Electro-optical display

1. An electro-optical display comprising:

colorant particles suspended in a carrier fluid;

an exposed electrode configured to compact the colorant particles into collection areas

a passivated electrode configured to hold the colorant particles in the collection areas; and

a reference electrode configured to attract the colorant particles onto the collection areas.

2. The electro-optical display of claim 1 wherein the electro-optical display is part of a sub-pixel of an electronic display.

3. The electro-optical display of claim 1 wherein the passivated electrode is covered by a dielectric material.

4. The electro-optical display of claim 1 wherein the colorant particles are comprised of a plurality of different colored colorant particles having at least one charge polarity.

5. The electro-optical display of claim 1 wherein the passivated electrode is configured to generate an electric field after a set amount of the colorant particles are collected in the collection areas.

6. The electro-optical display of claim 1 and further including a dielectric material formed on the reference electrode wherein the dielectric material is patterned to expose areas of the reference electrode that act as the collection areas.

7. The electro-optical display of claim 1 wherein the exposed electrode and the passivated electrode are coupled to a first side of the electro-optical display and are separated either geometrically or by a dielectric layer and the reference electrode is coupled to a second side of the electro-optical display that is opposite the first side.

8. The electro-optical display of claim 1 wherein the exposed electrode and the passivated electrode comprise transparent conductive materials and a dielectric on the reference electrode comprises a reflective material.

9. The electro-optical display of claim 1 and further including:

a first dielectric material coupled to the reference electrode and patterned to form exposed areas of the reference electrode to act as the collection areas, wherein

the passivated electrode is a blanket electrode coupled to a first substrate and covered by a second dielectric material between the passivated electrode and the carrier fluid;

the reference electrode is coupled to a second substrate opposite the first substrate; and

the exposed electrode is coupled to the first dielectric material between the exposed areas of the first dielectric material.

10. An electro-optical display comprising:

colorant particles suspended in a carrier fluid;

an exposed electrode coupled to a first substrate and configured to act on the colorant particles in an electrokinetic manner;

a passivated electrode coupled to the first substrate and configured to act on the colorant particles in an electrostatic manner; and

a reference electrode coupled to a second substrate and configured to attract the colorant particles onto collection areas, wherein the second substrate is on an opposing side of the electro-optical display from the first substrate.

11. The electro-optical display of claim 10 wherein the passivated electrode is larger than the exposed electrode.

12. The electro-optical display of claim 10 wherein the passivated electrode is a blanket electrode coupled to the first substrate and a dielectric material separates the exposed electrode from the passivated electrode.

13. The electro-optical display of claim 10 wherein the carrier fluid is one of:

a polar fluid, a non-polar fluid, or an anisotropic fluid.

14. The electro-optical display of claim 10 wherein the electro-optical display is part of a pixel of an electronic display.

15. The electro-optical display of claim 10 wherein the reference electrode is a patterned electrode resulting in a plurality of reference electrodes that are each a collection area.

16. The electro-optical display of claim 15 and further including a patterned dielectric material coupled to the second substrate and having openings for each of the plurality of reference electrodes.

17. A method for operating an electro-optical display having a carrier fluid with charged colorant particles, the method comprising:

biasing a first electrode with a first voltage;

biasing a second electrode with a second voltage such that the charged colorant particles are moved to the collection areas; and

biasing a third electrode with a third voltage to hold the charged colorant particles on the collection areas.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the electronic display comprises a plurality of electro-optical displays as pixels in the display.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the biasing of the third electrode with the third voltage occurs only after the first electrode is no longer biased with the first voltage.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the electro-optical display is part of an electronic display of a book reader, a shelf label, a skin for an electronic device, a sign, a price display, or any combination thereof.