This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in the general area of materials chemistry and in the subfields of organometallic chemistry and physical organic chemistry. The long range scientific goals of this research are to increase understanding of the correlation of molecular structure with physical properties of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) phases, and to test strategies for the design of new materials. Specifically, this research is aimed at inventing new FLC materials having low birefringence and low absorption at UV wavelengths. Such FLC materials would have application in flat panel displays and spatial light modulators (SLMs) for UV light. Ferroelectric (chiral) smectic C* liquid crystals have been shown to exhibit high speed, multistate electro-optic and display device applications, particularly when incorporated into the surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) light valve. Flat panel displays based upon the SSFLC device concept have many potential advantages. However, due to the high birefringence and large UV absorption of existing materials, SSFLC light valves prove problematical in some important applications. Both of these problems are due to the fact that all known FLC materials possess aromatic rings in the liquid crystal core. The specific goal of this Phase I activity is to design, synthesize, and evaluate new FLC materials with saturated cores. The specific core structures to be explored include novel cubylcubanes, and cubane units combined with bicyclo?2.2.2!octane units.
