Electrowetting on polymer dispersed liquid crystal

Abstract

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) is used as a dielectric layer in electrowetting. By applying voltage between a liquid droplet and the electrode underlying PDLC, electrowetting occurs at the liquid/PDLC interface accompanied with electro-optic responses of the reoriented LC droplets embedded in PDLC. Two basic experiments investigating the electrowetting by sessile water droplets and the electro-optic effects through squeezed water droplets were design and performed. The basic functions of a liquid lens and droplet manipulations, including transporting, splitting, and merging, were demonstrated.