| Holographic Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystals (HPDLCs) are holographically formed systems with small liquid crystal droplets dispersed in polymer binders with certain patterns. The switchable Bragg gratings of HPDLC show great potential for color reflective liquid crystal displays, which has become popular and highly demanded due to its lower power consumption, thinner form factor, and lower weight.; A brief introduction of liquid crystal, polymer and HPDLC are given and followed by detailed description of the fabrication and characterization of HPDLC. Characterization methods include optical, voltage response and microscopic measurement.; Significant progress of reflectance increase and drive-voltage decrease is reported. The reflectance was increased from 20% to 80% with optimization of the chemical material and novel fabrication method. The V90 was reduced more than 50% by doping surfactants and a high dielectric anisotropy material in HPDLC system. A novel fabrication process is used and the narrow viewing angle is broadened by more than 10 times. Other studies of HPDLC, such as aging, peak reflection dependence on cell thickness, response time and contrast ratio were also reported. Computer modeling of the optical performance strongly supported the empirical studies.; In addition to the application of HPDLC on reflective color displays, we have discovered and broadened applications of HPDLC on color image-capture, switchable optical lenses and fiber optic telecommunications. Finally, future research directions are suggested. |
