The comparison of electrooptical properties of PDLC liquid-crystalline composites in visual and near-IR ranges

Electrooptical properties of conventional Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals (PDLC) composites were compared in visual and near-IR ranges for the electrically-induced light transmission effect. It was confirmed that the most important for the optical contrast value is the matching of refractive indices of the polymer matrix and dispersed droplets of liquid crystal, as well as matching droplet size and wavelength of incident radiation. The optimization of electrooptical parameters of such materials needs new liquid-crystalline mixtures dedicated for near-IR range. The studied effect can be applied for manufacturing window glasses with electrically adjusted transmission of infrared radiation. Keywords: material science, liquid-crystalline composites, PDLC, electrooptics, infrared