Low Voltage Switchable Chiral Ferroelectric Nematic (NF*) Liquid Crystal Smart Window

ORAL

Abstract

There is a high demand for smart glasses that can switch between transparent and opaque states in smart privacy windows and display applications. Polymer stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC) and polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) based smart windows are available in the market, but they require high voltages. Ferroelectric nematic (NF) liquid crystals with polar fluid structures have been discovered recently . In this research project we developed a low voltage switchable chiral ferroelectric nematic (NF*) liquid crystal smart window. For that we optimized a PSLC mixture, that switches from transparent to opaque (reverse-mode) at an AC voltage less than 10 V. In the transparent state we measured 80 ~ 85 % transmission and in opaque state we measured 20 ~ 16 % transmission for 550 nm. The switching time was around 50 ms. For application purposes we are studying cells with flexible, ITO coated PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) substrates as well.

* This work was supported by the AMLCI/DI Materials and Devices Start-Up Challenge and National Science Foundation grant DMR-2210083.

–

Presenters

  • Rohan O Dharmarathna

    Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University

Authors

  • Rohan O Dharmarathna

    Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University

  • Kelum Perera

    Kent State University, Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA

  • Md Sakhawat Hossain Himel

    Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute,Kent State U, Materials Science Graduate Program and Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA

  • Alex O Adaka

    Materials Science Graduate Program, Kent State University,, Materials Science Graduate Program and Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA

  • Tamas Kosa

    AlphaMicron Incorporation

  • ANTAL I JAKLI

    Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent State University, Materials Sciences Graduate Program and Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA