Optical Stack Housing for Metallic Appearance with RF/IR Transmission
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic device housings often lack the ability to provide a metallic appearance while being transmissive to radio waves and infrared wavelengths, which are essential for functions like 5G communication and infrared sensing.
Innovation Solution
A housing design incorporating an optical film bonded to a rigid optically transparent substrate, featuring a multilayer structure with alternating polymeric layers that provide high reflectance in the visible range, high transmittance in the near-infrared range, and a sharp band edge, allowing for a metallic appearance while maintaining transparency to radio waves and infrared wavelengths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a metallic coating is applied to provide a metallic appearance, then the aesthetic appearance is improved, but the transmittance of radio waves and infrared wavelengths deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into multiple functional layers: a metallic coating layer for aesthetic appearance, an optical film layer with specific optical properties, and a substrate layer for structural support. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function without interfering with the transmittance of radio waves and infrared wavelengths.
Solution Approach 2:
An optical film serves as an intermediary layer between the metallic coating and the external environment. This optical film has high transmittance in the visible range and high reflectance in the infrared range, allowing it to mediate between the aesthetic requirements of the metallic coating and the functional requirements of radio wave and infrared transmittance.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the housing is made opaque to block external interference, then the shielding effect is improved, but the transmittance of infrared wavelengths for sensing functions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure employs local quality by having different optical properties in different spectral ranges. The optical film has high reflectance in the infrared range for sensing wavelengths while maintaining high transmittance in the visible range, providing localized optical properties tailored to specific functional requirements.
3Reliability
If a multilayer optical structure is implemented to achieve selective transmittance, then the optical performance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing employs composite materials by combining a metallic coating, an optical film with specific molecular structure, and a substrate material. This composite structure achieves selective transmittance properties that cannot be obtained with single materials, while the integration of these materials into a unified housing structure manages the overall complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables electronic devices to achieve a metallic appearance while ensuring substantial transmissivity to radio frequencies and infrared wavelengths, supporting functions such as 5G communication and infrared sensing without interference.
Implementation Method 1
the optical film has a high reflectance (e.g., greater than about 90%) in a visible wavelength range
Implementation Method 2
a high transmittance (e.g., greater than about 80%) in a near infrared wavelength range
Implementation Method 3
a high transmission (e.g., at least about 95%) for at least at least one frequency in a range of about 0.1 gigahertz (GHz) to about 90 GHz
Data Source
AI summary
A housing (185) for an electronic device (170) includes an optical film (100) having an optical transmittance for substantially normally incident light having a band edge separating first and second wavelength ranges, where the first wavelength range extends from about 400 nm to about 700 nm and the second wavelength range is at least about 100 nm wide and disposed between about 800 nm and about 1100 nm. For substantially normally incident light, an average optical reflectance of the optical film is greater than about 90% in the first wavelength range, and an average optical transmittance of the optical film is greater than about 80% in the second wavelength range. For at least one frequency in a range of about 0.1 GHz to about 90 GHz and for substantially normally incident radiation, the optical film transmits at least about 95% of the incident radiation.