Electrically switched color with polymer-stabilized blue-phase liquid crystals

We report an electrical-field switched color device using a polymer-stabilized blue-phase ( PSBP) liquid crystal in which the Bragg-reflected color of the blue phase ( BP) can be switched to reflect a second color. The phase-separated three-dimensional polymer network transcribes the cubic structure of a BP liquid crystal and restrains the deformation of cubic lattice by the external electric field. The new wide-range electric-field switched colors with PSBP may be an important step toward ecofriendly color reflective displays. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America