A common electrode for a display, which is originally provided in a liquid crystal display element, is also used as one (drive electrode) of a pair of electrodes for a touch sensor, and the other (detection-electrode-for-the-sensor) of the pair of electrodes is newly formed. An existing common drive signal as a drive signal for display is used in common for a drive signal for the touch sensor. A capacitance is formed between the common electrode and the detection-electrode-for-the-sensor, and touch detection is performed by utilizing a change of this capacitance caused by a finger touch of a user. Thus, a display device with a touch sensor is also applicable to a mobile device in which electric potential of the user is inconstant in many cases. The newly-provided electrode is only the detection-electrode-for-the-sensor, and it is unnecessary to newly prepare a drive signal for the touch sensor.

Methods and systems for a vertical junction high-speed phase modulator are disclosed and may include a semiconductor device having a semiconductor waveguide including a slab section, a rib section extending above the slab section, and raised ridges extending above the slab section on both sides of the rib section. The semiconductor device has a vertical pn junction with p-doped material and n-doped material arranged vertically with respect to each other in the rib and slab sections. The rib section may be either fully n-doped or p-doped in each cross-section along the semiconductor waveguide. Electrical connection to the p-doped and n-doped material may be enabled by forming contacts on the raised ridges, and electrical connection may be provided to the rib section from one of the contacts via periodically arranged sections of the semiconductor waveguide, where a cross-section of both the rib section and the slab section in the periodically arranged sections may be fully n-doped or fully p-doped.

Display device is provided and includes first and second substrates; display region in which pixels are provided on first substrate; peripheral region positioned between edge of first substrate and display region; scanning lines extending in first direction; signal lines extending in second direction; terminals arranged in first direction in peripheral region of first substrate; connection lines in first region and that connect terminals and signal lines; dummy electrodes disposed in second region separated from connection lines in planar view, and signal output lines that couple terminals and connection lines, wherein dummy electrodes are provided in second region surrounded by end of first substrate and signal output lines.

An optical modulator, that includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and three or more segments, generates an optical signal based on three or more electric signals transmitted in parallel. The three or more segments are provided in series along an optical path of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and respectively shift a phase of light propagating through the optical path based on the three or more electric signals. A length of at least one of the three or more segments is different from lengths of the other segments. Optical path lengths from input ends of respective segments to input ends of corresponding next segments are the sae.

An electrochromic compound has a structure represented by the following general formula (1):

##STR00001##

where each of X.sub.1 to X.sub.3 independently represents a carbon atom or a silicon atom, and each of R.sub.1 to R.sub.15 independently represents a member selected from a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a monovalent organic group, and a polymerizable functional group.

A switchable optical device is provided having a first substrate (11), a second substrate (12) and a seal (114). The two substrates (11, 12) and the seal (114) are arranged such that a cell having a cell gap is formed and a switchable medium (10) is located inside the cell gap. The first substrate (11) has a first transparent electrode (21) and the second substrate (12) has a second transparent electrode (22). The electrodes (21, 22) are facing towards the cell gap. The two substrates (11, 12) are arranged such that the first substrate (11) has a first region (71) adjacent to a first edge (41) of the first substrate (11) which does not overlap with the second substrate (12) and the second substrate (12) has a second region (72) which does not overlap with the first substrate (11). A first electrically conducting busbar (31) is arranged in the first region (71) and a second electrically conducting busbar (32) is arranged in the second region (72). A first terminal is electrically connected to the first busbar (31) and a second terminal is electrically connected to the second busbar (32). The first substrate (11) and the second substrate (12) each have an edge deletion (116) in which the respective transparent electrode (21, 22) is removed. The edge deletion (116) is complete on the edges non-adjacent to a busbar (31, 32) and there is no edge deletion or only partial edge deletion on edges adjacent to a busbar (31, 32). Further aspects of the invention relate to a method for designing a switchable optical device, a method for driving a switchable optical device, a method for manufacturing a switchable optical device and a system comprising a switchable optical device and a controller for driving the switchable optical device.

A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes a substrate, an active layer provided on the substrate, a cladding layer provided on the active layer, a contact layer provided on the cladding layer, the contact layer having an upper surface, a back surface which is a surface on an opposite side to the upper surface, and a side surface connecting the upper surface and the back surface, the contact layer is larger in width than the cladding layer; and an electrode that is in contact with the upper surface of the contact layer and the side surface of the contact layer from an upper end to a lower end of the side surface of the contact layer.

According to one embodiment, a light control device includes a first substrate including first to third electrodes formed in an annular shape and a fourth electrode, a second substrate, and a liquid crystal layer held between the first substrate and the second substrate. The first electrode and the second electrode are arranged in a first direction. The first electrode and the third electrode are arranged in a direction different from the first direction. The fourth electrode is adjacent to the first to third electrodes.

Provided is a distributed optical phase modulator, comprising: a substrate (10); an optical waveguide (20) arranged on the substrate (10); a drive electrode (30) that is arranged on the substrate (10) and comprises a plurality of sub drive electrodes (31) arranged at intervals; and at least one shielding electrode (40), wherein at least some shielding electrodes and the sub drive electrodes (31) are arranged at intervals. The optical waveguide (20) sequentially passes through the sub drive electrodes (31) and the shielding electrodes (40). The length of each part of the drive electrode (30) is far less than the total length of an equivalent traditional modulator, and the drive signal voltage of each part is also far less than the drive signal voltage of the equivalent traditional modulator. In each part of the drive electrode (30), the propagation of an optical signal and the propagation of an electrical signal can be approximately synchronous, even synchronous. The phenomenon of walk-off between the optical signal and the electrical signal is minimized, and the upper limit of a modulation bandwidth is improved. The shielding electrodes (40) are respectively arranged between the sub drive electrodes (31), so that crosstalk between the sub drive electrodes (31) can be shielded, and crosstalk between the sub drive electrodes (31) can be greatly reduced.

An optical film can be used in a display panel as a viewing angle diffusion film. The optical film includes a first electrode layer, an isotropic optical material layer, a liquid crystal material layer and a second electrode layer that are stacked. A plurality of groove structures are disposed on the isotropic optical material layer, and each of the groove structures is filled with the liquid crystal material layer.