With the advent of polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC), optically more efficient light valves (compared to TNLC technology) for projection LCD displays are now feasible, as polarizers are not needed for light modulation. The same benefits cannot be achieved for direct-view displays as the diffuse backlight cannot be modulated by scattering with the same efficiency as the highly collimated beam used in projection displays. Dye has to be added to the PDLC formulation in order to achieve an acceptable contrast. However, by adding the dye to the PDLC formulation, the optical efficiency of such a display becomes comparable to a standard TNLC display. Researchers are developing a new concept of micro-projection wherein each pixel becomes a miniaturized projector. This display system can use a PDLC without a dye. Additional improvement is achieved by almost full utilization of the available collimated light which can be steered by a microlens array to pass by the opaque structures on the active matrix substrate (AM circuitry) and color filter (black matrix).The potential commercial application as described by the awardee: Research will result in bright, high contrast display for laptop computers and other flat panel display applications.
