ELECTROOPTIC/MICROMECHANICAL DISPLAY WITH DISCRETELY CONTROLLABLE BISTABLE TRANSFLECTOR

摘要

A display (1) comprises a display device (2), such as an LC cell and a switchable transfiector (7). The transflector 7 comprises a plurality of discrete portions and is configured so that the transmittance and reflectance properties of at least one of said portions can be tuned independently of other portions. Where the transflector is a suspended particle device (SPD), the portions may comprise individual particle suspensions (8a, 8b, 8c) and/or regions within a cell containing a particle suspension (8a, 8b, 8c). In normal operation, images etc. are displayed using the display device (2). In some embodiments, the transflector (7) may be used in the provision of illumination for the display device (2) using backlighting 9 from light source (3) and/or reflected ambient light (10), in dependence on the light level detected by a light sensor (22). The transflector 7 may be used to display images (23) or text, such as touch screen keys (24) while the display (1) is in standby mode and the display device (2) is switched off.