Digital optical memory devices based on polymer-dispersed liquid crystals films: appropriate polymer matrix morphology

ABSTRACT

Permanent memory effect (PME) in polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) allows a greater applicability range than traditional PDLCs. One of the most interesting application could be the possible storing of optical information, the so-called Digital Optical Memory (DOM) devices. To test this application it would be required a display structure having an array of pixels addresses. Each pixel was filled with PDLC film with PME and electric field can be independently applied to different PDLC elements to define on/off pixel states (transparent or scattering states).PDLC films were obtained from a mixture of E7 nematic liquid crystal and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate with 875 g mol^-1oligomer as precursor of the polymeric matrix. The effect of the curing temperature and the UV light intensity as well time exposure during the polymerisations on the electro-optical performance of PDLC films were investigated. In this way, a high transparency state (T_OFF=55%) for a long period of time at room temperature even after the applied voltage has been switched off were obtained, started from an opaque state (T₀=0%) and after reaching a transparent state (T_MAX=75%), which causes 73% PME. The application to an 8x8 passive matrix using PDLC with PME is also demonstrated as proof-of-principle.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC)
• liquid crystal
• permanent memory effect
• store optical information
• photochemical polymerisation
• thermal polymerisation

Acknowledgments

Ana Mouquinho thanks FCT for a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/91870/2012). LAQV (Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry) is financed by national funds from FCT/MEC (UID/QUI/50006/2013) and co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007265).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia by means a Ph.D. grant [SFRH/BD/91870/2012]. LAQV (Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry) is financed by national funds from FCT/MEC [UID/QUI/50006/2013] and co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007265].