Method of forming an electroded sheet
A sheet in an electronic display is composed of a substrate containing an array of wire electrodes. The wire electrodes are preferably electrically connected to patterned transparent conductive electrode lines. The wire electrodes are used to carry the bulk of the current. The wire electrodes are capable of being extended away from the substrate and connected directly to the printed circuit board. The transparent conductive electrode (TCE) is used to spread the charge or voltage from the wire electrode across the pixel. The TCE is a patterned film and must be at least 50% transparent, and, for most applications, is preferably over 90% transparent. In most applications, the electroded surface of the electroded sheet has to be flattened. Use of a thin polymer substrate yields a light, flexible, rugged sheet that may be curved, bent or rolled.
1. A method of forming an electroded sheet comprising at least one step selected from the group consisting of:
a) embossing an array of wire electrodes into a surface of a substrate;
b) embossing an array of patterned conductive electrodes into the surface of the substrate;
c) grooving a substrate surface and filling a plurality of grooves with a conductive electrode material;
d) stringing an array of wire electrodes across the surface of the substrate and over coating the array of wire electrodes with a planarizing layer;
e) patterning an array of electrodes on the substrate and over coating the patterned array of electrodes with a planarizing layer;
f) stringing the array of wire electrodes across a surface of a setter, over coating the array of wires with a substrate material, and then removing the wires and substrate material from the setter to form the electroded sheet; and
g) patterning an array of electrodes on the substrate, over coating the patterned array of electrodes with a substrate material, and then removing the patterned array of electrodes and substrate material from the setter to form the electroded sheet.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein embedding the array of electrodes into the surface of the polymer substrate uses a forcing surface selected from the group consisting of:
a) at least one rigid plate;
b) at least one roller; and
c) at least one die.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the forcing surface is coated with a release layer, wherein the release layer is selected from the group consisting of:
a) a silicone based material;
b) a carbon based material;
c) a metal material;
d) a layer of small particles; and
e) any combination of a) through d).
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the electroded sheet further comprises the step of scanning a hot zone across the electroded sheet to embed wires or flatten the electroded sheet.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the hot zone is created using a hot bar.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the hot zone is created by plunging the electroded sheet into an oven or a furnace.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the hot zone is created by translating the electroded sheet through a leer.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein a hot zone is scanned across the electroded sheet while embedding the electrodes or flattening the electroded sheet surface to prevent trapped air.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the electroded sheet further comprises the step of cutting a wire guide pattern into an edge of a plate to set a pitch of the wire electrodes.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of attaching at least one sacrificial wire guide to a side of a plate comprising a substep selected from the group consisting of:
a) setting the pitch of the electrodes;
b) setting the pitch of a mask for a patterned film;
c) releasing wire tension by setting all of the wires to the same tension; and
d) releasing wire tension by lowering wire stress to choose a desired tension in the wire that produces a flat electroded sheet.
11. A method of forming an electroded sheet comprising the steps of:
a) applying a plurality of electrodes onto a surface of a flat plate or a slightly arced plate, wherein the electrodes comprise a plurality of transparent conductive electrode stripes connected to a plurality of wire electrodes;
b) after step a), performing at least one step selected from the group consisting of:
i) pressing a thermal polymer film or plate into the wire electrodes;
ii) filling a surface of the electrodes on the plate with a thermal polymer;
iii) filling a surface of the electrodes on the plate with a thermal set polymer;
iv) filling the surface of the electrodes on the plate with an ultraviolet curable polymer and curing the polymer; and
v) filling the surface of the electrodes on the plate with a silicone film; and
c) after step b), removing the electroded sheet from the plate.
12. A method of forming an electroded sheet comprising the step of embedding a plurality of wire electrodes into a surface of a sheet, comprising at least one substep selected from the group consisting of:
a) extruding a polymer sheet and the wire electrodes in one process step;
b) stamping the wire electrodes into a surface of the polymer sheet in a roll-to-roll process;
c) rolling the wire electrodes into the surface of the polymer sheet in a roll-to-roll process; and
d) creating multiple electroded sheets by embedding the wire electrodes into a polymer sheet using flat plates in a batch process.