Self-Organisation and Self-Assembly in Aliphatic Based Liquid Crystals

在过去的十年中，LCD已经成为移动的电话、PC显示器和电视的标准技术。实际上所有这些设备都是基于RLC的。然而，几十毫秒的切换时间对于某些视频帧速率应用仍然是一个问题，特别是随着刷新率向200 - 400 Hz范围移动，以及从多屏幕到3D显示器发展的应用，未来的LCD电视预计将变得更加复杂。投影设备也将在未来持续增长，微型投影仪将成为移动的投影设备应用的新浪潮。特别是，这些设备将被纳入移动的电话和PC平板电脑，并承诺增加可用于下载视频的带宽。光投影也将扩展到相位调制，从而扩展到体积成像和移动全息图。例如，《星期日泰晤士报》最近报道说，美国科学家已经开发出可切换的全息设备，可以给科幻电影提供移动的体积图像。在英国，这一概念的工作比目前在美国处于更先进的阶段，然而，加工能力和材料开发是阻碍进展的主要因素。从那时起，处理能力增加了一倍多，但材料的发展受到大面积平板电视商业需求的限制。- 为了使显示器和投影技术成为现实，需要开发更快切换的液晶。目前的发光或背光显示器对于户外应用不是特别可接受。LCD和OLED显示器在明亮的日光下都可能被压倒，并且在移动的电话中使用时难以阅读。LCD中的透反射模式显示出一些可能的优点，但它们难以制造，只剩下增加光源强度或使用光散射模式设备的可能性，例如亚马逊Kindle。然而，世界正在走向无纸社会，例如，随着电子书的出现，传统平装书的消亡似乎是不可避免的。电子阅读器相对于书籍的一个简单优势是，它们将减轻旅行公众携带的物品的重量，特别是航空旅行。此外，减少纸张的使用将带来额外的环境效益。然而，白天观看是必要的。虽然电泳显示器提供了作为光散射装置的优点，并且因此易于在全日光下读取，但是它们是慢的并且不能提供视频帧速率响应，并且它们是单色的并且不提供颜色切换。- 为了使户外电子显示器成为日常现实，需要开发新的设备概念。一种可能性是通过近晶液晶提供的光散射模式。这些技术发展的主要限制因素在于提供光开关或相位调制的材料的设计和性质。在这个建议中，我们的目标是使用纳米相分离的响应材料的化学设计中的分子间相互作用的技术，以提供自组装系统与更快的开关耦合的可能性，提供上级光散射性能。

Over the last decade LCDs have become the standard technology for mobile phones, PC monitors and televisions. Practically all of these devices are based on nematic LCs. However, the switching times of tens of milliseconds are still an issue for some video frame rate applications, particularly with future LCD-TVs expected to become more complex with the refresh rates moving towards the 200 - 400 Hz range, and applications developing from multiscreen to 3D displays. Projection devices are also set for sustained future growth, with picoprojectors fronting a new wave of applications for mobile projection devices. In particular, such devices will be incorporated into mobile telephones and PC tablets with the promised increase in bandwidth available for downloading video. Light projection will also extend to phase modulation and thus to volumetric imaging and moving holograms. For example, it was recently reported in the Sunday Times that USA scientists had developed switchable holographic devices to give Sci-Fi moving volumetric images. In the UK work on this concept was at a more advanced stage than it currently is in the USA, however, processing power and materials development were the main factors that held up progress. Since then processing power has more than doubled, but materials development has been restrained by the commercial requirements of large area flat-screen TVs. - For display and projection technologies to become realities there is a need for the development of faster switching liquid crystals.Current light emissive or back-lit displays are not particularly acceptable for outdoor applications. Both LCD and OLED displays can be overpowered in bright daylight, and are difficult to read when used in mobile telephones. Trans-reflective modes in LCDs show some possible advantages, but they are difficult to manufacture, leaving the only possibility of increasing the intensity of the light source or using light scattering mode devices, eg the Amazon Kindle. However, the world is moving towards a paperless society, and, for example, with the advent of electronic books the demise of conventional paperback appears to be inevitable. One simple advantage of E-readers over books is that they will cut down on the weight of items carried by the travelling public, particularly for air travel. Furthermore, the reduced use of paper will have additional environmental benefits. However, daylight viewing is a necessity. Although electrophoretic displays offer the advantage of being light scattering devices, and so are easy to read in full daylight, they are slow and cannot offer video-frame rate responses, and they are monochrome and do not provide colour switching. - For outdoor electronic displays to become everyday realities there is a need for the development of new device concepts. One possibility is via the light scattering modes provided by smectic liquid crystals.The major restraints on the developments of these technologies lies at the heart of the design and nature of the materials that provide the switching or phase modulation of the light. In this proposal we aim to use the technique of nanophase segregation of the inter-molecular interactions in the chemical design of responsive materials in order to provide self-assembled systems with faster switching coupled with a possibility for providing superior light scattering properties.