Electrowetting display structures

1. A method for fabricating an electrowetting display, the method comprising:

depositing a photoresist layer on a glass substrate;

patterning the photoresist layer to produce a patterned photoresist layer that includes (i) first regions that expose the glass substrate and (ii) second regions that cover the glass substrate;

etching the glass substrate in areas of the glass substrate that are exposed by the first regions of the photoresist layer to form glass spacers in areas of the glass substrate that are covered by the second regions of the photoresist layer;

forming a transparent conductive layer on at least portions of the etched glass substrate, wherein the transparent conductive layer comprises indium tin oxide (ITO) or a transparent conductive resin; and

coupling a support plate to the glass substrate, wherein the support plate includes pixel walls that partition a liquid into individual portions that each correspond to a pixel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein coupling the support plate to the glass substrate further includes aligning the pixel walls of the support plate with corresponding tops of the glass spacers.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

etching the glass substrate in the areas of the glass substrate that are exposed by the first regions of the photoresist layer further forms recessed regions among the glass spacers; and

the method further comprises partially filling the recessed regions with color filter material.

4. A method for fabricating an electrowetting display, the method comprising:

applying a photoresist layer on a transparent substrate;

removing portions of the photoresist layer to produce a patterned photoresist layer that includes (i) a first region that exposes the transparent substrate and (ii) a second region that covers the transparent substrate;

removing portions of the transparent substrate exposed by the first region of the patterned photoresist layer to form cavities in the transparent substrate, wherein individual ones of the cavities correspond to pixels, and wherein removing the portions of the transparent substrate exposed by the first region of the patterned photoresist layer forms transparent spacers in portions of the transparent substrate that are covered by the second region of the patterned photoresist layer; and

joining the transparent spacers to at least portions of pixel walls of a support plate.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the pixel walls of the support plate partition an electrowetting oil into portions of the electrowetting oil that each correspond to a pixel.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

aligning at least portions of the pixel walls of the support plate to corresponding ones of the transparent spacers.

7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

forming a layer of transparent electrically conductive material on surfaces of the transparent substrate that at least partially surround the cavities of the transparent substrate.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

based, at least in part, on the patterned photoresist layer, removing portions of the transparent substrate to form a recessed border region along a periphery of the cavities in the transparent substrate; and

depositing seal material between the layer of transparent electrically conductive material and the support plate, wherein the seal material is in the recessed border region.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the layer of transparent electrically conductive material comprises a first layer of transparent electrically conductive material, and the method further comprises:

based, at least in part, on the patterned photoresist layer, removing portions of the transparent substrate to form a border region along a periphery of the cavities in the transparent substrate;

placing a shadow mask over the cavities while exposing the border region; and

depositing a second layer of transparent electrically conductive material on the exposed border region.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

depositing seal material between the second layer of transparent electrically conductive material and the support plate.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

dispensing a conductive resin to form an electrical connection between the first layer of transparent electrically conductive material and the second layer of transparent electrically conductive material.

12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the transparent electrically conductive material comprises indium tin oxide (ITO).

13. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

at least partially filling the cavities in the transparent substrate with color filter material.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein at least partially filling the cavities in the transparent substrate with color filter material is performed before forming the layer of transparent electrically conductive material on the transparent spacers.

15. The method of claim 7 , wherein forming the layer of transparent electrically conductive material on the transparent spacers further comprises:

applying a conductive resin to a region at least partially surrounding the cavities using ink jet printing.

16. An electrowetting display comprising:

a transparent substrate including transparent spacers surrounded by recessed regions corresponding to pixel regions;

a layer of electrically conductive material on the transparent spacers, wherein the electrically conductive material is transparent;

color filter material in the recessed regions; and

a support plate covering the recessed regions and the transparent spacers, wherein:

the support plate includes pixel walls that partition a liquid into liquid portions that each correspond to pixels, and

each of the liquid portions is in physical contact with the layer of electrically conductive material.

17. The electrowetting display of claim 16 , wherein the electrically conductive material comprises indium tin oxide (ITO).

18. The electrowetting display of claim 16 , further comprising:

a recessed border region along a periphery of the pixel regions; and

seal material between the layer of electrically conductive material and the support plate, wherein the seal material is in the recessed border region.

19. The electrowetting display of claim 16 , further comprising:

a second layer of electrically conductive material on the transparent substrate; and

seal material between the second layer of electrically conductive material and the support plate, wherein the second layer of electrically conductive material is transparent.

20. The electrowetting display of claim 16 , further comprising:

pixel walls between the transparent spacers and the support plate.