Polymer stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC) cells have been fabricated by using a reactive mesogen (RM) and various LC materials. It is clarified that a polymer network structure changes by selecting not only RM but also LC materials. Using the LC with a tolane substance, a "rice grain like" morphology can be obtained, which results in low threshold and driving voltages even if a dielectric constant anisotropy of the LC is very small. On the other hand, a "smooth stranded network" morphology causes the high driving voltage. When two LC materials which contribute to the smooth stranded network morphology are mixed and the LC mixture is used to fabricate the PSLC cell, the rice grain like morphology is formed. The driving voltage is lower than that in cells using two pure LCs. A relationship between solubility of the RM in the LC and the morphology formation is not observed.

We have proposed polymer stabilized liquid crystal (LC) cells with a hybrid alignment nematic (HAN) LC. LCs with positive and negative dielectric constant anisotropies are used. The cell has a reverse mode electro-optical property which shows a transparent state in a voltage off-state and a light scattering state in the on-state. We fabricate cells by irradiating the cell with a UV light from a planar alignment side or vertical alignment side in a polymerization process. The photopolymerization-induced segregation of the polymer from the LC and the influence of UV absorption by the LC bulk are investigated. A relationship between UV irradiation conditions and electro-optical characteristics in the cell is clarified. The light scattering intensity depends on an incident angle of light in the on-state, which is promising for application to smart windows. The feasibility of this concept is demonstrated with consideration of LC materials.

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