Nova Patents
US3512876A

Dipolar electro-optic structures

Abstract

This record has no abstract on file.

US3512876A, drawing sheet 1
Sheet 1 of 60

Term

Term ended

Expired 19 May 1987, 39.4 years ago.

  1. Priority and filed
  2. Granted
  3. Expired
  4. Today

16 claims: 9 independent, 7 dependent

  1. 1
    Having thus fully described the invention what is claimed as new and sought to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:1. A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of λ/2« and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10«, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  2. 2
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute elongated, needle-like particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of λ/2η and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10«, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  3. 3
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute elongated, needle-like metal particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of λ/2« and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10«, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  4. 4
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute elongated, needle-like particles having a metal surface coating thereon rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of X/2n and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10«, where λ is the wavelength of light and « is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  5. 7
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute flake shaped particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of λ/2η and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10«, where λ is the wavelength of light and « is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  6. 8
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute flake shaped metal particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of X/2n and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10«, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  7. 9
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute flake shaped 3,512,876 glass particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of X/2n and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10η, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means to apply g a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  8. 14
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a suspending medium, a plurality of minute particles rotatably carried in said medium, said particles having at least one dimension of the order of λ/2η and at least one other dimension not exceeding λ/10η, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, and means comprising a source of non-constant electrical potential and spaced electrodes connected to the potential source to apply a non-constant force field to the suspension to control the disposition of particles therein.
  9. 16
    A light controlling device comprising in combination a transparent suspending medium, a plurality of dipole members having at least one dimension of the order of \/ln, where λ is the wavelength of light and n is the index of refraction of the suspending medium, rotatably carried within the medium, and means to apply a nonconstant force field to the suspension of at least 1 kilocycle to control the disposition of the dipoles therein, whereby ions in the suspending medium will oscillate about a mean position such that this migration is insufficient to neutralize the field. References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,955,923 4/1934 Land-------------- 350—150 2,543,793 3/1951 Marks_____________ 350—267 2,595,616 5/1952 Toulon------------- 350—267 3,040,625 6/1962 Zito________________ 350—267 RONALD L. WIBERT, Primary Examiner V. P. McGraw, Assistant Examiner
Independent claims9