Optical property enhancement of dye-PDLC using active reflector structure

The enhancement of electro-optical properties in reflective-type dye polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) has been achieved by applying an additional white PDLC layer along with dye PDLC layer. This newly modified structure that consists of white PDLC layer and scattering reflector acts as an active reflector. In this practice, an additional arrangement of a polymer barrier layer is made-up over white PDLC layer, to block the absorption of any solution from dye PDLC. The contrast ratio of this new configuration is almost doubled with low driving voltage and high ON reflectance. Simultaneously, the “off” state has been observed darker than single layer dye PDLC structure. This new configuration can be potentially significant for various display applications such as E-paper, outdoor billboard, and flexible display. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012