Frontier Physical Properties and Electro-Optical Technologies of Liquid Crystals in Asymmetrical Optics, Electrohydrodynamic Structures, and the Effects of Optical Sensitive Materials and Surface Acoustic Waves Onto Liquid Crystal Structures( I )

The included research topics of this 3-year project (109/08/01-112/07/31) consist of five main tasks. All tasks will be carried out parallel according to their connections. The five main tasks are listed as follows.(A) Asymmetrical optics in liquid crystals (1)Asymmetrical optics in absorption mode liquid crystals and their applications (2)Electrically-/optically- controllable asymmetrical waveguide liquid crystal devices (3)Electrically switchable asymmetrical diffraction in liquid crystal gratings (4)Polarization selective polarization rotation and its applications using cholesteric liquid crystals (5)Multifunctional and electrically switchable asymmetrical liquid crystal light shutters and the applications in smart windows(B) The properties of dynamic structures of functional materials-doped liquid crystals (1)Dynamic structures of ionic smectics-doped liquid crystals and their applications (2)Dynamic structures of ions-doped nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals (3)Bistable dynamic scattering based on gelators- and ionic materials-doped liquid crystals (4)Dynamic structures of cholesteric liquid crystals filled in liquid crystal cell treated with homeotropic alignment layers (5)Electrohydrodynamics and William’s domains of nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals(C) The effects of surface acoustic waves and high voltages/currents on different structures of liquid crystals (1)Polymer dispersed liquid crystals (2)Ions-doped nematic liquid crystals (3)Polymer-network liquid crystals (4)Cholesteric liquid crystals(D) The properties of optical sensitive materials-doped liquid crystals and their applications (1)Opto-electrically controllable scattering and absorption modes liquid crystal light shutters based on chiral azobenzenes-doped cholesteric liquid crystals (2)Liquid crystal light shutters based on polymer-stabilized azobenzene-doped cholesteric liquid crystals (3)Liquid crystal vertical alignment by photo-alignment techniques (4)Broaden Bragg’s reflection band of cholesteric liquid crystals by spatial pitch distributions (5)Cholesteric liquid crystal films based on chiral azobenzene-doped cholesteric liquid crystal polymers(E)Development and studies of liquid crystal electro-optical devices (1)Tunable focal length Fresnel lens based on a spatial light modulator (2)Self-diagnostic system for compensating changes caused by temperature dependent liquid crystal parameters (3)Electrically controllable liquid crystal polarization rotators (4)Electrically controllable liquid crystal broadband quarter-wave plates (5)Liquid crystal polarization rotators and lenses of radial and concentric polarizations