An electrowetting element comprises a first fluid and a second fluid immiscible with the first fluid. A support plate includes a support plate surface in contact with at least one of the first or second fluids. The support plate includes an electrode for applying a voltage to control a configuration of the first and second fluids and a reflective surface. A first layer positioned between the reflective surface and the support plate surface has a first layer optical thickness substantially equal to a quarter multiple of a reference wavelength.

Security documents often incorporate security devices to prevent or hinder counterfeiters. Disclosed herein are security devices that include a fluid or fluids within the devices. Such devices, and security documents that include them, afford new techniques to check whether a security document is a legitimate or counterfeit copy.

An electrowetting display device comprising a first support plate including: a surface; and a first electrode, a second support plate; and a protrusion having a protrusion surface. The protrusion is formed as part of at least one of the first or second support plates. The protrusion has an elongate shape extending from one to the other of the first or second support plates. The device further comprises a first fluid adjoining at least one of the protrusion surface or the surface of the first support plate; a second fluid immiscible with the first fluid; a second electrode in electrical contact with the second fluid; and a third electrode.

A pattern electrode structure, which is stacked between a base material and a dielectric layer of an electro-wetting apparatus, includes a plurality of branch electrodes formed in a direction perpendicular to an arbitrary plane perpendicular to a plane formed by the pattern electrode structure to be spaced from each other at regular intervals, and a plurality of sub-branch electrodes formed to extend from the plurality of branch electrodes by as much as a predetermined length in an inclined direction, whereby, self-cleaning performance may be more efficiently exhibited even for small droplets.

Ophthalmic devices having elastic electrodes are disclosed herein. An example ophthalmic device may be an intraocular lens that includes a support structure, two optical windows, two immiscible fluids, and an elastic electrode. The support structure may have an inner surface defining an aperture with first and second optical windows disposed on opposite sides of the support structure and spanning the aperture. The two immiscible liquids may be disposed in a cavity formed by the aperture and the first and second optical windows, and the elastic electrode may be disposed on the inner surface. The elastic electrode may be formed from an elastic metal alloy having a minimum yield strain of 0.25%.

A method of operating a liquid lens can include positioning a variable interface between first and second liquids in a brace position in response to a brace trigger event. The variable interface can be adjustable between (a) a rest position in which a perimeter of the variable interface is spaced from a first window of the liquid lens by a rest distance and (b) the brace position in which the perimeter of the variable interface is spaced from the first window by a brace distance. The brace distance can be greater than the rest distance. In the rest position, the variable interface can have a rest surface area. In the brace position, the variable interface can have a brace surface area. The brace surface area can be less than the rest surface area.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an electrowetting display comprising: a transparent substrate including glass spacers surrounded by recessed regions corresponding to pixel regions, a layer of transparent conductive material on the glass spacers, color filter material in the recessed regions, and a transparent support plate covering the recessed regions and the glass spacers, wherein the transparent support plate includes an electrowetting oil.

Methods and systems for driving an active matrix electrowetting on dielectric device including thin-film-transistors to increase the switching frequency of the propulsion electrodes beyond what is typical for line-by-line active matrix driving. By using a latching circuit, it is possible to selectively switch specific propulsion (pixel) electrodes between an “on” and an “off” state, wherein a propulsion electrode in an “on” state can be driven by a time varying drive voltage on the top electrode that is a much higher frequency than is typically possible with amorphous silicon thin-film-transistor arrays. The faster drive frequency improves the performance of electrowetting devices, especially when used with aqueous droplets having a high ionic strength.

A conventional head-mounted display (HMDs) can display a virtual image at a fixed focus (e.g., infinite focus). If the user looks at an object that appears closer than the virtual image, then accommodation by the user's eyes will cause the virtual image to appear blurry. The HMDs disclosed herein include a dynamic electro-active focusing element that changes the focus of the virtual image to account for accommodation by the user. This dynamic electro-active focusing element may include a curved layer of electro-active material, such as nematic or bi-stable (e.g., cholesteric) liquid crystal, disposed between a static concave mirror and a convex surface on a beam splitter or other optical element. Changing the refractive index of the electro-active material causes the focus of the dynamic electro-active focusing element, making it possible to shift the virtual image's focus in as the user's eyes change focus.

Instead of using a clear or a semi-transparent notch within an electrowetting display, a colored notch that is the same color of the pixel region extends from one of the pixel walls toward an opposing pixel wall of the pixel region. The colored notches follow a non-flipped arrangement within each of the pixel regions. For example, each colored notch is adjacent to the same respective pixel wall for a pixel region. In other configurations, the colored notches follow a flipped arrangement within each of the pixel regions. For example, a colored notch of one pixel region and a colored notch of another pixel region are adjacent to the same pixel wall (on opposing sides). Instead of including a separate white sub pixel for each pixel, each pixel region is at least partially covered by a white color filter and a color filter that is the color of the pixel.