Investigation of a polarizer-free liquid crystal phase modulation via nanometer size encapsulation of nematic liquid crystals

Abstract

We have proposed an encapsulated liquid-crystal-polymer (LC-polymer) composite structure that is manufactured via the method of LC-in-polymer encapsulation. Through this approach, the optical phase of the nanometer size encapsulation LCs is effectively increased because the layer thickness of the capsuled LCs is easily increased by various coating methods with high filling ratio (> 55%) of LCs in the polymeric matrix with embedded LCs. In such a polymer composite film of nanometer size encapsulation LC, the phase modulation can be effectively enhanced by increasing the layer thickness without negatively affecting the operating voltage or response time. In experiments, the samples reliably switch from the isotropic phase to the anisotropic phase under an external electrical field, exhibiting high optical efficiency, low operational voltage (< 25Vrms), and fast response time (< 10msec). Additionally, the LC phase modulation is not only polarization-independent but also allows for flexible devices. The enhanced electro-optic performance of the proposed nanometer size encapsulated LC devices holds potential for various applications in flexible and tunable electro-optical systems.