Introduction to Liquid Crystals

History
States of Matter
What is Liquid Crystal?
Classification
History

 Liquid Crystals, 1805-1922.

 Before discovery of LC, Lehmann designed a microscope that
could be used to monitor phase transition process.
History

 1888, Austrian Botanist

Freidrich Reinitzer discovers
liquid crystals .
 1897, German scientist Karl
Braun invents the cathode ray
tube (CRT).
 1958, The first paper research
about LCD in the U.S. wrote by
Dr. Glenn Brown.
 1963, Richard Williams and
George Heilmeier suggested
using liquid crystal materials for
display.
States of Matter
 Solid

Liquid crystal

 Liquid

 Gas
What is a Liquid Crystal?

 Liquid Crystal – a stable phase of matter characterized

by anisotropic properties without the existence of a 3-
dimensional crystal lattice – generally lying between the
solid and isotropic (“liquid”) phase.
Isotropic Vs Anisotropic
 Isotropic
Liquids and gases
(uniform properties in all directions).

 Anisotropic
Liquid Crystals
have orientational order
Classifications
 Lyotropic, Polymeric, and Thermotropic Liquid Crystals
Thermotropic Liquid Crystals

 Most widely used and extensively studied Liquid Crystals

 There are 3 basic phases :
Nematics
Cholesterics
Smectics
Liquid Crystal Phases
Nematic Smectic Cholesteric

Anisotropic substances may

go through one or several
Liquid Crystal Phases
Liquid Crystal Phases

T
smectic-C smectic-A nematic isotropic

11 NYU Colloquium 4 December 2003

Director

Nematic Cholesteric
Smectic-A and Smectic-C
Identifying a Liquid Crystal

 Polarizing Optical Microscope

 DSC(Differential Scanning Calorimeter)

0 50 100 150 200 250

Applications
 LC Display
 Sensor
 Temperature
 Pressure
 Chemical
 Art
Liquid Crystal Display

polarizing film reflector

glass

liquid crystal alignment

ITO layer
glass
Temperature Sensors
Switchable Windows
 Biological Sensors

Crossed Polarizers

Immune Complexes

Array of Antibodies in a Chromonic Liquid Crystal

Medicine
 Sickle-Cell Anemia (abnormal hemoglobin aggregates?)
 Atherosclerosis (cholesterol esters in liquid crystal
phase?)
 Anesthetics (environment of membrane proteins?)
 Cancer (order of microfilaments within cell?)
Flexible Plastic Display

1. Compatible with roll-to-roll processing

2. Uses commercially available materials.
Conclusions

 Liquid Crystals Are Interesting

 Scientifically
 Technologically
 Liquid Crystals Are Important
 Biology
 Chemistry
 Physics
 Engineering
 Liquid Crystals Are Beautiful!