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PDLC SMART GLASS

PDLC smart glass, or ‘Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal’ smart glass, can be applied either as a self-adhesive plastic film onto existing glass, or laminated into glass end-products such as smart windows, giving privacy, security and energy efficiency.

For a high-level primer on smart glass in general, please check out our article on the basics of smart glass.

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MOST COMMON QUESTION PEOPLE ASK ?

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Why are liquid crystals sometimes dispersed in a polymer?

The polymer allows the liquid crystals to be mixed and cured into a film structure, which can then be sandwiched between panels of glass or plastic. The polymer has constant optical properties which do not vary across its structure, and hence is considered ‘isotropic’.

In contrast, the liquid crystal itself is ‘anisotropic’, since its optical characteristics are not constant across its structure, but rather can vary under application of an electric field.

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Why is PDLC considered to be ‘smart’?

The smartness of PDLC comes from its ability to refract light randomly (i.e. to scatter light), or to transmit light, depending on the electrical voltage applied to it. This is normally an alternating voltage (typically 36-110 Vac), which exerts an alternating electric field across the PDLC material.

We should remember that PDLC film or glass is only as smart as the ‘control system’ which drives it. This can be a simple push button switch, a light sensor, or a digital building automation system.

How does PDLC smart glass work?

With no applied voltage, the liquid crystals are randomly oriented and scatter the light which enters. When a voltage is applied, the liquid crystals orient themselves parallel to each other, allowing light through.

Why does PDLC glass scatter light?

The liquid crystals change their refractive index in relation to the isotropically transparent polymer in which they are immersed, thereby creating multiple step boundaries throughout the PDLC.

It is this change in refractive index at each boundary which causes light to change course. Since the PDLC material contains millions of liquid crystals, each with a boundary facing a slightly different way, the light is scattered in many directions. The net effect is to ‘hide’ whatever is behind the PDLC smart glass.

Does PDLC smart glass become ‘opaque’?

No, the correct term is translucent, since light still gets through, albeit scattered in many directions. The glass would be ‘opaque’ only if the light was blocked or absorbed.

There are however some PDLC products which mix dyes into the liquid crystals, thus giving a (permanent) dark colouration, and this can result in some of the light being blocked, giving an ‘opaque’ result.

What is the structure of PDLC glass?

PDLC smart glass is composed of :-

  • a PDLC core layer, typically 1.5mm thick, comprised of liquid crystal droplets suspended in a polymer film, sandwiched within:

  • layers of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide), a transparent conductor, sandwiched within:

  • Inner panels of optically clear PET plastic (polyethylene terephthalate), sandwiched within:

  • outermost panels of float glass, which can be low-iron and tempered (or alternatively acrylic).

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