UniPixel™ displays consist of very few layers compared to plasma and LCDs. This means that UniPixel™ will significantly reduce the number of manufacturing steps currently employed for LCD.

Red, green or blue light enters a light guide from the edge of the display. Each color cycles for an equal amount of time in very rapid succession.

The colors reflect off mirrors on the edges scattering the light and producing a uniform distribution throughout the light guide.

We inject light into the guide at angles that harness the power of total internal reflection to keep it from escaping.

The Opcuity Active layer film forms a simple lens/shutter by sandwiching micro optic structures between two transparent conductors. The refractive indices at the boundaries of the layers and surrounding the TFT structure on the light guide approximate those of air to preserve total internal reflection. Bonding the Opcuity layer to the slightly elevated TFT structure creates a small air gap between the light guide and the film; the Opcuity Active layer literally rides on the TFT elements. 

When oppositely charged at any given pixel, the two conductive layers attract each other. This pulls the micro optic structures down through the air gap until they contact the light guide.

Once the Opcuity Active Layer touches the light guide, the pixel is activated and light escapes at that point. (An engineer would call that Frustrated Total Internal Reflection or FTIR, a term often used in fiber optics.)

The duration of the charge controls the opening and closing of the “shutter.” At any given pixel, this duration determines the relative intensity of the color.

In summary, the layers are the light guide, a transparent conductor layer on the light guide, a stand off area/layer embedding the TFT structures, and the Opcuity Active Layer film containing a conductive layer.