STTR PHASE I: Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (FLC) Gels for Facile Processing and High Yield Manufacture of Hardened FLC Displays

这个小型企业技术转移第一阶段的研究项目将使铁电液晶（FLC）电光器件的广泛应用成为可能，这在目前是不可能的，因为它们的高制造成本对于几厘米大小的显示器来说是令人望而却步的。需要新的FLC材料来构建排列良好的FLC单元，从而实现更大更便宜的器件。本研究将开发聚合物掺杂剂，通过设计和合成嵌段共聚物，加速加工和提高排列良好的FLC电池的产量，嵌段共聚物溶解在液晶（LC）的各向同性相中，并在LC冷却时自组装成一个网络。它将表征这些FLC凝胶的物理特性，以证明它们保持快速的电光（EO）响应，并测试新的FLC凝胶的耐用性和可制造性。每年大约有20亿个小型平板显示器用于手机、pda、ipod等。所开发的添加剂将允许flc被加工成这个尺寸范围的显示器，提供分辨率和速度的阶跃变化。科学上，LC凝胶和弹性体已经被证明是一类迷人的材料，理论刚刚开始提供诱人的现象预测，当实验家开始探索FLC凝胶时，可能会发现。该项目将处于FLC凝胶实验研究的前沿，为手性近晶LCs的取向偶联和橡胶弹性的后果提供了第一次一瞥。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I research project will enable the widespread use of Ferro-electric Liquid Crystal (FLC) electro-optic devices which is currently impossible because their high fabrication costs become prohibitive for displays over a few centimeters in size. New FLC materials are needed to construct well-aligned FLC cells and consequently larger and less expensive devices. This research will develop polymer dopants that expedite processing and increase yield of well-aligned FLC cells by designing and synthesizing block copolymers that dissolve in the isotropic phase of the Liquid Crystal (LC) and self-assemble into a network when the LC cools. It will characterize the physical properties of these FLC gels to show they retain fast electro-optic (EO) responses and test the new FLC gels for improved durability and manufacturability. Approximately 2 billion small flat panel displays are used annually in cell phones, PDAs, iPods, etc. The additives developed would allow FLCs to be processed into displays in this size range, providing a step-change in resolution and speed. Scientifically, LC gels and elastomers have proven to be a fascinating class of materials and theory is just beginning to offer tantalizing predictions of phenomena that may be found when experimentalists begin to explore FLC gels. This project will be at the cutting edge of experimental research in FLC gels, providing the first glimpse into the consequences of orientational coupling and rubber elasticity in chiral smectic LCs.