The present invention relates to a compound of formula GF

##STR00001##

in which the occurring groups and parameters have the meanings defined in claim 1, to a liquid crystal medium comprising a compound of formula GF and to high-frequency components comprising these media, especially microwave components for high-frequency devices, such as devices for shifting the phase of microwaves, tunable filters, tunable metamaterial structures, and electronic beam steering antennas, e.g. phased array antennas.

A liquid crystal display element having an improved response speed by using a liquid crystal compound having a high K.sub.33, while neither improving nor deteriorating all the characteristics as a liquid crystal display element. The liquid crystal display element 10 of the present invention has a first substrate 15, a second substrate 15, and a liquid crystal composition layer 5 interposed between the first substrate 15 and the second substrate 15, wherein at least one of the first substrate 15 and the second substrate 15 has an electrode that controls the liquid crystal composition layer 5 and the bend elastic constant K.sub.33 of at least one kind of liquid crystal compounds in the liquid crystal composition constituting the liquid crystal composition layer 5 is 20 pN or more.

The invention relates to a liquid crystalline medium, characterised in that it comprises one or more compounds of formula A

##STR00001##

and
one or more compounds of formula II

##STR00002##

wherein the parameters have the meaning indicated in claim 1, and to high-frequency components comprising the same, especially microwave components for high-frequency devices, such as devices for shifting the phase of microwaves, in particular microwave phased-array antennas.

The use of functionalized polymerizable polyvinyl alcohol as a binder or matrix for a dispersion of nanoparticles, wherein the nanoparticles respectively comprise a polymeric shell and a core containing a liquid crystalline medium. Composites comprising the functionalized polymer and the nanocapsules, methods for preparing the composites and electro-optical devices containing such composites.

The present invention relates to liquid crystal mixtures comprising one or more compounds of the formula A

##STR00001##

and, in addition one or more compounds of formula I

##STR00002##

or one or more compounds of formula II

##STR00003##

wherein the individual radicals have the respective meanings indicated in claim 1, to the use thereof for high-frequency components, and to high-frequency components, in particular antennae, especially for the gigahertz range, comprising these media.

A liquid crystal medium comprising one or more compounds of formula PT and one or more compounds of formula GF and/or UI

##STR00001## in which the occurring groups and parameters have the meanings defined in claim 1. Also, high-frequency components comprising these media, especially microwave components for high-frequency devices, such as devices for shifting the phase of microwaves, tunable filters, tunable metamaterial structures, and electronic beam steering antennas, e.g. phased array antennas.

The present invention relates to a switching layer based on a liquid-crystalline mixture for use in an optical switching element. The invention also encompasses a switching element comprising the switching layer and a window element containing the switching element. The liquid crystalline mixture comprises a low-molecular liquid crystal component, a polymer component and a self-alignment additive for vertical alignment.

A device containing a radio-frequency (RF) liquid crystal (RFLC) mixture with improved performance is disclosed. In one embodiment, the improved performance includes high RF tuning, broad thermal operating ranges and low viscosity. In one embodiment, the device comprises an antenna comprising: an antenna element array having a plurality of antenna elements and each antenna element having a liquid crystal (LC) structure, wherein the LC structure comprises a mixture of one or more of the following: ##STR00001##
laterally functionalized with one or more of at least a proton, a hydrogen (H), or a heteroatom.

The present invention relates to an optical article comprising a birefringent liquid crystal composition, said composition comprising more than 30% by weight based on the total weight of the composition of tolane compounds of formula RSZ.sup.1-A-Z.sup.2NCS, in which R is a substituted or unsubstituted, linear or branched alkyl group, Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 are aryl groups, and A is an ethynyl group, an arylethynyl group or an ethynylarylethynyl group.

The present invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium based on a mixture of polar compounds having negative dielectric anisotropy (), which is distinguished by the fact that it has a value for the ratio .sub.1/n.sup.2 in the range 6-45 with a clearing point of >60 C. and a of 2.3. Media of this type are particularly suitable for electro-optical displays having active-matrix addressing based on the ECB, PA LCD, FFS or IPS effect.