Full-color reflective display system based on high contrast gratings

Abstract

A full-color reflective display system with potentially unprecedented performances on brightness, color saturation, and contrast ratio is proposed. A three-layer architecture is employed to achieve maximum brightness, wherein the key components of every layer are reflective color filters based on high-contrast gratings that are designed and fabricated. The reflective filters exhibit both high reflectance and high color saturation. Switching of each color filter using electrowetting is proposed, and the feasibility of switching is proved. Finite-difference time-domain-based simulations are used in the design of the filters as well as to evaluate their performance. The fabrication process, which combines interference lithography, nanoimprint lithography, linewidth tuning, and reactive ion etching, is developed and optimized. The blue and the green filters are both fabricated and characterized experimentally.