AbstractsPhysics

This dissertation illustrates the development of a novel smart window technology, which establishes a revolutionary, simple, and low cost manufacturing method to make parallel cracked ITO stripes on flexible PET substrate. The flexible PET substrate coated by thin layer of ITO is processed to create parallel ITO cracks, and the resulting cracked ITO on PET is used as a substrate in polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) windows. It creates a virtual venetian blind effect, where the amount of light passing through the window is controlled by the frequency and amplitude of the applied voltage. This work has produced 1 journal paper [101], 4 conference papers [102 to 105], 3 US patent applications [106 to 108] and launched a start-up company, Flexible ITO Solutions (FITOS) LLC, in 2013. FITOS has been approved to get $200,000 new funding investment from State of Ohio and the GLIDE Innovation Fund in June, 2014.