OmGTU: Polymer films for smart glasses and displays

2023: Product Announcement

In early October 2023, the Omsk State Technical University (OmSTU) talked about the creation of electrochromic polymer films that can be used to create smart glasses and displays. This is a joint development of university specialists with colleagues from Omsk State University. F. M. Dostoevsky.

As Professor OmSTU Alexander Fisyuk explained to TASS, smart glasses are usually made of polymer materials and liquid crystals, which are limited in the choice of colors, often remaining white or light blue. Electrochromic materials created at OmGTU and OmGU can be applied in various fields: darkening windows (the concept of a "smart home") and glass screens; protection of museum exhibits from harmful radiation; low-power information systems (smaller than liquid crystal systems) and more.

OmGTU told about the creation of electrochromic polymer films that can be used to create smart glasses and displays

One of the important advantages of electrochromic devices was the ability to create films of any color and work with regions of the optical spectrum that are not visible to the human eye, such as ultraviolet and infrared. Materials developed in Omsk have about the same contrast in the visible spectrum as existing samples (30-60%), but they have high contrast in the infrared region (up to 84%). This is especially important for creating glasses that can reduce the loss of heat indoors and, as a result, save energy on conditioning or heating, scientists stressed.

By October 2023, the main limitation in the use of electrochromic materials is the rate of reaction to a change in charge. In conventional materials, this change can take several minutes, and it occurs unevenly, starting from the edges of the glass and spreading inward, which is called the "rainbow effect." Omsk development 2-4 times faster colors and can change color in 1-1, 5 seconds, which significantly reduces the "rainbow effect."^[1]

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