Study of the Operational Properties of Bistable Smectic-A Liquid Crystal Displays

Nowadays liquid crystal display (LCD) is an integral part of humans’ everyday life. High demand for new and innovative LCD products force LCD industry to develop and implement new types of LCDs. Bistable smectic-A (SmA) LCD is one of the most promising devices for smart glass applications due to long-term bistability, low haze at clear state, low transmittance at scatter state and low power consumption.

The study describes the most relevant conclusions obtained from frequency response testing and electric current measurements of bistable SmA LCD samples. Bistable LCDs have two states: opaque (light scattering state) and focal conic (transparent state). Switching between clear and scatter states and vice versa is a frequency dependant process. The conducted research on bistable SmA LC frequency response provides important knowledge about operation principles of the smart glass devices.