Molecular engineering of textile dyes has produced new materials that have thermostability like the precursor textile dyes, and that can be used to produce thin film coatings. Dye molecules are aligned in crystalline fashion and produce a polarizing effect. Blending different dye mixes controls optical and color characteristics of such film polarizers. Effective black and color thin film polarizers made from dye blends with hues varying in wide range of color coordinates were manufactured and tested.

Optiva, Inc. has developed new technology for Thin Crystal Film (TCF) polarizers and retarders manufactured by deposition and drying of water-based lyotropic liquid crystal materials. An effective method to control and monitor two significant steps of this technology, a self-assembly into rod-like supramolecules in liquid material and its subsequent molecular alignment into TCF, is X-ray diffraction. There is direct correlation between X-ray data and the final optical characteristics of TCF polarizers and retarders and therefore its implementation into LCD applications.

No abstract

We developed a new technology for thin crystal film (TCF) manufacturing based on water-soluble salts of aromatic polycyclic compounds. TCF is produced by coating and subsequent drying of an aqueous solution on plastic or glass surface into molecularly oriented 100-1000 nm thick crystal nano-film. First industrial application of nano-films is TCF polarizer for liquid crystal displays (LCD). TCF polarizers are made from modified organic dyes with relatively narrow spectral absorption band. Mixing various dyes allows covering broad spectral region. Blending provides variety of combinations of background and character colors that are necessary for applications. TCF made from dichroic dyes are highly anisotropic, biaxial extraordinary polarizers. Birefringence of TCF made from some materials reaches 1.0. Several highly birefringent TCFs show specific retardation characteristics. For example, 300 nm thick TCF based on dichroic dye with narrow absorption band at 450 nm and transparent in the long-wave region, has maximum birefringence of 0.85 in the wavelength region of 500-800 nm. TCF are available for industrial application in LCD as external, internal polarizers and retarders.

Abstract— We have developed an advanced polarizing nanomaterial that provides new technical and economical advantages over traditional iodine film polarizers for LCD designers and manufacturers. Thin Crystal Film (TCF)™ polarizer material is based on modified organic dichroic dyes and can be simply coated as a thin molecular oriented film (less than 1 μm) directly onto a plastic or glass substrate. This crystalline material exhibits enhanced viewing‐angle characteristics, high thermal stability, and lightfastness. Replacement of conventional polarizers by the new TCF polarizer allows decreasing thickness of LCD designs by 20–75%, improving LCD durability and reliability, all while significantly reducing cost. This paper presents TCF polarizer products for LCD applications. We report the results of TCF optical and environmental testing. Ultraviolet‐light photostability of TCF is also studied.