Electro-Optic Effects in Nanophase Polymer Dispersed Liquid-Crystal Systems

Research into electro-optic effects in nanophase polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) materials has highlighted their potential as materials for a new class of tuneable filters. The structures, based on UV cured phase separated composites, contain liquid crystal both as discrete nano-scale droplets, and as material dissolved in the polymeric host. The essential difference between these materials and more conventional PDLC's is the scale of the refractive index inhomogeneity which is considerably smaller than the wavelength of visible light. Based upon effective medium approximations, the composite thus acts as a single isotropic medium, whose average refractive index is dependant on the level of applied electric field. Tuneable filters have been fabricated using the composite material for use in the visible spectral band.