High Dielectric Dopants for Low Voltage Liquid Crystal Operation

Several linear polyene compounds with extraordinarily large dielectric anisotropy and small elastic constant were synthesized and their physical properties evaluated. The dielectric anisotropy of these compounds varies from 60 to 70, depending on the detailed molecular structures. Adding 3% of these compounds to a polar and a nonpolar liquid crystal mixtures significantly reduces their threshold voltage while only causes a modest increase in viscosity.