Patterned waveguide liquid crystal displays

Abstract

We report a novel polymer stabilized liquid crystal based light waveguide display whose performance is significantly improved by using patterned photo-polymerization or an electrode. The waveguide display is edge-lit and operates on the light scattering of the polymer stabilized liquid crystal. When no voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is uniformly aligned and is transparent. The incident light is waveguided through the display by total internal reflection and no light comes out of the viewing side of the display. When a voltage is applied, the liquid crystal is switched to a micron-sized poly-domain structure and becomes scattering. The incident light is scattered out of the viewing side of the display. We demonstrated that by using patterned photo-polymerization or an ITO electrode, the scattering efficiency of the liquid crystal in the voltage-on state is significantly enhanced. We have achieved high brightness, low driving voltage, sub-millisecond switching time and high contrast ratio. This new display is suitable for transparent and augmented display applications.