Development of an Active Display Using Plasmonic Nanorods and Liquid Crystals

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorLink, Stephanen_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHalas, Naomien_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberNordlander, Peteren_US
dc.creatorOlson, Janaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-04T22:04:00Zen_US
dc.date.available2016-02-04T22:04:00Zen_US
dc.date.created2015-12en_US
dc.date.issued2015-08-26en_US
dc.date.submittedDecember 2015en_US
dc.date.updated2016-02-04T22:04:00Zen_US
dc.description.abstractThe current generation of display technology has already provided the public with displays that exhibit high color fidelity, faster than the eye can see frame rates, and screens spanning an order of magnitude in size, from hand-held to wall-sized. What has yet to be achieved is for display technology to become versatile, fitting into the human environment in a way that is unobtrusive, ergonomic, and promotes an improved quality of life. This thesis points to nanotechnology, particularly plasmonic nanomaterials, as a way to bring display technologies to that next level. The work presented in this thesis is the development of a nanomaterial that is vividly colored, electronically controllable, and highly versatile in its possible applications. First, an understanding of the electronic switching of nematic liquid crystals is gained via combination of randomly oriented gold nanorods with homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal. The nanorods are used to probe the birefringence of the liquid crystal as an in-plane bias is used to switch the alignment of the liquid crystal from a uniform parallel alignment to a 90 degree twisted alignment. This mechanism is confirmed with theoretical modeling using Jones Calculus. Second, the polarization sensitivity of the nanorods is exploited by creating a hexagonal array of co-oriented nanorods to form a plasmonic pixel using electron beam lithography. Aluminum was chosen as the plasmonic material because its plasmon resonance can span the whole visible region, and because of its compatibility with the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The outstanding vivid color of these pixels is dependent on the physical characteristics of the individual nanorods, and also on the inter-rod spacing. Dipole coupling within the array of ~300 nm separated nanorods is used to restrict plasmon scattering at both long- and short-wavelengths. A simple 3-step color control mechanism was developed that others can use to produce aluminum plasmonic pixels with colors on-par with standard red, green, and blue displays. Finally, mm-scale colored pixels are demonstrated to be switchable with a liquid crystal display, and therefore immediately compatible with current liquid crystal display technology.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationOlson, Jana. "Development of an Active Display Using Plasmonic Nanorods and Liquid Crystals." (2015) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88368">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88368</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/88368en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectaluminumen_US
dc.subjectgolden_US
dc.subjectplasmon resonanceen_US
dc.subjectdiffractive couplingen_US
dc.subjectFano resonanceen_US
dc.subjectsRGBen_US
dc.subjectchromaticityen_US
dc.subjectliquid crystalen_US
dc.subjectnematicen_US
dc.subjectcoloren_US
dc.titleDevelopment of an Active Display Using Plasmonic Nanorods and Liquid Crystalsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentChemistryen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineNatural Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
OLSON-DOCUMENT-2015.pdf
Size:
10.28 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.6 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Rice University Theses and Dissertations