Distinguished Seminar Series: "Field-Effect Liquid
Crystal Displays, LC-Materials & Optical Alignment of LCs" by Martin
Schadt
Friday, November 14, 2014 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
CREOL Room 103
CREOL Room 103
Dr. Martin Schadt
MS High-Tech Consulting, CH-4411 Seltisberg, Switzerland
Abstract
Since the invention of the twisted nematic (TN) field-effect
in 1970, the nematic liquid crystal display technology which is based on
electric field-effects has made remarkable progress. Field-effects are
characterized by polarization sensitive macroscopic molecular liquid crystal
configurations with electrically tunable optical appearance.
The unique electro-optical building block concept of
field-effect LCDs enables the integration and individual optimization of
anisotropic optical thin-films and silicon electronics in LCDs. The remarkable
progress made over the past 45 years, renders today virtually all applications
of the communication between man and machine possible. They range from
reflective LCDs with “zero power” consumption, such as digital watch LCDs, or
remotely controlled electronic price tags in Shopping centers, to iPhones and
large size, ultra-high resolution 4k television LCDs. Since the beginnings in
1970 this development has been spurred by interdisciplinary R&D between
physics, material sciences, synthetic chemistry, semiconductor electronics, and
engineering. It includes TN-LCDs (1970), super-twisted nematic (STN)-LCDs
(1980s), thin-film transistor (TFT)-addressed TN-LCDs for computer monitors in
the early 1990s and beyond, and multi-domain LCD configurations. The latter
became possible in the late 1990s either by electric fringe-field electrode geometries,
or by photo-alignment/patterning of LC molecules. Further enhanced contrast,
large angles of view and shorter response times were the result. Moreover,
spin-offs into potential future types of field-effect LCDs, such as polymer
stabilized blue phase LCDs and ferroelectric LCDs became possible.
This development is reviewed with examples of the
multidisciplinary R&D of the author and collaborators on electro-optical
field-effects, liquid crystal materials and polarized optical alignment and
alignment patterning of monomeric and polymeric liquid crystal molecules in
LCDs and optical thin-films based on liquid crystal polymers.
Biography
Dr. Martin Schadt was born on 16th August 1938 in Liestal,
Switzerland. After having gained practical experience as electrician Martin
Schadt majored in experimental physics at the University of Basel, Switzerland,
where he received his PhD in 1967. He was granted a two year post-doctoral
fellowship at the National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada, where he continued
his research on the electronic and optical properties of organic
semiconductors. In 1969 he and D.F Williams patented the first solid state,
organic light emitting display (OLED). Dr. Schadt’s first professional
association was with the watch company Omega, where he investigated atomic beam
standards. In 1970 he joined the Central Research Laboratories of F.
Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel. Except for two years in biophysics, his research
focused on the development of electro-optical field-effects based on liquid
crystals and on liquid crystal materials. 1970 Dr. Helfrich and Dr. Schadt
invented the twisted nematic (TN)-effect at F. Hoffmann-La Roche. The Roche
TN-field-effect patent was granted in 20 countries and was licensed world-wide
to the emerging field-effect LCD industry by Roche. The invention initiated a
paradigm change towards flat panel field-effect liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
enabling today’s LCD industry. The search for correlations between molecular
structures, material properties and display performance, which Dr. Schadt
started in the early 1970s, enabled the development of new liquid crystals for
TN- and subsequent field-effect applications. As a consequence the
pharmaceutical company Roche established itself as a major liquid crystal materials
supplier for the emerging LCD-industry. Apart from his pioneering work on
OLEDs, the TN-effect and liquid crystal materials, Dr. Schadt and collaborators
invented the linear photo-polymerization (LPP) technology in 1991 enabling
alignment of liquid crystal molecules by light instead of mechanically. This
opened up novel LCD configurations and LCD operating modes, as well as numerous
anisotropic optical polymer thin-films.
Until 1994 Dr. Schadt headed the Liquid Crystal Research
Division of Roche. Based on its photo-alignment technology the Division was
turned in 1994 into the spin-off company ROLIC Ltd, an interdisciplinary
Research and Development Company which Dr. Schadt built-up and headed as CEO
and delegate of the Board of Directors until his retirement from the operating
business in October 2002. He is now active as a scientific advisor to research
organisations and continues research in collaboration with partner companies as
an independent inventor. He is inventor or co-inventor of 166 patent families
filed in Europe (EP) and holds more than 119 US patents. He has published 191
papers in leading scientific journals, including chapters in 6 books. Dr.
Schadt became a Fellow of the Society Information Display (SID) in 1992 and a
Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences in 2011. He is inventor or
co-inventor of 166 patent families filed in Europe (EP) and holds more than 119
US patents. He has published 193 scientific papers in leading scientific
journals, has given more than 150 lectures and contributed to 6 books. He has
received the following Awards: the Roche Research and Development Award (1987),
a Special Recognition Award and a Best SID Paper Award (1987), the SID Karl
Ferdinand Braun Award (1992). Together with W. Helfrich, he received the Aachener
und Münchener Preis für Technik und angewandte Naturwissenschaften (1994) and
the Robert-Wichard-Pohl Prize of the German Physical Society (1996). Together
with W. Helfrich and James Fergason, he received the IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa
Medal (2008). In 2009 he received the Eduard Rhein Technoloy Prize. The G.W.
Gray Medal of the British Liquid Crystal Society and the Blaise Pascal Medal
for Material Sciences of the European Academy of Sciences (2010). The Frederiks
Medal, highest recognition award of the Russian Liquid Crystal Society (2011).
The Charles Stark Draper Prize of the US National Academy of Sciences (known as
the “Engineering Nobel Prize”) together with G. Heilmeier, W. Helfrich and P.
Brody (2012). European Inventor Award 2013 for Lifetime Achievement (2013).
Fellow of US National Academy of Inventors NAI (2013). Honorary Prof. of
Sichuan University, Chengdu (2013). Honorary Prof. of Nanjing University,
Nanjing (2013).
For additional information:
Dr. Shin-Tson Wu
407-823-4763
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