Effect of insulating-nanoparticles addition on ion current and voltage-holding ratio in nematic liquid crystal cells

The transient currents induced by an applied direct voltage (dc) electric field have been measured liquid-crystal cells in nematic phase. The experimental results show that the addition of insulating nanoparticles, such as diamond powders, leads to a reduction of the ion concentration in cells so as to drastically reduce the transient currents and threshold voltage. Simultaneously, a high voltage-holding ratio (VHR) in doped cells is observed. Such a high VHR, in comparison with nematic liquid crystals doped by carbon nanotubes, is a superior feature for future liquid crystal display applications. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.