Fabrication of flexible light shutter using liquid crystals with polymer structure

ABSTRACT

We fabricated a light shutter using plastic substrates for high visibility of a flexible see-through display. To achieve a flexible light shutter using liquid crystals (LC), it is essential to maintain the cell gap when the light shutter is bent. We studied methods to fabricate flexible LC light shutters using plastic substrates. We demonstrated light shutters that are initially transparent and flexible with or without polymer walls. We have elucidated that polymer walls and networks provide mechanical stability against the bending of an LC light shutter without any degradation in the electro-optic characteristics. We predict that a flexible light shutter provides not only high visibility but also mechanical stability to a flexible see-through display by positioning it at the back of a flexible see-through display panel.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• light shutter
• dichroic-dye
• flexible light shutter
• polymer structure
• liquid crystal

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the IT R&D programme of MOTIE/KEIT [10042412, More than 60˝ Transparent Flexible Display with UD Resolution, Transparency 40% for Transparent Flexible Display in Large Area] and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) [No. 2014R1A2A1A01004943].