Sub-twisted nematic liquid crystal display

A new reflective liquid crystal display, the sub-twisted nematic LCD (SBTN), is presented. The SBTN, specifically designed for its twist angle, the product of cell thickness and birefringence, the direction of its only polarizer, etc. exhibits good electro-optic performance. Brightness, contrast, colour dispersion and multiplexing ability, etc. were theoretically and experimentally examined. The prototype showed high brightness, little dispersion, good mutliplexing ability, good viewing angle and response behaviour. It also offers good manufacturing tolerance and low production cost.     

Sub-twisted nematic liquid crystal display

A new reflective liquid crystal display, the sub-twisted nematic LCD (SBTN), is presented. The SBTN, specifically designed for its twist angle, the product of cell thickness and birefringence, the direction of its only polarizer, etc. exhibits good electro-optic performance. Brightness, contrast, colour dispersion and multiplexing ability, etc. were theoretically and experimentally examined. The prototype showed high brightness, little dispersion, good mutliplexing ability, good viewing angle and response behaviour. It also offers good manufacturing tolerance and low production cost.     

Analysis of cell gap-dependent driving voltage in a fringe field-driven homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal display

We have studied cell gap-dependent driving voltage characteristics in a homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal (LC) cell driven by a fringe electric field, termed the fringe field switching (FFS) mode. The results show that for the FFS mode using a LC with positive dielectric anisotropy, the operating voltage decreases as the cell gap decreases, whereas it increases with a decreasing cell gap when using a LC with negative dielectric anisotropy. The difference between LCs is explained by simulation and experiment.     

Analysis of cell gap-dependent driving voltage in a fringe field-driven homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal display

We have studied cell gap-dependent driving voltage characteristics in a homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal (LC) cell driven by a fringe electric field, termed the fringe field switching (FFS) mode. The results show that for the FFS mode using a LC with positive dielectric anisotropy, the operating voltage decreases as the cell gap decreases, whereas it increases with a decreasing cell gap when using a LC with negative dielectric anisotropy. The difference between LCs is explained by simulation and experiment.     

A single-cell-gap transflective liquid crystal display with a vertically aligned cell

A single-cell-gap transflective liquid crystal display with a vertically aligned cell using square ring electrode is demonstrated. The top substrate has a top planar common electrode, a square ring pixel electrode is coated on the bottom substrate, while a bumpy reflector is coated under the bottom substrate. In this device, the planar common electrode and square ring pixel electrode generate a strong longitudinal electric field in the transmissive region (T region) and a weak fringe field in the reflective region (R region). As result, the T and R regions accumulate the same optical phase retardation. The simulation results show that the display exhibits reasonably low operating voltage, high transmittance and well-matched voltage-dependent transmittance and reflectance curves. Besides, fabrication process of the transflective liquid crystal display is very simple.     

Analysis of operation mode of reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display devices with rear film compensation

The rear film compensated reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display device was studied in normally black and normally white operation conditions using a dynamic parameter space method. The electro-optical responses and reflectance spectra were also studied for different operation modes. A comparison was made between rear film and front film compensated reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal displays. We show that high quality normally white or normally black modes can be obtained by placing the fast axis of a quarter wave plate at 45° or 0° to the input director direction. The viewing angle characteristics of the optimum modes were also studied.     

Analysis of operation mode of reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display devices with rear film compensation

The rear film compensated reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal display device was studied in normally black and normally white operation conditions using a dynamic parameter space method. The electro-optical responses and reflectance spectra were also studied for different operation modes. A comparison was made between rear film and front film compensated reflective twisted nematic liquid crystal displays. We show that high quality normally white or normally black modes can be obtained by placing the fast axis of a quarter wave plate at 45° or 0° to the input director direction. The viewing angle characteristics of the optimum modes were also studied.     

