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 laminate, a display device including the laminate, and an article including the display, the laminate including a substrate, a protective layer, and an intermediate layer provided between the substrate and the protective layer, wherein the protective layer includes a fluorine-containing (poly)ether amide silane compound represented by Formula 1 and having a molecular weight greater than 2,000 Da, and the intermediate layer includes at least one Si—O bond and having a density greater than about 2.0 g/cm.sup.3 and less than about 2.5 g/cm.sup.3,

Rf-(L1).sub.p1-Q1-(L2).sub.p2-Si(R.sub.1)(R.sub.2)(R.sub.3)  Formula 1 wherein, in Formula 1, Rf, L1, p1, Q1, L2, p2, R.sub.1 to R.sub.3 are the same as described in the specification.

An EO polymer modulator including a substrate with a cladding layer formed on a surface and a passive waveguide core, having a cross-sectional area, formed in the cladding layer and including an elongated tapered active section. An elongated trench in the cladding layer, the elongated tapered active section of the waveguide core positioned in the elongated trench, electrodes positioned on a surface of the cladding layer on opposite sides of the elongated trench, and an elongated strip of EO polymer overlying the elongated tapered active section of the waveguide core. The elongated strip of EO polymer positioned between and parallel with the electrodes and coplanar with the electrodes.

In one embodiment, an electrochromic device includes a single active layer configured to be alternately placed in a light-transmitting state in which relatively large amounts of light can be transmitted through the active layer and a light-blocking state in which relatively small amounts of light can be transmitted through the active layer, wherein the device comprises no other layers of material that contribute to transitioning between the two states.

A display substrate has first and second conductive layers separated from one another by an insulation layer. The first and second conductive layers are used to integrally form on the display substrate, pixel units in a relatively central display area of the substrate and integrated gate driving circuitry as well as associated wirings thereof in one or more peripheral areas. The first and second conductive layers are covered by a first protection layer made of a first electrically insulative material. A second and supplementing protection layer is provided on top of the first protection layer. The supplementing protection layer (buffer layer) is formed of a material different from that of the first protection layer so as to provide supplemental resistance against corrosive chemical agents and supplemental resistance against formation of cracks. In one class of embodiments, the supplementing protection layer is made of a same material as used form at least one of an alignment layer, sealing layer and spacer layer of the display substrate.

A photonic device structure includes: an electro-optical structure including a layer of optical material sandwiched by a pair of electrodes, wherein the layer of optical material is arranged to undergo an electro-optic activity when subjected to a voltage bias across the pair of electrodes; and a cladding layer adjacent to the electro-optical structure.

Provided is an optical film with a resin substrate adhered to an optically anisotropic layer and suppression of occurrence of optical defects in the optically anisotropic layer. The optical film has a resin substrate having an alignment regulating force and an optically anisotropic layer arranged thereon, in which the optically anisotropic layer contains a liquid crystal compound and a compound having a heteroatom different from the liquid crystal compound, and in a case where a surface of the optical film on an optically anisotropic layer side thereof is a first surface and a surface of the optical film on a resin substrate side thereof is a second surface, and components of the optical film in a depth direction are analyzed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry while irradiating the optical film with an ion beam from the first surface toward the second surface, the obtained profile satisfies a predetermined requirement.

The present specification provides a multi-layer liquid crystal film including: a substrate; a first alignment film provided on the substrate; a first liquid crystal film provided on the first alignment film; a second alignment film provided on the first liquid crystal film and comprising a multifunctional acrylate; and a second liquid crystal film provided on the second alignment film, and a method for manufacturing a polarizing plate, including: laminating the multi-layer liquid crystal film to a polarizer, and peeling off the substrate.

Processing methods may be performed to form a pixel isolation structure on a semiconductor substrate. The method may include forming a pixel isolation bilayer on the semiconductor substrate. The pixel isolation bilayer may include a high-k layer overlying a stopping layer. The method may include forming a lithographic mask on a first region of the pixel isolation bilayer. The method may also include etching the pixel isolation bilayer external to the first region. The etching may reveal the semiconductor substrate. The etching may form the pixel isolation structure.

A privacy glazing structure may include an electrically controllable optically active material, such as a liquid crystal material, sandwiched between a flexible substrate and a rigid substrate. The flexible substrate and the rigid substrate may each have a conductive layer deposited on the surface facing the optically active material. The flexible substrate may be bonded about its perimeter to the rigid substrate and may be sufficiently flexible to conform to non-planarity of the rigid substrate. As a result, the flexible substrate may adopt the surface contour of the rigid substrate to maintain a uniform thickness of optically active material between the flexible substrate and the rigid substrate.