We report on the development of a dilute suspension of ferroelectric particles in a nematic liquid-crystal (LC) host. We found that the submicron particles do not disturb the LC alignment and the suspension macroscopically appears similar to a pure LC with no readily apparent evidence of dissolved particles. The suspension possesses enhanced dielectric anisotropy, and is sensitive to the sign of an applied electric field.

Using transmittance electron microscopy, fluorescence and polarizing optical microscopy, optical spectroscopy, and fluorescent correlation spectroscopy, it was shown that CdSe/ZnS quantum dots coated with a specifically designed surfactant were readily dispersed in nematic liquid crystal (LC) to form stable colloids. The mixture of an alkyl phosphonate and a dendritic surfactant, where the constituent molecules contain promesogenic units, enabled the formation of thermodynamically stable colloids that were stable for at least 1 year. Stable colloids are formed due to minimization of the distortion of the LC ordering around the quantum dots.

We report a stressed liquid crystal (SLC) that produce a large shift in phase retardation at submillisecond speeds. The SLC consists of uniformly aligned micro-domains of a liquid crystal dispersed in a polymer structure. Mechanical stress produces uniform alignment, essentially eliminates light scattering, and substantially improves the electro-optic performance. A 22-μm-thick SLC film switches more than 2μm of phase retardation in less than 1ms. The system has a linear voltage response with essentially no hysteresis.

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