applications with either gold or silver

Jeongsu Yu from LG Chem, Head of R&D Center, IT&E,commented: “We are proud and grateful to have received this prestigious award. The brilliant 3D applications that we can offer our customers thanks to reactive mesogens from Merck make it possible for us to supply the global mass market with innovative technologies and to further enhance our image as a pioneering leader in the display industry."

The Society for Information Display (SID), headquartered in San Jose, California, has been granting the Display of the Year Awards annually since 1995. Considered to be the most prestigious prize in the display industry, they distinguish the most innovative, future-oriented products, components and applications with either gold or silver. Over the past several years, Merck has been distinguished on numerous occasions for its contributions to liquid crystal display development - in 2009 Merck was awarded a prize for its PS-VA materials. The “Silver Honor for the Display Component of the Year Award” will be conferred to Merck and LG Chem during this year’s Display Week, the 50th SID International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, on June 6.

Merck will have a booth at the exhibition in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center to present the newest products from its broad portfolio of innovative display materials. These include the latest reactive mesogen mixtures used in LC Displays to improve viewing angle dependency for optimum image quality with respect to contrast and color.

The 3D FPR (Film-Patterned Retarder) is an optical component attached to the upper polarizer of LCD televisions. It converts left and right eye images to left and right circular polarized light, allowing people to enjoy 3D images through polarized glasses. LG Chem commercialized the world’s first FPR in 2010. LG Chem's FPR is ten times thinner and 20 times lighter than the glass-based patterned retarder. In addition, it can be easily mass-produced, and helps people to enjoy 3D contents conveniently. LG Chem has developed various key technologies such as novel photo-aligning polymer, non-contact-type roll-to-roll continuous patterning and management of dimensional stability of FPR, resulting in superior performance 3D display. FPR consists of substrate, alignment layer and a patterned reactive mesogen film. The novel photo-aligning polymer has very high UV sensitivity and heat stability suitable for film processing.