Fast switching and luminance-controlled fringe-field switching liquid crystal device for vehicle display

ABSTRACT

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for vehicle displays should exhibit a fast response time in wide temperature range and wide-viewing angle in horizontal and downward directions without grey-scale inversion but limited brightness in the upward direction because the display images can be reproduced in the front window glass of a vehicle, affecting driver’s front visibility. Currently, fringe-field switching (FFS) liquid crystal device is widely commercialised for high resolution and wide-viewing-angle LCD; however, it needs to improve response times and limit the display brightness in the upward direction. As a solution, we propose a homogeneously aligned liquid crystal device in which liquid crystal director does tilt as well as twist deformation in a confined area by both vertical- and fringe-electric fields, exhibiting about two times faster decay response time than that of conventional FFS mode with suppressed luminance in the upward direction. The proposed liquid crystal device can be applied to LCDs for vehicle displays.     

Flexoelectro-optic effect in a hybrid nematic liquid crystal cell

W e analyse the influence of charged impurities and flexoelectric polarization on the optical transmission of a hybrid aligned nematic liquid crystal cell. The theoretical results obtained within the framework of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation and Frank elastic theory are compared with the observed optical response [N. V. Madhusudana and G. Durand,J. Phys.Lett. 46, L-195 (1985)]. We show that impurities can be very important for the behaviour of the system in the low field regime where the flexoelectric effect is relevant, and we determine the flexoelectric coefficient, the anchoring strength, and the concentration of impurities in the sample previously studied by Madhusudana and Durand.     

Ultrafast to slow orientational dynamics of a homeotropically aligned nematic liquid crystal

The orientational dynamics of a homeotropically aligned nematic liquid crystal, 4'-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5-CB), is studied over more than six decades of time (500 fs to 2 mus) using optical heterodyne detected optical Kerr effect experiments. In contrast to the dynamics of nematogens in the isotropic phase, the data do not decay as a highly temperature-dependent exponential on the longest time scale, but rather, a temperature-independent power law spanning more than two decades of time, the final power law, is observed. On short time scales (approximately 3 ps to approximately 1 ns) another power law, the intermediate power law, is observed that is temperature dependent. The power law exponent of the correlation function associated with the intermediate power law displays a linear dependence on the change in the nematic order parameter with temperature. Between the intermediate power law and the final power law, there is a crossover region that displays an inflection point. The temperature-dependent orientational dynamics in the nematic phase are shown to be very different than those observed in the isotropic phase.     

Light-controlled reorientation of nematic liquid crystal driven by an electric field

The joint influence of optical and (quasi-)static electric fields on the orientation of liquid crystal gives rise to peculiar effects. In this article we report on the generation of transient domains in liquid crystals, which are an order of magnitude larger than the size of the optical field profile. The formation of such a domain is due to the fact that the initially present optical field reverses the pre-tilt, and the voltage that is then applied gives rise to an amplification of the tilt angle. The resulting reorientation of the director strongly depends on the starting conditions of the preliminary present optical field. We demonstrate different switching conditions, depending on the relation between the incident angle of the beam and the pre-tilt angle. The resulting refractive index profiles give rise to lensing effects.     

Polarised UV-induced homogeneous alignment for fringe-field switching liquid crystal display with a new azobenzene monomer

A novel preparation method of homogeneous alignment polymer film (HAPF) was proposed by polymerisation of the monomer, 4,4?-di-methacryloyl-oxy azobenzene (4,4?-DMOAz), being dissolved in the liquid crystal (LC) material of positive dielectric anisotropy. For obtaining the homogeneous alignment, exposure of the polarised UV light was carried out to the LC cell above the nematic to isotropic transition temperature of the LC material. The fringe-field switching (FFS) mode LC cell with the HAPF formed from the monomer 4,4?-DMOAz (FFS-HAPF-LC cell) exhibited enough level of alignment state, electro-optical and response properties compared with the FFS-LC cell carrying the conventional polyimide-type alignment layer. FFS-HAPF-LC cell can be expected to be useful for next-generation displays such as flexible LC displays.     

