A double-layer light shutter consisting of polymer dispersed liquid crystal and azo dye/quantum dot

We have developed a double-layer liquid crystal light shutter and investigated its temperature dependent morphological, electro-optical, and dielectric properties. The optical layers of the shutter are in direct contact, reducing optical losses. The shutter comprises a polymer dispersed liquid crystal film adjacent to an azo dye methyl red and CdSeS/ZnS quantum dot doped cholesteric liquid crystal layer. This novel double-layer light shutter device is switchable between opaque and transparent states at room temperature, and it exhibits low threshold and saturation voltages. Both the threshold (Vth) and saturation (Vsat) voltages are found to decrease with increasing temperature. The electrical characteristics of the shutter, namely the real part of dielectric constant (ε′) and the ac conductivity (σac) also increase with temperature in the low frequency region. Our results show that this double-layer light shutter has interesting potential for simple electro-optical devices and smart window applications.