P‐184: Application of Deep Micromachining of Silicon Substrates to Realize a Novel Electrochromic Based Projection Display

Abstract

In this paper, we report on the realization of miniaturized projection displays on silicon substrates using a highly programmable deep reactive ion etching technique. The micromachined silicon substrates have been used to incorporate Liionic electro-chromic solutions. The use of tungsten oxide (WO 3 ) in conjunction with the ITO electrodes, leads to a transparent or opaque interfaces which can be used as a method to distinguish different spots in an image, provided an external light source is exploited. The formation of highly complex three-dimensional structures is feasible during the deep reactive ion etching of silicon wafers, while desired under-etching is achieved by controlling the etching parameters. The evolution of cup-like micro-mirrors can be carried out at micrometer sizes leading to ultra-high resolution projection systems. A passive addressing is feasible between the top ITO-lines placed on a glass substrate and the bottom cavity-holding substrate. By addressing individual or clusters of pixels one can achieve desired images.