• Photonics Research
  • Vol. 10, Issue 2, 407 (2022)
Yunho Shin1, Yingfei Jiang1, Qian Wang1, Ziyuan Zhou1, Guangkui Qin2, and Deng-Ke Yang1、3、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Materials Science Program, Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
  • 2BOE Technology Group Co., Beijing, China
  • 3Department of Physics, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
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    DOI: 10.1364/PRJ.426780 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Yunho Shin, Yingfei Jiang, Qian Wang, Ziyuan Zhou, Guangkui Qin, Deng-Ke Yang. Flexoelectric-effect-based light waveguide liquid crystal display for transparent display[J]. Photonics Research, 2022, 10(2): 407 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    We report a light waveguide liquid crystal display (LCD) based on the flexoelectric effect. The display consists of two parallel flat substrates with a layer of flexoelectric liquid crystal sandwiched between them. A light-emitting diode (LED) is installed on the edge of the display and the produced light is coupled into the display. When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is uniformly aligned and is transparent. The incident light propagates through the display by total internal reflection at the interface between the substrate and air, and no light comes out of the viewing side of the display. The display appears transparent. When a voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is switched to a micrometer-sized polydomain state due to flexoelectric interaction and becomes scattering. The incident light is deflected from the waveguide mode and comes out of the viewing side of the display. We achieved thin-film-transistor active matrix compatible driving voltage by doping liquid crystal dimers with large flexoelectric coefficients. The light waveguide LCD does not use polarizers as in conventional LCDs. It has an ultrahigh transmittance near 90% in the voltage-off state. It is very suitable for transparent display, which can be used for head-up display and augmented reality display.
    fdielectric=12Δε(E·n)2,

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    Pflexoelectric=es(n·n)+eb(n××n),

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    fflexoelectric=E·Pflexoelectric=[es(n·n)+eb(n××n)]·E.

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    felastic=12K11(·n)2+12K33(n××n)2.

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    n=no=x^.

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    n=1δ2x^+δsin(ky)y^+δcos(ky)z^=x^+δsin(ky)y^+δcos(ky)z^,

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    fflexoelectric=E·Pflexoelectric=esδ2kcos2(ky)Eebδ2ksin2(ky)E.

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    felastic=12K11(·n)2+12K33(n×·n)2=12K11[δkcos(ky)]2.

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    f¯=<felastic+fflexoelectric>=12(es+eb)δ2kE+14K11δ2k2.

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    k=(es+eb)EK11.

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    W=πk=πK11(es+eb)E=πK11d(es+eb)V.

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    Yunho Shin, Yingfei Jiang, Qian Wang, Ziyuan Zhou, Guangkui Qin, Deng-Ke Yang. Flexoelectric-effect-based light waveguide liquid crystal display for transparent display[J]. Photonics Research, 2022, 10(2): 407
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