title: A bistable polarizer-free electro-optical switch using a droplet manipulation on a liquid crystal and polymer composite film.
abstract: A bistable, polarizer-free, and reflective electro-optical switch based on a droplet manipulation on a liquid crystal and polymer composite film (LCPCF) is demonstrated. A color droplet on LCPCF can be manipulated by a wettability gradient owning to the distribution of LC directors anchored among the polymer grains on LCPCF. The contrast ratio is around 8:1 in a reflective mode. The potential applications of droplet manipulation are electronic papers and reflective displays.
authors.affiliation: Department of Photonics, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30050, Taiwan. yilin@mail.nctu.edu.tw
authors.forename: Yi-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jiong-Kuan
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ting-Yu
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Hsu-Kuan
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007909:Lenses; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012996:Solutions / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011108:Polymers; D012996:Solutions