Open AccessEnhancement of electro-optic properties in liquid crystal devices via titanium nanoparticle doping
Author(s) -
Yong Seok Ha,
Hyung Jun Kim,
Hong Gyu Park,
Dae Shik Seo
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.20.006448
Subject(s) - materials science , electric field , liquid crystal , nanoparticle , doping , van der waals force , optics , dispersion (optics) , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , chemical physics , molecule , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
We investigated the properties of nematic liquid crystal device (NLC) doped with titanium (Ti) nanoparticle (~100nm). The electro-optic (EO) properties of LCs changed according to Ti nanoparticle doping concentration. Ti nanoparticles in the NLC cells focused the electric field flux and strengthened the electric field. Further, Ti nanoparticles in NLC molecules may trap charged ionic impurities and suppress the screen effect, leading to a stronger electric field and the van der Waals dispersion interactions between NLC molecules and the alignment layers. We also simulated the boundary conditions of the Ti nanoparticles in the electric field using Ansoft Maxwell software. Our experimental results agreed with the phenomenon predicted by software simulation based on general physical theory. Synthetically, at a 1.0 wt. % Ti nanoparticle doping concentration, the NLC cells showed the best EO properties, such as a low threshold voltage (1.25V), fast response time (13.2ms), and low pretilt angle (3.90°).