ABSTRACT The reflection bandwidth of polymer-stabilised cholesteric liquid-crystals (PSCLCs), with negative dielectric-anisotropy, can be broadened by applying a direct-current (DC) electric field. This class of materials is particularly interesting for its use in displays, optical storages, tunable lasers, or energy-conserving windows. The transient- and steady – currents across PSCLCs under DC voltages can be used to study the spatial distribution of charged bodies and the motion of the polymer network. Our results indicate that the shielding effect of both the electric double layers (EDLs) and alignment layers is the main reason for voltage loss. The electric-field threshold for reflection-band broadening decreases to 0.05 V/μm after the alignment layers were removed, and the power consumption also drops by nearly tenfold. This study helps to improve the fabrication of energy-saving devices and to explore new ways to improve PSCLCs. Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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聚合物稳定胆甾型液晶作为可调光反射器，具有低工作电压和低能耗

摘要 具有负介电各向异性的聚合物稳定胆甾型液晶 (PSCLC) 的反射带宽可以通过施加直流 (DC) 电场来加宽。这类材料因其在显示器、光学存储、可调谐激光器或节能窗中的使用而特别有趣。直流电压下 PSCLC 上的瞬态和稳态电流可用于研究带电体的空间分布和聚合物网络的运动。我们的结果表明，双电层 (EDL) 和取向层的屏蔽效应是电压损失的主要原因。去除取向层后，反射带加宽的电场阈值降低到 0.05 V/μm，功耗也下降了近 10 倍。这项研究有助于改进节能装置的制造并探索改进 PSCLC 的新方法。图形概要