Patent · US Expired

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device having an ultraviolet-polymerizable matrix and a variable optical transmission and a method for preparing same

US5867238A · kind A · utility

127Cited by
30References
46Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 19, 1996
Grant dateFeb 2, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 19, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02F1/1333
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device comprises a multiplicity of droplets of a birefringent, functionally nematic liquid crystal material dispersed in a matrix comprising the reaction product of ultraviolet radiation polymerizable materials. The device specularly transmits incident light as a function of the magnitude of an electric field applied across the device. The difference between a first applied voltage corresponding to a first percentage of the total incident light transmitted by the device as specular light and a second applied voltage corresponding to a second percentage of the total incident light transmitted by the device as specular light is greater than or equal to 15 volts. As a result, a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal device according to the invention displays a variable grey scale which has a uniform optical transmission. A method for preparing a PDLC device in general is also disclosed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.