Phase change effect dichroic displays

Other dichroic display types to improve the viewing angle of standard TN-cells can be found in the literature. The most popular are dichroic phase change effect displays or White-Taylor mode displays [21 ] and Heil-meier type dichroic LCDs [20, 22, 23]. 

Liquid crystal polymers are also used in electrooptic displays. Side-chain polymers are quite suitable for this purpose, but usually involve much larger elastic and viscous constants, which slow the response of the device (33). The chiral smectic C phase is perhaps best suited for a polymer field effect device. The abiHty to attach dichroic or fluorescent dyes as a proportion of the side groups opens the door to appHcations not easily achieved with low molecular weight Hquid crystals. Polymers with smectic phases have also been used to create laser writable devices (30). The laser can address areas a few micrometers wide, changing a clear state to a strong scattering state or vice versa. Future uses of Hquid crystal polymers may include data storage devices. Polymers with nonlinear optical properties may also become important for device appHcations. 

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