Displaytech, Inc.

Lc Vision, LLC

University Research Corporation

California Institute of Technology

Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft

Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Michael D Wand

William N Thurmes

David M Walba

Rohini T Vohra

Kundalika M More

Xin Hua Chen

Neil Gough

Xin-Hua Chen

Sean D Monahan

Julia A Kornfield

Uwe Muller

Zuleikha Kurji

Daniel J Dyer

Peter Cobben

Mark A Handschy

Claus Escher

Naoki Sasou

Tetsunori Matsushita

Kundalika Mor E

Sumio Maruyama

A main object of the present invention is to provide a birefringence improving agent that can realize a satisfactory white display even in a liquid crystal display device in which a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition is used and which can reduce the birefringence and has a large cell gap; a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition and a liquid crystal display device that use the birefringence improving agent; and a compound that can be used in a ferroelectric liquid crystal composition.

Birefringence improving agent, ferroelectric liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display device using the agent, and compound

A system having a ferroelectric liquid host material and a small amount of polymer additive is provided. In an embodiment, the polymer additive improves the physical characteristics of the system. In an embodiment, the system can be used in FLC applications.

Ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) polymers

A system having a vertically-aligned negative delta E nematic liquid crystal host material and a small amount of liquid crystal polymer is provided. The liquid crystal polymer improves the switching speed of a vertically aligned nematic system without sacrificing contrast or viewing angle.

Polymer-doped vertically-aligned nematic liquid crystals

Provided are compounds useful for use in liquid crystal mixtures to improve the properties of the mixture. In embodiments, the compound has two cyclohexyl ring and a tail containing one more fluorine atoms.

Liquid crystals having cyclohexyl core structures and fluorinated tails

Provided is a method for measuring one or more properties of liquid crystals in an automated manner. Also provided is a liquid crystal analysis instrument (LCAS) that automatically measures one or more properties of liquid crystals.

Automated liquid crystal analysis instrument

A liquid crystal compound represented by the following formula is provided to enhance the contrast of a liquid crystal device using ferroeloctric liquid crystal: Ris an alkyl group having 4 to 6 carbon atoms. Ris an alkyl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms or an alkoxy group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. Xand Xare each independently hydrogen ox fluorine.

Liquid crystal compound, ferroelectric liquid crystal composition, and ferroelectric liquid crystal display

The present invention provides organogermanium compounds and liquid crystal compositions comprising such a compound.

Liquid crystal compositions comprising an organogermanium compound and methods for using the same

The invention relates to chiral nonracemic liquid crystal compounds having achiral tails comprising a perfluoroalkyl terminal portion which are useful as components in liquid crystal to impart high polarization to the mixture. The materials of this invention can be combined with known liquid crystal host materials to impart improved properties. Chiral nonracemic compounds of this invention can function as additives or dopants in host materials to impart chirality into an LC material.

High polarization ferroelectric liquid crystal compositions

The invention provides LC compositions that exhibit V-shaped switching when aligned in an analog device configuration and exhibit bistability when aligned in a bookshelf-type device configuration. The invention more specifically provides LC compositions of formula 1 and particularly chiral nonracemic compounds of formula 1 which exhibit bistable switching as well as V-shaped switching when aligned in appropriate device configurations. The invention also provides methods of using the compounds of the invention in making LC compositions and electooptical devices comprising an aligned layer of the compositions of this invention.

Partially fluorinated liquid crystal material

The invention relates to chiral nonracemic liquid crystal compounds which are useful as components in liquid crystal compositions to impart high polarization to the mixture. The materials of this invention can be combined with liquid crystal host materials to impart improved properties to mixtures. Chiral nonracemic compounds of this invention can function as additives or dopants in host materials to impart chirality into an LC material. Most generally the invention provides mixtures containing one or more chiral nonracemic dopants which have a chiral nonracemic tail that is an optionally substituted &#x3b1;-ester &#x3b3;-lactone of the formula: where * indicates a chiral carbon; Ris a straight-chain or branched alkyl or alkenyl group wherein one or more non-neighboring carbon atoms can be replaced with an oxygen atom and wherein one or more carbons can be substituted with one or more halogens; Rand R, independently of one another, can be hydrogen, a halogen or a lower alkyl or alkenyl group; and X is hydrogen or a lower alkyl group. LC compounds having a chiral nonracemic tail of this general formula have large dipoles (and large spontaneous polarization (P)) and when doped into hosts such as achiral smectic C FLC hosts, lead to improved switching speeds of the FLC materials.

High polarization dopants for ferroelectric liquid crystal compositions

Compounds useful as components of LC and FLC compositions which in turn are useful in the manufacture of optical devices. Compounds of this invention have a silane tail, which can contain more than one Si. Compounds of this invention can include those with disilane tails. The invention provides LC compositions containing one or more of the silanes of this invention. Addition of one or more of the compounds of this invention to LC compositions can result in significant improvement in optical or LC properties. In particular, the compounds of this invention can significantly lower the melting point, freezing point or both of an LC composition resulting in significant improvement in device stability.

Alkyl silane liquid crystal compounds

Compounds that are useful as components in liquid crystal compositions, particularly in ferroelectric liquid crystal compositions. Compounds of the invention are rod-like molecules with a mesogenic (generally linear) core to which an alkene tail and an alkyl or alkoxy tail with a perfluoroalkyl terminal portion are bonded. Compounds of the invention can contain a variety of one, two or three ring cores, wherein the rings maybe aromatic or alicyclic. Alkenes of the invention are useful as components to improve LC properties of mixtures, for example, to lower melting point of lower freezing point, of LC compositions.

Liquid crystalline materials containing perfluoroalkyl and alkenyl tail groups

Liquid crystal compounds having a silane tail with a perfluoroalkyl terminal portion

Liquid crystal materials that exhibit bookshelf structures are provided. When these bookshelf materials are incorporated into a bistable host material, the mixture exhibits a higher switching angle and increased A to C phase transition than bistable hosts without the bookshelf material. These bookshelf materials and bistable compositions are useful in liquid crystal displays, for example.

Bookshelf liquid crystal materials and devices

This invention provides LC compositions useful as birefringent materials in electrooptic devices which exhibit zero or low negatively sloped birefringence dispersioon (e.g., exhibiting positive birefringence dispersion significantly lower than that of currently available LC compositions) or more preferably positively sloped birefringence dispersion in which birefringence of the material increases with wavelength. The invention provides compounds useful as components of LC compositions which exhibit negative birefringence where n is higher than n . The compounds of this invention are dimers of LC-like compounds in which the monomers are linked to each other through a high birefringence moiety (dimerization linker). The LC monomers consist of an LC core and one or two tail groups. Preferred monomers for this invention have low birefringence in comparison to the birefringence of the monomer linking moiety. The dimers have normal positive birefringence dispersion to have birefringence that is lower in absolute value at longer wavelengths. But since they have negative birefringence, their birefringence actually increases (i.e., goes less negative) as wavelength increases.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Michael D Wand