STTR Phase I: High Twisting Power Chiral Materials for Nanostructured Bragg Reflective Displays

这一第一阶段小型企业技术转移(STTR)项目旨在对手性溶质的分子结构进行调整，使其适用于布拉格反射型手性向列相高分辨率显示器。这就要求分子设计在向列相的温度范围内保持相同的纳米结构尺寸。当向列相液晶中加入手性溶剂时，就会产生螺旋纳米结构。这一提议利用了最近发现的一类新的可溶手性分子，它们具有超高的螺旋扭转力(HTPs)。只需要3wt.%的向列型主体中的材料就可以产生布拉格反射可见光的电介质分层堆栈。这项工作的技术突破是开发出大幅改进的反射显示材料。高HTP材料将提供：显著更低的电压、更快的开关特性、改进的电光响应、更明亮和更高对比度的显示器，并将避免外国拥有的专利，这些专利禁止美国制造商结合目前制造手性向列相反射显示器所需的多种手性材料。

This Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project aims to make adjustments in the molecular structure of the chiral solute to make it suitable for application in Bragg reflective chiral nematic high resolution displays. This requires a molecular design which will maintain the same nanostructure dimensions over the temperature range of the nematic phase. Helical nanostructures are created when a chiral solvent is added to a nematic liquid crystal. This proposal takes advantage of the recent discovery of a new class of soluble chiral molecules which possess ultra-high helical twisting powers (HTPs). Only 3 wt. percent of the material in a nematic host is required to create a dielectric layered stack to Bragg reflect visible light. The technical breakthrough of this work is to develop greatly improved reflective display materials. The high HTP materials will provide: significantly lower voltage, faster switching characteristics, improved electro-optic response, brighter and higher contrast displays, and will avoid foreign owned patents which prohibit US manufactures from incorporating multiple chiral materials currently necessary for making chiral nematic reflective displays.