SBIR Phase I: Bistable FLCs using Siloxanes

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在开发商业上实用的双稳态FLC显示器。铁电液晶（FLCs）将高速电光效应与极低功耗驱动相结合，但由于缺乏双稳性，其工作占空比受到限制，从而限制了可实现的显示亮度。最近用有机硅氧烷FLC化合物获得的令人兴奋的结果表明，它克服了近晶层收缩和表面相互作用问题，这些问题直到现在都阻碍了FLC的双稳定性。这里提出的工作旨在表明，这一单一结果可以扩展到其他相关化合物，为双稳态FLC混合物的第二阶段开发奠定了基础，该混合物设计在实际应用所需的宽温度范围内具有快速切换和合适的切换角度。此外，它试图表明，可以克服这种类型的对准化合物的缺陷，以提高对比度。第一阶段的工作包括合成和评价新的硅氧烷中间体化合物；从新的和现有的化合物混合物的配方，并评估传统的以及新的排列处理。关于液晶相行为和表面相互作用的基本科学问题是最近显著结果的核心，提议的工作将开始回答。商业上，双稳态FLC器件将使微型投影显示利用新的高亮度LED和激光光源。与amlcd等传统方法相比，微型投影仪提供了更高性能和更低成本的平板显示功能。最初的应用包括可在阳光下读取、可重新配置的汽车仪表盘、娱乐和导航显示器，这是一个1500万台、价值1亿美元的市场。最终的成功将包括渗透数十亿美元的笔记本电脑、显示器和电视显示市场。FLC双稳定性进一步为新兴全息数据存储市场提供高性能写入头。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop commercially practical bistable FLC displays. Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) attractively combine a high speed electro-optic effect with very low-power drive, but, absent bistability, suffer restrictions on operational duty cycle that limit achievable display brightness. Exciting results obtained recently with an organosiloxane FLC compound suggest that it overcomes smectic layer shrinkage and surface interaction problems that have until now foiled FLC bistability. The work proposed here seeks to show that this singular result can be extended to other related compounds, setting the stage for Phase II development of bistable FLC mixtures engineered to have fast switching with suitable switching angles over the broad temperature ranges needed for practical applications. Further, it seeks to show that deficiencies in aligning compounds of this type can be overcome to give improved contrast ratio. The Phase I effort includes synthesis and evaluation of new siloxane mesogen compounds; formulation of mixtures from new and existing compounds, and evaluation of conventional as well as novel alignment treatments. Fundamental scientific questions about liquid crystal phase behavior and surface interactions lie at the heart of the remarkable recent results which the proposed work will begin to answer.Commercially, bistable FLC devices will enable micro-projection displays utilizing new high-brightness LED and laser light sources. Micro-projectors deliver flat panel display functionality with higher performance and lower cost than conventional approaches such as AMLCDs. Initial applications include sunlight readable, reconfigurable automotive dashboard, entertainment, and navigation displays, a 15-million-unit, $100MM market. Ultimate success would include penetration of the multi-billion-dollar laptop computer, monitor, and television display markets. FLC bistability further enables high-performance write heads for emerging holographic data storage markets.