive layer 260. The second acrylate layer 331 can have an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm or can be in any other range described elsewhere herein for acrylate layers. The light control film 314 includes the light control film 314' and the first and second acrylate layers 332 and 331. The light control film 314 has opposing first and second major surfaces 151 and 152.

[0067] In some embodiments, the room-temperature adhesive layer 260 is substantially coextensive with the first major surface 151' or 151. In some embodiments, the first adhesive layer 250 is substantially coextensive with the second major surface 152' or 152. In some embodiments, the first adhesive layer 250, the room temperature adhesive layer 260 and the light control film 314' or 314 are substantially coextensive with one another. In some embodiments, the first adhesive layer 250, the room temperature adhesive layer 260, the first and second acrylate layers 332 and 331, and the light control film 314' are substantially coextensive with one another.

[0068] In some embodiments, the first major surface 151 is attached (e.g., directly attached or indirectly attached via a primer layer disposed on first major surface 151) to a room-temperature adhesive layer 260 having an average thickness greater than about 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, or 23 micrometers and being substantially coextensive with the first major surface 151. The average thickness of the adhesive layer 260 can be up to about 100, 75, 50, 40, 35, 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, or 25 micrometers, for example. In some embodiments, an average distance between the first major surface 151 and the roomtemperature adhesive layer 260 is less than about 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, or 0.5 micrometers (e.g., the average distance can be zero when no primer layer is included or can be the thickness of the primer layer when the primer layer is included). The room -temperature adhesive layer 260 can be an optically clear adhesive layer. An element 275 can be disposed on the room-temperature adhesive layer. Element 275 may be or include one or more of a cover glass, a circular polarizer, or a touch sensor (e.g., element 275 can correspond to the stack of elements 270, 261 and 280 schematically illustrated in FIG. 7). In some embodiments, the display 500 further includes a circular polarizer 275 attached to the room -temperature adhesive layer 260. An optically clear adhesive layer can have a luminous transmittance of greater than 80, 85, or 90% and an optical haze of less than 10, 5 or 3%. Luminous transmittance and optical haze can be determined according to ASTM DI 003 -21, for example.

[0069] FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a display 501, according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, display 501 includes an emissive layer 400; a substrateless radiation-cured light control film (314' or 211', 212', 213') having opposing first and second major surfaces 151' and 152' where the second major surface 152' faces the emissive layer 400; first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332 disposed directly on the respective first and second major surfaces 151' and 152', where each of the first and second acrylate layers 331 and 332 has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm or another range described elsewhere herein; a first adhesive layer 250 disposed between the second acrylate layer 332 and the emissive layer 400; a cover glass 270; and a second adhesive layer 260 disposed between the cover glass 270 and the first acrylate layer 331, where the second adhesive layer 260 is disposed directly on the first acrylate layer 331. In some embodiments, the first adhesive layer 250 is disposed directly on the second acrylate layer 332. The cover glass, the light control film, the first and second adhesive layers, and the emissive layer can be substantially coextensive with one another. Each of the first and second adhesive layers 250 and 260 can be a room-temperature adhesive layer. The light control film can include a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions 118 and 120 disposed between the first and second major surfaces 151' and 152' of the light control film 314'; and a first land region 135 integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions 118, where the first land region 135 comprises the first major surface 151' and extends from the first major surface 151' to the optically absorptive regions 120. The first land region 135 can have an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers (or the average thickness can be in another range described elsewhere herein). The optically transmissive regions 118 have an average height Ht from the first land region 135 to the second major surface 152' along a thickness direction (z-direction) of the light control film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction (x-direction) of the light control film orthogonal to the thickness direction. Ht / W can be greater than about 1 or can be in another range described elsewhere herein for Ht / W or for H / W.

[0070] In some embodiments, the display 501 further includes a circular polarizer 276 disposed between the first adhesive layer 250 and the emissive layer 400. In some embodiments, a third adhesive layer 252 is disposed between, and bonds together, the circular polarizer 276 and a display panel 401 comprising the emissive layer 400.

[0071] In some embodiments, an average minimum distance (see, e.g., Z1 schematically illustrated in FIG. 6) between the optically absorptive regions 120 and the emissive layer 400 is less than about 35 micrometers or can be in a range described elsewhere herein. The circular polarizer 276 and adhesive layer 252 can optionally be omitted (or disposed above the light control film) to reduce the average minimum distance.

