Nano-phase polymer dispersed liquid crystals

We have studied Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) materials based on a recently reported fast reacting formulation. This material consists of ex tremely small droplets (similar to 10 nm in diameter) of liquid crystal wit hin a polymer matrix, we have termed this nano-phase PDLC (n-PDLC). Due to the size of these droplets this material exhibits a non-scattering nature. Instead, this transparent non-scattering material allows voltage control of its effective bulk refractive index. This has many implications, allowing the construction of polarisation insensitive liquid crystal devices. In thi s work we have designed, fabricated and tested a novel etalon device based on n-PDLC.