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Advances in Liquid Crystal Materials
Frost & Sullivan, March 2007, Pages: 80
The Frost & Sullivan research service titled Advances in Liquid Crystal Materials provides an overview of the emerging trends in the liquid crystal materials landscape, involving the key drivers, challenges, restraints, and the analysis of adoption trends. In this research service, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine new liquid crystal materials, study of defects, liquid crystal manufacture, and search for new applications.
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The following technologies are covered in this research:
Liquid Crystals: Liquid crystals are composed of moderate sized organic molecules, which tend to be elongated, although they also include a broad range of other exotic shapes. The elongated shape of these materials enables the orientation of the axis of the molecules along a particular direction under suitable conditions. This has an impact on the behavior of light and electricity in the material. Notably, these materials exhibit a phase of matter that has properties between those of a conventional liquid, and those of a solid crystal. Liquid crystals can be further classified as thermotropic and lyotropic LCs.
Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs): These are a unique class of wholly aromatic polyester polymers, whose structure consists of densely packed fibrous polymer chains. This provides self-reinforcement almost to the melting point. These are hybrid materials that combine the same mesophases characteristic of ordinary liquid crystals while retaining the versatility of polymers. For a polymer to exhibit liquid crystal characteristics there exists a need to incorporate mesogens into their chains. The placement of the mesogens determines the type of polymer liquid crystal (PLC) that is formed, that is, when the mesogens are a part of the main chain of the polymer the PLCs are known as main chain liquid crystals (MC-PLCs). On the other hand, when the mesogens are connected as side chains to the polymer by a flexible 'bridge' known as the spacer, the PLCs are known as side chain polymer liquid crystals (SC-PLCs).
Technology Overview
Needs of New Applications Drives Developments
Liquid crystal technology is widely prevalent, with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) being used in calculators, watches, telephones, radios, and car dashboards, and larger, full-color displays in laptop computer screens and LC-TV sets. However, researchers consider the above-mentioned applications as only the tip of the iceberg, as the range of possibilities offered by these versatile materials is still being researched extensively for use in novel applications. This search for new applications as well as technological improvements is driving further advances in the field of liquid crystal materials. In the future, manufacture of low-power displays without backlights, paper-like displays, head-mounted displays, and large flat displays is likely to offer opportunities for liquid crystal materials. Moreover, liquid crystal material manufacturers are also exploring the possibility of using these materials for non-display applications; however, they have not yet proved to be commercially viable.
'When it comes to liquid crystal research, we find that there is a lot of research related to the development of new materials for liquid-crystal mixtures and alignment layers with improved lifetime for projection LCDs, faster liquid-crystal materials to improve video performance, chemical synthesis and physical properties of new liquid crystalline materials, liquid crystal polymers and elastomers, composite systems with liquid crystalline components, study of topological defects and patterns, and so on,' says the analyst Archana Jayarajah. 'However, much of this research remains confined to laboratories and it is essential to have the entire path charted out in order to translate them into technology/product demonstration, and eventually, mass production.'
Global Regulations Driving Recycling of Devices
Globally, new regulations such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive may require changes in the environmental requirements on the sale and recycling of consumer goods. In the future, requirements are expected to become more stringent, and recycling costs may increase. Thus, researchers are not only involved in the research of numerous self-organizing and self-assembling materials that exhibit liquid crystal behavior, but also on the recycling of devices. There exists a need to aid the recycling process via the development of smart de-manufacturing processes so that maximum use can be made of all the components, even down to the level of coatings and films. In the case of LCDs, research groups are examining methods of decommissioning devices so that they can be easily de-manufactured, thereby yielding easy access to the component parts of the device, down to the liquid crystal mixture itself. Further, researchers are also hoping to re-use the LC formulation in a re-manufacturing process that could lead to new applications.
'Although many new techniques are being developed at the Academic level that offer benefits over existing systems, researchers do not expect a change in the way the current generation of laptop screens and televisions are fabricated', observes Jayarajah. 'This is because existing manufacturing processes are mature and changing them probably cannot be justified economically. In a field where technology is evolving, it becomes highly essential that new technologies can be integrated with the existing systems so that the cost of a switchover to a new technology for the manufacturers would be minimum. Adoption of a new technology is quicker when the adoption costs involved are less,' adds the analyst.
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