[0072] An optional element 280 can be disposed on adhesive layer 260 with an optional adhesive layer 261 disposed between the optional element 280 and the cover glass 270. In some embodiments, the element 280 and adhesive layer 261 are omitted so that the cover glass 270 directly contacts the adhesive layer 260. The element 280 can be a touch panel or a circular polarizer (e.g., if circular polarizer 276 is omitted). In some embodiments, the display 501 further includes a touch panel 280 between the cover glass 270 and the second adhesive layer 260. In some embodiments, the display 501 further includes a third adhesive layer 261 (which may alternatively be referred to as a fourth adhesive layer) disposed between, and bonding together, the cover glass 270 and the touch panel 280. In some embodiments, the second adhesive layer 260 is disposed directly on the cover glass 270. In some embodiments, the display 501 further includes a circular polarizer (e.g., element 280 can be a circular polarizer) disposed between the cover glass 270 and the light control film 314.

[0073] In some embodiments, there is no self-supporting substrate disposed between the cover glass 270 and the light control film 314 or 314'. In some embodiments, there is no self-supporting substrate disposed between the light control film 314 or 314' and the first adhesive layer 250. By eliminating self- supporting substrates adjacent to the light control film 314 or 314', the number of optical interfaces is reduced and this can result in reduced overall reflectance from the display 501. Antireflective coatings or layers can be included on the cover glass to further reduce reflection. In some embodiments, the cover glass 270 includes an antireflective surface 271 facing away from the light control film 314. The antireflective surface 271 can be a surface including nanostructures for reducing reflection and / or can include an antireflective coating which may include one or more layers. Antireflective nanostructures and (e.g., multilayer) antireflective coatings are known in the art. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a display 501' which can be equivalent to display 501, according to some embodiments, except that display 501' includes a substrate 510 disposed between the second adhesive layer 260 and the first major surface 151 of the light control film 314. For the display 501', the light control film 314' may be formed directly on a multilayer substrate including layer 331 disposed on substrate 510 in a cast and cure process, for example. The display 501 can have a lower luminous reflectance of ambient light than that of the display 501' because of reflection from the substrate 510. The luminous reflectance is the reflectance of CIE illuminant D65 light weighted by the CIE 1931 tristimulus y function. Luminous reflectance can be determined according to the ASTM E308- 22 test standard, for example.

[0074] In some embodiments, for an unpolarized incident light 600 substantially normally incident (e.g., within about 20, 15, 10, or 8 degrees of normal) on a cover glass side of the display 501, 501' (e.g., incident on surface 271 along the +z direction), the display 501 has a luminous reflectance less than that of a comparative display 501' by at least 0.3%, or 0.35%, or 0.38%, or 0.4% (e.g., if R1 and Rl' are the luminous reflectances of the respective displays 501 and 501' expressed as a percent, Rl' - Rl can be at least 0.3%), where the comparative display 501' is equivalent to the display 501 except that the comparative display 501' includes a biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate substrate 510 disposed between the second adhesive layer 260 and the first acrylate layer 331. In other words, the comparative display 501' has a same construction as the display 501 except that the comparative display 501' includes a biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate substrate 510 disposed between the second adhesive layer 260 and the first acrylate layer 331. The difference in luminous reflectances can be up to about 0.6% or 0.5%, for example. In some embodiments, for an unpolarized incident light 600 substantially normally incident on a cover glass side of the display 501, 501', the display 501 has a luminous reflectance less than that of a comparative display 501' by at least 0.08%, or 0.09%, or 0.1%, or 0. 11%, where the comparative display 501' is equivalent to the display 501 except that the comparative display 501' includes a polycarbonate substrate 510 disposed between the second adhesive layer 260 and the first acrylate layer 331. The difference in luminous reflectances can be up to about 0.2% or 0.15%, for example.

[0075] EXAMPLES

[0076] First and second acrylate coated release films were prepared as generally described in International Pat. Appl. Pub. No. WO 2023 / 111729 (Gotrik et al.). The acrylate layers disposed on the release surface of the films had a thickness of about 300 nm. A release treated polymer tooling film was prepared as generally described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2010 / 0308497 (David). A structured film with optically absorptive layers disposed on substantially vertical surfaces of structures of the structured film as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 was made by replicating an acrylate resin in a cast and cure process between the polymer tooling film and the first acrylate coated release film utilizing processes generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,885,989 (Schmidt et al.). The optically absorptive layers had a thickness W1 of about 1000 nm. Acrylate resin was coated between the structures of the structured fdm and the acrylate layer of the second acrylate coated release film to backfill spaces between the structures of the structured film and then the acrylate resin was cured by applying ultraviolet (UV) radiation to form a light control film generally as schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. The structures had a height H of about 90 micrometers and a width W of about 30. 4 micrometers and were arranged at a pitch of about 60.8 micrometers.

