STTR Phase I: Controlled Phase Separation for Graphic Smart Card Display

本小企业技术转让第一阶段项目将开发和模拟被动驱动图形显示器的相分离材料，这些材料是可以显示图形图像的智能卡所需的。目前，几乎所有的消费者信用卡都没有功能显示。由于信用卡上的号码和安全码不能更改，估计每个账户每年的欺诈使用高达40美元。智能卡显示器的当前市场仅限于分段设计，但对智能卡显示诸如字符、符号和图像的图形内容的需求日益增长。拟议的工作将：（1）使封装的材料配方能够用于图形显示器用途;（2）在阿克伦大学（UA）对光聚合/相分离过程建模，以预测转换效率和在双相液晶（ChLC）中的残留污染;（3）在两个位置处用表征的显示器测试模型预测;（4）使用配方制作并在智能卡中集成128 × 32像素的图形显示器;（5）与卡片制造商联合，将显示器集成到卡中并进行测试，以确保满足ISO规范和客户要求。更广泛的影响/该项目的商业潜力将是为各种应用提供图形智能卡。 如今几乎所有的消费者信用卡都没有功能显示，这导致欺诈使用量增加（估计每年每个账户高达40美元）。 最近，分段显示器已经开始出现在一些卡上，作为改变安全代码的手段。 然而，分段显示器是有限的解决方案，因为智能卡的消费者市场越来越需要图形显示器，允许卡显示复杂的图像，例如图标、面部、符号和字符。 该项目的重点是为这种显示器开发材料;由此产生的产品将能够在位于美国的现有生产线上以低成本大批量生产。待开发的显示技术可以满足所有关键的消费者智能卡要求，例如低功耗、紧凑性、灵活性和坚固性。 该技术预计将产生巨大的影响，因为已发行卡的市场是巨大的：全球市场每年约有170亿张卡，而且还在增长。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project shall develop and model phase separating materials for passively-driven graphical displays, which are needed for smart cards that can display graphic images. Nearly all consumer credit cards used today have no functional display. Since the numbers and security codes on the cards cannot be changed, fraudulent use is estimated to be as high as $40 per account annually. The current market for smart card displays is limited to segmented designs, but there is a growing need for smart cards to display graphical content such as characters, symbols, and images. The proposed work will: (1) enable encapsulated material formulations for graphic display use; (2) model the photopolymerization/phase separation process to predict conversion efficiency and residual contamination in the cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC) at the University of Akron (UA); (3) test model predictions with characterized displays at both locations; (4) use formulations to make and integrate a 128x32 pixel graphic display in a smart card; and (5) jointly with a card manufacturer, integrate the display in a card and test to ensure that ISO specifications and customer requirements are met.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be the availability of graphical smart cards for a variety of applications. Nearly all consumer credit cards used today have no functional display, which results in an increased amount of fraudulent use (estimated to be as high as $40 per account annually). Recently, segmented displays have begun to appear on some cards, as a means to change a security code. Segmented displays, however, are a limited solution, as the consumer market for smart cards is increasingly demanding graphical displays allowing the card to show complex images such as icons, faces, symbols, and characters. This project is focused on materials development for such a display; the resulting product will be able to be manufactured in high volumes and at low cost on existing manufacturing lines located in the US. The display technology to be developed can meet all the key consumer smart card requirements such as low power consumption, compactness, flexibility, and ruggedness. The technology is expected to have a tremendous impact as the established market for issued cards is huge: the global market is roughly 17 billion cards annually and growing.