Novel Nanoreplication Methods for Manufacturing of Optoelectronic and Photonic Devices

液晶显示器(LCD)已经迅速发展成为计算机和用户、电视和观众以及机器和操作员之间的主要界面。这一成功在很大程度上是由于技术的适应性，通过创造新的制造方法和部件来达到新的目标规格。在过去的三年里，通过衍生公司ZBD Display，新型LCD开始在零售标签行业建立起来，ZBD Display是2012年欧洲增长第二快的科技公司。这个英国的成功案例是基于一种新型的LCD，在标准显示器的内表面上制造复杂的亚微米纹理，这是本提案的申请者发明的。将纳米结构添加到LCD中创造新型光电子器件自成立以来，申请者在技术上带领该公司走向市场，现在建议在曼彻斯特大学建立一个世界领先的新型制造方法和技术中心。这项拟议的工作将发明新的亚微米结构，并将其应用于一系列新设备，从用于显示和非显示应用的其他液晶设备，全彩色电子纸，到光子设备和传感器。申请者将为学术环境带来非凡的行业经验，不仅创造国际公认的高质量研究，还将在英国进行实际应用和创造就业机会。从一开始，它的主要意图就是从拟议的工作中创建衍生公司。该提案的期限为五年。这项工作将从研究制造比迄今探索的更小更深的结构的方法开始，将这些结构应用于不同类型的液晶设备，包括超高速显示器和2D光学调制器、新型自适应光学系统(包括双稳隐形眼镜)和多稳态相位调制器。随着工作的进展，主题将扩展到表面轮廓取向的液晶系统，包括更多的分散剂。将研究一系列不同的分散剂，从纳米粒子胶体、Janus粒子悬浮液、乳液和深奥粒子，如介晶纳米粒子、碳纳米管和量子点。在这一领域发明的关键是能够控制和制造所需的表面属性，以满足所需的设备操作。最终，这种新的制造方法将被扩展到允许更复杂的结构适用于更广泛的微流体系统，而不仅仅是那些使用液晶的系统。这项工作的应用范围是巨大和多样化的，从电信系统中的组件、新型可调谐激光器、易于制造的全彩色柔性电子纸，到可以检测单个分子或病毒的生物传感器。

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) have quickly grown to become the dominant interface between computer and user; television and viewer; and machine and operator. This success is largely due to the adaptability of the technology to hit new target specifications through the creation of new manufacturing methods and components. In the last three years, novel LCDs have begun to be established in the retail labelling sector through the spin-out company ZBD Displays, Europe's second fastest growing technology company of 2012. This UK success story is based on a new type of LCD in which complex sub-micron textures are manufactured on the internal surface of an otherwise standard display, an invention made by the applicant of this proposal. ADDING NANO-STRUCTURES TO LCD TO CREATE A NEW BREED OF OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES Since founding and technically leading that company to the market place, the applicant now proposes to set up a world leading centre for novel manufacturing methods and technologies based at the University of Manchester. The proposed work will invent new novel sub-micron structures and apply them to a range of novel devices, from other liquid crystal devices used for display and non-display applications, full-colour electronic paper, to photonic devices and sensors. The applicant will bring exceptional industrial experience to the academic environment to not only create internationally judged high quality research, but also to have practical application and job-creation in the UK. It is a primary intention from the outset to create spin-out companies from the proposed work. The proposal is for a five year period. The work will begin by studying methods for producing smaller and deeper structures than have been explored to date, applying these structures to different types of liquid crystal device, including ultra-fast displays and 2D optical modulators, novel adaptive optic systems (including a bistable contact-lens) and multi-stable phase modulators. As the work progresses, the theme will extend to surface profile aligned liquid crystal systems with additional dispersants included. A range of different dispersants will be investigated, from nano-particle colloids, Janus particle suspensions, emulsions and esoteric particles such as mesogenic nano-particles, carbon-nanotubes, and quantum dots. Key to inventing in this space is the ability to control and manufacture the required surface properties for the desired device operation. Eventually, the novel fabrication method will be extended to allow more complex structures suitable for a wider range of micro-fluidic systems, not just those using liquid crystals.The range of applications of the work is enormous and diverse, from components in telecommunication systems, novel tuneable lasers, full colour flexible electronic paper that is easy to manufacturer, to biological sensors that can detect individual molecules or viruses.