Fast electro-optical effect in polymer-stabilized blue phases

Key challenges in achieving higher-quality liquid crystal displays for future generations are developing new liquid crystal materials with faster electro-optical response and simplifying the fabrication process of devices. Blue phases ^1-4, kinds of liquid crystal phases, have two major advantages over commonly used nematic phases. First, the response is much faster ^5-8. Second, the zero-electric field state is optically isotropic unlike nematic phases, that is, no surface treatment (no rubbing) is necessary, leading to a simplification of the fabrication process. One of the problems of blue phases that the available temperature range is very narrow has been overcome by our recent achievement, the polymerstabilized blue phases ^9,10. Here we show that the polymer-stabilized blue phases surmount another problem that the blue phase is very fragile to an electric field. We also demonstrate the sufficiently large electric field-induced birefringence and the micro-second response of the polymer-stabilized blue phases without any surface treatment.