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Polymer‐stabilized blue phases: promising mesophases for a new generation of liquid crystal displays
Author(s) -
Nordendorf G.,
Hoischen A.,
Schmidtke J.,
Wilkes D.,
Kitzerow H.S.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.3403
Subject(s) - polarizer , birefringence , materials science , liquid crystal , isotropy , polymer , phase (matter) , optoelectronics , optics , electric field , chemical physics , condensed matter physics , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Blue phases—special chiral liquid crystalline mesophases—are promising candidates for electro‐optic devices with improved performance and simplified fabrication. A necessary precondition for possible applications is a significantly enhanced temperature range of their existence, which can be achieved by a cross‐linked polymer network formed by in situ polymerization. Unlike many other mesophases, blue phases are optically isotropic if no voltage is applied. Regarding the transmission of a blue phase cell placed between crossed polarizers, the optical isotropy enables—at least in principle—a perfect dark state, independent of the viewing angle, without the necessity of any alignment layer. The application of an in‐plane electric field induces a strong birefringence (Kerr effect). The effective Kerr constants are much larger than those of isotropic liquids, and the switching times between the dark and the induced bright state are in the submillisecond range. Some basic properties of blue phases, state‐of‐the‐art performance, and remaining challenges of the development of polymer‐stabilized blue phases are reviewed in this article. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.