[0077] Another light control film was made on an acylate coated release film as generally as described above but using light absorbing regions made as generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,012,567 (Gaides et al.). The release layer of the second acrylate coated release film was removed and replaced with an adhesive coated release liner to form an optical stack as schematically illustrated in FIG. 4. The transparent structures had a height of about 90 micrometers and a width of about 27.5 micrometers and were arranged at a pitch of about 38.5 micrometers.

[0078] Uuminous reflectance was measured for test samples to show the reduction in reflectance arising from eliminating the substrate of the light control film. A light control film as generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,012,567 (Gaides et al.) was disposed between glass and black MAKROUON (black polycarbonate available from Covestro AG, Ueverkusen, Germany) layers with the land and substrate side of the light control film facing the glass layer. CEF3104 adhesive (50 micrometer thick acrylic adhesive available from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN) was used to bond the light control film to the glass layer and CEF3502 adhesive 100 micrometer thick acrylic adhesive available from 3M Company, St. Paul, MN) was used to bond the light control film to the black MAKROLON layer. Comparative light control films including a biaxially oriented PET (BoPET) substrate or a polycarbonate (PC) substrate and a corresponding substrateless light control film made as generally described herein (see, e.g., FIG. 4 and discussion thereof), but with the acrylate layers 331 and 332 omitted as described in co-pending U.S. Application No. 63 / 556970 filed February 23, 2024, were tested using a Minolta CM-3600d spectrophotometer facing the glass layer and using an illuminant D65 and a 2 degree observer. Results for the luminous reflectance were averaged over 5 measurements and are provided in the following table. Results are expected to be substantially similar when acrylate layers 331 and 332 substantially index matched to the radiation-cured layer of the light control film are included. Terms such as “about” will be understood in the context in which they are used and described in the present description by one of ordinary skill in the art. If the use of “about” as applied to quantities expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties is not otherwise clear to one of ordinary skill in the art in the context in which it is used and described in the present description, “about” will be understood to mean within 10 percent of the specified value. A quantity given as about a specified value can be precisely the specified value. For example, if it is not otherwise clear to one of ordinary skill in the art in the context in which it is used and described in the present description, a quantity having a value of about 1, means that the quantity has a value between 0.9 and 1. 1, and that the value could be 1.

[0079] Terms such as “substantially” will be understood in the context in which they are used and described in the present description by one of ordinary skill in the art. If the use of “substantially” with reference to a property or characteristic is not otherwise clear to one of ordinary skill in the art in the context in which it is used and described in the present description and when it would be clear to one of ordinary skill in the art what is meant by an opposite of that property or characteristic, the term “substantially” will be understood to mean that the property or characteristic is exhibited to a greater extent than the opposite of that property or characteristic is exhibited.

[0080] All references, patents, and patent applications referenced in the foregoing are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety in a consistent manner. In the event of inconsistencies or contradictions between portions of the incorporated references and this application, the information in the preceding description shall control.

[0081] Descriptions for elements in figures should be understood to apply equally to corresponding elements in other figures, unless indicated otherwise. Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and / or equivalent implementations can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations, or variations, or combinations of the specific embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that this disclosure be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An optical film comprising: a first monolithic radiation cured layer having a structured first major surface and an opposite second major surface, the structured first major surface comprising a plurality of structures having an average height H in a thickness direction of the optical film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the optical film, H / W greater than about 1 ; a second monolithic radiation cured layer having a structured first major surface and an opposite second major surface, the structured first major surfaces of the first and second radiation cured layers disposed on, and substantially conforming to, one another; and first and second acrylate layers disposed on, and substantially coextensive with, the second major surface of the respective first and second radiation cured layers, wherein each of the first and second acrylate layers has an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm.

2. The optical film of claim 1 further comprising a substrate, the first acrylate layer disposed on, substantially coextensive with, and releasably attached to, the substrate.

3. The optical film of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of optically absorptive regions disposed between the first and second monolithic radiation cured layers, the optically absorptive regions having an average height Hl in the thickness direction and an average width W1 in the first in-plane direction, Hl / Wl greater than about 10.

4. The optical film of claim 1, wherein for each of the first and second acrylate layers, the acrylate layer has a major surface that faces away from the first and second monolithic radiation cured layers and that is releasably attached to a release layer substantially coextensive with the acrylate layer or fixedly attached to an adhesive layer substantially coextensive with the acrylate layer.

