Low power consumption and high-contrast light scattering based on polymer-dispersed liquid crystals doped with silver-coated polystyrene microspheres.

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) have attracted considerable attention for optical device applications in recent years. However, the high operating voltage of PDLCs limits their applications. This study reports a simple approach used for the first time to decrease the operating voltage of PDLCs by means of doping 3 μm-diameter silver-coated polystyrene microspheres (Ag-coated PSMSs) into PDLCs. Ag-coated PSMSs construct an induced electric field between each other when an external electric field is applied. This induced electric field can enhance the effective electric field so the operating voltage can be actively reduced from 77 V to 40 V. Such PDLCs also possess a high contrast ratio of >50 and a high on-state transmittance of ~73%. Therefore, PDLCs doped with Ag-coated PSMSs maintain a high contrast ratio and improve their electro-optical properties.