Programmable Patterned Dynamic Scattering of Liquid Crystals/Epoxy-based Polymer Composite Film Sandwiched between Two Fully Covered Electrodes

摘要

Dynamic scattering has been a prominent technique in the display industryfor several years. However, conventional approaches have required the use oftailored conductive layers to enable modular control in display panels. Thishas resulted in an increase in process complexity and device cost. Toovercome these limitations, the present work proposes a novel method forfabricating a patterned dynamic scattering film using maskedphotopolymerization of liquid crystalline epoxy in negative liquid crystals.Specifically, the film is sandwiched between two fully covered electrodes, andan electric field is applied causing dynamic scattering only in the area that hadbeen exposed to ultraviolet light during the preparation process. Theremaining area remained transparent. The underlying mechanism is attributedto the formation of polymer solely in the UV-exposed region via maskedphotopolymerization. This polymer is capable of absorbing ions, resulting inthe formation of a concentration gradient of ions between the UV-exposedand unexposed areas. The low concentration of ions in the unexposed areaprevents the induction of dynamic scattering under an electric field, leading tothe patterned dynamic scattering phenomenon. Building on this mechanism,the researchers are able to achieve several multilevel patterned dynamicscattering films sandwiched between two fully covered electrodes.