5. A display comprising: an emissive layer; and the optical film of any one of claims 1 to 4 disposed on the emissive layer such that an average minimum distance between the optically absorptive regions and the emissive layer is less than about 35 micrometers.

6. An optical stack comprising: a substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces, the light control film comprising:a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and optically absorptive regions disposed between the opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions, the first land region comprising the first major surface and extending from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions, the first land region having an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers; and a first acrylate layer disposed on, substantially coextensive with, and fixedly attached to, the first major surface of the light control film, the first acrylate layer having an average thickness in a range of about 10 to about 1500 nm.

7. The optical stack of claim 6, wherein the first acrylate layer has a major surface that faces away from the light control film and that is not fixedly attached to any other layer.

8. The optical stack of claim 6 further comprising a second land region integral with a second plurality of the optically transmissive regions, the second land region comprising the second major surface and extending from the second major surface to the optically absorptive regions, the second land region having an average thickness less than the average thickness of the first land region.

9. The optical stack of claim 6, wherein the first land region is integral with each transmissive region of the plurality of alternating transmissive and absorptive regions.

10. An optical stack comprising: a self-supporting substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces, the light control film comprising: a plurality of alternating transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between the opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a land region integral with a plurality of the optically transmissive regions, the land region comprising the first major surface and extending from the first major surface to the absorptive regions, the land region having an average thickness in a range of 0.05 to 200 micrometers; and a multilayer substrate, the light control film formed directly on, and being substantially coextensive with, the multilayer substrate, the multilayer substrate comprising first and second layers substantially coextensive with one another, the first layer disposed between the second layer and the light control film, the first layer disposed directly on, and fixedly attached to, the first major surface of the light control film, the second layer disposed on, and releasably attached to, the first layer.

11. The optical stack of claim 10, wherein the multilayer substrate is integrally formed.

12. The optical stack of claim 10, wherein the first layer is an acrylate layer and the second layer is a release liner, the acrylate layer disposed on a release surface of the release liner and having an average thickness in a range of about 10 nm to about 1500 nm.

13. A display comprising: an emissive layer; a substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces, the second major surface facing the emissive layer, the light control film comprising: a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between opposing first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions, the first land region comprising the first major surface and extending from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions, the first land region having an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to 200 micrometers, the optically transmissive regions having an average height Ht from the first land region to the second major surface along a thickness direction of the light control film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the light control film orthogonal to the thickness direction, Ht / W greater than about 1 ; a first acrylate layer disposed on the second major surface and having an average thickness in a range of about 10 to 1500 nm; a first adhesive layer disposed between the first acrylate layer and the emissive layer and having an average thickness greater than about 15 micrometers; and a room-temperature adhesive layer having an average thickness greater than about 15 micrometers, the light control film disposed between the first adhesive layer and the room-temperature adhesive layer, an average distance between the first major surface and the room-temperature adhesive layer being less than about 10 micrometers, wherein an average minimum distance between the optically absorptive regions and the emissive layer is less than about 35 micrometers.

14. A display comprising: an emissive layer; a substrateless radiation-cured light control film having opposing first and second major surfaces, the second major surface facing the emissive layer, the light control film comprising: a plurality of alternating optically transmissive and absorptive regions disposed between the first and second major surfaces of the light control film; and a first land region integral with a first plurality of the optically transmissive regions, the first land region comprising the first major surface and extending from the first major surface to the optically absorptive regions, the first land region having an average thickness in a range of about 0.05 to200 micrometers, the optically transmissive regions having an average height Ht from the first land region to the second major surface along a thickness direction of the light control film and an average width W in a first in-plane direction of the light control film orthogonal to the thickness direction, Ht / W greater than about 1 ; first and second acrylate layers disposed directly on the respective first and second major surfaces, each of the first and second acrylate layers having an average thickness in a range of about 10 to 1500 nm; a first adhesive layer disposed between the second acrylate layer and the emissive layer; a cover glass; and a second adhesive layer disposed between the cover glass and the first acrylate layer, the second adhesive layer disposed directly on the first acrylate layer; wherein the cover glass, the light control film, the first and second acrylate layers, the first and second adhesive layers, and the emissive layer are substantially coextensive with one another; and wherein each of the first and second adhesive layers is a room-temperature adhesive layer.

15. The display of claim 14, wherein for an unpolarized incident light substantially normally incident on a cover glass side of the display, the display has a luminous reflectance less than that of a comparative display by at least 0.3%, the comparative display equivalent to the display except that the comparative display includes a biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate substrate disposed between the second adhesive layer and the first acrylate layer.

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