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让第一阶段研究项目将使铁电液晶（FLC）电光器件的广泛使用成为可能，这在目前是不可能的，因为它们的高制造成本对于尺寸超过几厘米的显示器来说是令人望而却步的。需要新的FLC材料来构造良好对准的FLC单元，并因此构造更大且更便宜的装置。这项研究将开发聚合物掺杂剂，通过设计和合成溶解在液晶（LC）的各向同性相中并在LC冷却时自组装成网络的嵌段共聚物，加快加工并提高良好排列的FLC电池的产量。它将表征这些FLC凝胶的物理特性，以显示它们保留了快速的电光（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。开发的添加剂将使FLC能够加工成该尺寸范围内的显示器，从而在分辨率和速度上实现阶跃式变化。科学家，液晶凝胶和弹性体已被证明是一个迷人的一类材料和理论才刚刚开始提供诱人的现象，可能会发现当实验学家开始探索FLC凝胶预测。该项目将在FLC凝胶实验研究的前沿，提供了第一次瞥见手性近晶液晶取向耦合和橡胶弹性的后果。

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.