PFI: Partnership for Innovation on Liquid-Crystal Polymer Interfaces

PFI：液晶聚合物界面创新合作伙伴关系

• 批准号: 1114332
• 负责人: Peter Palffy-Muhoray
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: Kent State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-15 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1114332&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; Partnership; Innovation; Liquid; Crystal

This Partnerships for Innovation project from Kent State University, which is partnering with two knowledge-enhancement partner companies and five other academic, industrial and non-profit partners, will establish a broad platform on liquid crystal (LC) - polymer interfaces. LC - polymer interfaces have been of vital importance in the liquid crystal display (LCD) industry since its inception. The recent advent of flexible LCDs using plastic substrates is generating renewed and urgent interest in interface design and associated behavior. The move from glass to soft flexible substrates not only raises new technical problems, but also illuminates old ones. These problems and questions of basic science are exceptionally close and are inextricably linked; the goal of the project is to connect device and manufacturing issues in industry to the frontiers of academic research. The project aims to identify the technical issues in real products of the partner companies and to offer solutions based on the state-of-the-art characterization, computational materials science, and novel materials development. The proposed platform will not only solve key problems in currently emerging technologies, but it will also enable new LC-on-plastic (LCOP) technologies and thereby provide to U.S. industry new opportunities with the potential for strong economic development based on LCOP products. The broader impacts of this research are potentially large-scale economic opportunities for U.S. display and related industries. A dramatic technological change today is the move of LCDs from glass to plastic substrates. This change represents a tremendous opportunity for U.S. industry to again establish a leadership position and develop and benefit from the emerging LCOP technology. The partnership will disseminate project results through networks in the LC-polymer community and provide a model for future industry-university collaboration in practical problem solving. If the current challenges are overcome, the U.S. will have the opportunity to harness, develop, and cultivate this emerging new technology, with vast technological and economic promise. Partners at the inception of the project include the Knowledge-Enhancement Partnership (KEP) unit, consisting of Kent State University (Liquid Crystal Institute) and two small businesses: AlphaMicron (AMI) (Kent, OH), and Kent Displays (KDI) (Kent, OH), both of which are the pioneers responsible for the breakthrough demonstrations that LCOP technology is possible. In addition, there are other partners. These partners include other academic institutions: University of Akron and University of Oklahoma; a private sector organization (non-profit): Bridgestone Americas Center for Research Technology; and public sector organizations: Nortech/FlexMatters and Polymer Ohio Inc.

肯特州立大学的这一创新合作项目与两家知识增强合作伙伴公司以及其他五个学术、工业和非营利合作伙伴合作，将建立一个关于液晶 (LC) - 聚合物界面的广泛平台。 自液晶显示器 (LCD) 行业诞生以来，LC - 聚合物界面一直至关重要。 最近使用塑料基板的柔性 LCD 的出现，引起了人们对界面设计和相关行为的新的迫切兴趣。 从玻璃到软柔性基板的转变不仅提出了新的技术问题，而且还阐明了旧的技术问题。 这些问题与基础科学的问题异常密切，有着千丝万缕的联系；该项目的目标是将工业中的设备和制造问题与学术研究的前沿联系起来。 该项目旨在确定合作伙伴公司实际产品中的技术问题，并根据最先进的表征、计算材料科学和新型材料开发提供解决方案。拟议的平台不仅将解决当前新兴技术的关键问题，还将实现新的塑料液晶打印（LCOP）技术，从而为美国工业界提供新的机遇，并具有基于LCOP产品强劲经济发展的潜力。 这项研究的更广泛影响是为美国显示器及相关行业带来潜在的大规模经济机会。 如今，一项巨大的技术变革是液晶显示器从玻璃基板转向塑料基板。这一变化为美国工业界再次确立领导地位、开发新兴 LCOP 技术并从中受益提供了巨大的机会。该合作伙伴关系将通过液晶聚合物社区的网络传播项目成果，并为未来产学合作解决实际问题提供模型。 如果克服当前的挑战，美国将有机会利用、开发和培育这一新兴技术，并带来巨大的技术和经济前景。 该项目启动时的合作伙伴包括知识增强合作伙伴关系 (KEP) 部门，该部门由肯特州立大学（液晶研究所）和两家小型企业组成：AlphaMicron (AMI)（俄亥俄州肯特）和 Kent Displays (KDI)（俄亥俄州肯特市），两人都是突破性证明 LCOP 技术可行性的先驱。除此之外，还有其他合作伙伴。 这些合作伙伴包括其他学术机构：阿克伦大学和俄克拉荷马大学；私营部门组织（非营利）：普利司通美洲研究技术中心；以及公共部门组织：Nortech/FlexMatters 和 Polymer Ohio Inc.