The nanoscale engineering of nematic liquid crystals for displays

Abstract

Liquid crystal displays, LCDs, are the world's ubiquitous communication devices. In only 50 years, from the late 1960s to the present day, we have seen the birth of a new industry and its accession to dominance across the globe. How was this achieved? Imagination and innovation from device engineers? Yes, but the dreams could only be realised via equally extraordinary developments in the nanoscale engineering of molecular structures of materials through rational design. This article describes how the chemistry of liquid crystals developed so that mesophase structure, transition temperatures and physical properties could be predicted by the best practitioners of the subject so that new device concepts could be realised.

Keywords:

• nematics
• displays
• LCDs
• liquid crystals

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following for their contributions to this article: Peter Raynes, Cyril Hilsum, Ian Sage, Rudolf Eidenschink and Michael Hird, and the following companies: RSRE (later DERA and QinetiQ), Merck Chemicals and Bell Laboratories. I am also deeply indebted to my late friend and colleague, Professor Ken Toyne, for his support of our research at Hull University on nematic and smectic materials.