Smart glass offers dynamic control over the transmission of light to address various needs in energy conservation, privacy, and information display; yet, most of the existing technologies still require continuous power for operation and are limited to single functions (usually either tint or haze control). In this work, we have developed a versatile tristable smart glass based on cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC). The smart glass is voltage-switchable among three field-free stable states of different optical transmission properties, and each corresponds to one of the following cholesteric textures: planar, focal conic, and lying helix. With a six-terminal electrode configuration, such tristable switching can be achieved in CLCs with Bragg reflections from near-ultraviolet to visible and near-infrared. By incorporating a dichroic dye into the CLC, we demonstrate a smart daylighting–privacy window based on the tristable optical switch, and both the tint and haze levels of the window are electrically switchable. We also make use of the Bragg reflection of planar-state CLC and explore the applicability of the tristable optical switch to full-color see-through displays. With the demonstrated versatility in design and outstanding field-off stability, it is anticipated that the CLC smart glass can find widespread use, from intelligent control of lighting, building climate, and privacy to semistatic window displays for advertisement use and artistic design.

中文翻译：

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基于三稳态胆甾型液晶的多功能节能智能玻璃

智能玻璃可动态控制光的传输，以解决节能，隐私和信息显示方面的各种需求；然而，大多数现有技术仍需要连续的电源才能运行，并且仅限于单一功能（通常是色调或雾度控制）。在这项工作中，我们开发了一种基于胆甾型液晶（CLC）的多功能三稳态智能玻璃。智能玻璃可在三种具有不同光传输特性的无场稳定状态之间进行电压切换，并且分别对应于以下胆甾型纹理之一：平面，焦锥和平躺螺旋。通过六端子电极配置，可以在具有从近紫外到可见光和近红外的布拉格反射的CLC中实现这种三稳态切换。通过将二向色性染料掺入CLC中，我们演示了一个基于三稳态光学开关的智能采光-隐私窗口，并且该窗口的色度和雾度级别均可电气切换。我们还利用了平面状态CLC的布拉格反射，并探索了三稳态光学开关在全色透明显示器中的适用性。凭借已证明的设计多功能性和出色的场外稳定性，可以预期CLC智能玻璃将得到广泛应用，从智能控制照明，建筑环境和隐私到用于广告和艺术设计的半静态橱窗展示。我们还利用了平面状态CLC的布拉格反射，并探索了三稳态光学开关在全色透明显示器中的适用性。凭借已证明的设计多功能性和出色的场外稳定性，可以预期CLC智能玻璃将得到广泛应用，从智能控制照明，建筑环境和隐私到用于广告和艺术设计的半静态橱窗展示。我们还利用了平面状态CLC的布拉格反射，并探索了三稳态光学开关在全色透明显示器中的适用性。凭借已证明的设计多功能性和出色的场外稳定性，可以预期CLC智能玻璃将得到广泛应用，从智能控制照明，建筑环境和隐私到用于广告和艺术设计的半静态橱窗展示。