Quarterly Question
Q: In the previous edition of The Liquid Crystal Twist the question was asked: “What determines the yellow color and black background in a yellow/black ChLCD product?" The planar state (reflecting yellow in this example) and focal conic state (dark) were discussed. What follows is Part II of the answer.
A: A third state called the homotropic state plays a key role in all ChLCD products permitting the switching from the focal conic (dark) state back to planar (bright/reflective) state. The liquid crystal molecules can not go directly from the focal conic (dark) state to planar (bright) state; they must first go into a transitory state called the homeotropic state. Recall that the focal conic state is actually a transmissive state and it is dark because of an absorbing black coating on the back of the display.
The homeotropic state: When an electric field is applied to the display the liquid crystal molecules rotate so that they are parallel to the electric field standing up straight at a ninety degree angle with respect to the glass substrate. Depending on how quickly the electric field is removed defines whether the molecules realign into the planar (helical bright) state or the focal conic (dark state). If the field is removed quickly the display goes to the planar (bright) state. If it is removed slowly the display goes to the focal conic (dark) state.
If you have a question regarding Kent Displays' products or technology please submit your questions. We will select a question from those submitted and publish it along with the answer in a future newsletter.
Announcements
The Embedded Systems Conference Boston
Kent Displays will exhibit at The 2006 Embedded Systems Conference Boston to be held at the Hynes Convention Center September 25th to 28th. Our standard product line as well as our latest product developments will be exhibited at booth 713.
Stop by our booth to register to win a USB flash drive featuring a “No Power” ChLCD or register by email .
IDRC
Title: Single Substrate Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Encapsulation via Polymerization Induced Phase Separation
Presenter : Dr. Tod Schneider
Sep 18 - 21, 2006
Kent, OH
IDRC
Title: Cholesteric Reflective Displays: Thin and Flexible
Presenter: Dr. J. William Doane
Sep 18 - 21, 2006
Kent, OH
IDRC
Title: Substrate-Free Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Displays
Presenter: Dr. Irina Shiyanovskaya
Sep 18 - 21, 2006
Kent, OH
Plastic Electronics ConferenceTitle: Flexible Cholesteric Displays
Presenter: Dr. Asad Khan
Oct 24 - 25, 2006
Frankfurt, Germany
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Editor's Notes
Welcome to Volume 2, issue 3 of Kent Displays, Inc. Quarterly Newsletter: The Liquid Crystal Twist. As the world leader in the research, development and manufacture of Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Display products, it is our hope to bring you interesting and useful information regarding ChLCD technology, products, distributors/representatives and customers each quarter.
In the News
SmartDisk introduces memory device featuring Kent Displays 1/8 VGA ChLCD.
SmartDisk Corporation of Fort Myers, FL announced that it has begun shipping its new FireLite® XPress portable palm sized hard drive with Kent Displays 1/8 VGA ChLCD. The drive available in 60GB and 120 GB versions is now available at major resellers as well as www.smartdisk.com. The FireLite® XPress will soon be available at major consumer retail stores.
FireLite® XPress featuring Kent Display “No Power” 1/8 VGA display is readable without power, identifies the drive by user designated name, indicates the date of the last information update, provides a table of contents for the drive and displays drive capacity and available space information. Suggested retail prices are: $199.99 for the 60 GB version and $299.99 for the 120 GB version.
Magink Displays Technologies becomes Kent Displays Licensee.
Kent Displays announces that it has licensed its Cholesteric “No Power” LCD Technology to Magink Displays Technologies (www.magink.com) resolving all previous legal issues between the two companies. According to Joel Domino, President of Kent Displays” We are pleased to announce the completion of our negotiations with Magink with such a positive and cordial outcome.”
26th International Display Research Conference – IDRC 2006.
The International Display Research Conference (IDRC) is the premier annual international conference covering fundamental technologies for advanced electronic displays. This forward-looking conference rotates yearly between North America, Asia (where it is called "Asia Display") and Europe (where it is called "Euro Display"). The 2006 IDRC will take place September 18-21 at the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, U.S.A.
For the first time in the event’s history, the IDRC will take place in a university setting underscoring the conference focus on research and allowing attendees to participate in laboratory workshops.
IDRC offers an intimate look at topics being actively researched across North America in universities and the display industry as a whole. This year, the conference will be broken up into 14 technical sessions focusing on some of the most relevant display research topics of today and tomorrow.
SID 2006 USB Flash drive winners.
Mike Wexler
ICI
Chris Weeks
Eikos, Inc.
Ken Gudan
Ricoh Innovations Inc.
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