THE SCATTERING EFFICIENCY OF THE DICHROIC DYE CONTAINING POLYMER-DISPERSED LIQUID-CRYSTAL FILMS

Electro-optical characteristics of the dye-containing polymer disperse d nematic liquid crystals (PDLC) are investigated by two methods: nume rically and experimentally. Light transmission of the dyed PDLC films was calculated using the anomalous diffraction approximation and the d ye dichroic absorption characteristics. The effect of varying the refr active index of LC, the polymer and LC resistivity and the dye fractio n dissolved in a LC droplet on the PDLC transmission was numerically s tudied. Each of these parameters taken separately has little effect on PDLC transmission. The experiment showed the effect of the dye on ele ctro-optical characteristics of the PDLC film to be more intricate. Tw o anthraquinone dyes with different molecular structure were used. The PDLC film transmission and scattering efficiency depend on the order parameter, the dichroic ratio and the solubility of the dyes in LC dro plet.