Analysis of operation mode of reflective liquid crystal display devices

The reflective liquid crystal display device having one polarizer was studied with the dynamic parameter space method. Device operation mode was analysed for both normally black and normally white operation conditions. The electro-optical responses and reflectance spectra were also studied for different operation modes. It was found that the optimized normally white modes for twist angles 180° and 220° of the reflective liquid crystal device have satisfactory contrast ratios and dispersion properties. For these twist angles, two equivalent normally white modes exist. The polarizer angles β₁ of the first mode and β₂ of the second mode have the simple relation β₂ = 90° + β₁.     

Analysis of operation mode of reflective liquid crystal display devices

The reflective liquid crystal display device having one polarizer was studied with the dynamic parameter space method. Device operation mode was analysed for both normally black and normally white operation conditions. The electro-optical responses and reflectance spectra were also studied for different operation modes. It was found that the optimized normally white modes for twist angles 180 degrees and 220 degrees of the reflective liquid crystal device have satisfactory contrast ratios and dispersion properties. For these twist angles, two equivalent normally white modes exist. The polarizer angles beta 1 of the first mode and beta 2 of the second mode have the simple relation beta 2 = 90 degrees + beta 1.     

A small-angle X-ray scattering study of nanoparticle assembly in an aligned nematic liquid crystal

The assembly of colloidal particles in a nematic liquid crystal has been investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering. The structure and orientation of nanoparticle assemblies in bulk samples of aligned nematic liquid crystal have been determined. The method offers some advantages over optical microscopy, which is usually restricted to investigations of thin cells and micron-sized particles. The scattering from chains of particles has been calculated, and comparison with experimental results has shown that suspensions of 48 and 105 nm diameter silica nanoparticles formed highly ordered structures perpendicular to the liquid crystal director, consistent with quadrupolar defect-induced assembly.     

Electric-field driven director oscillations in a nematic liquid crystal: a NMR investigation

We have investigated the oscillatory behavior of the nematic director for 4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) when it is subjected to a static magnetic field and a sinusoidal electric field. In these experiments the two fields were inclined at about 50 degrees and the frequency of the electric field was varied from several hertz to approximately 1000 Hz. The director orientation was measured using time-resolved deuterium NMR spectroscopy since this has the advantage of being able to determine the state of director alignment in the sample. In fact, for all of the frequencies studied the director is found to remain uniformly aligned. Since the diamagnetic and dielectric anisotropies are both positive the director oscillates in the plane formed by the two fields. These oscillations were observed to continue for many cycles, indicating that the coherence in the director orientation was not lost during this motion. The maximum and minimum angles made by the director with the magnetic field were determined, as a function of frequency, from the NMR spectrum averaged over many thousand cycles of the oscillations. At low frequencies (several hertz) these limiting angles are essentially independent of frequency but as the frequency increases the two angles approach each other and become equal at high frequencies, typically 1000 Hz. Our results are well explained by a hydrodynamic theory in which the sinusoidal time dependence of the electric field is included in the torque-balance equation. This analysis also shows that, for a range of frequencies between the high and low limits, these NMR experiments can give dynamic as well as static information concerning the nematic phase.     

Light-induced hydrodynamic reorientation of hybrid aligned nematic liquid crystals caused by direct volume expansion

The dynamics of the direct volume expansion mechanism of light-induced hydrodynamic motions in hybrid-oriented nematic liquid crystal (NLC) have been studied experimentally. It was shown that heating caused by the absorption of a laser beam results in expansion of a NLC volume and induces hydrodynamic flow in a planar capillary. The hydrodynamic flow reorients the NLC molecules and thus the optical properties of the NLC layer are changing. A change of the tilt direction of the NLC director is demonstrated experimentally, and it is shown that hybrid-oriented NLC could be considered as ‘flexible ribbon’. Velocity gradient brings about an increase of curvature when hydrodynamic flow velocity is directed out of the ‘flexible ribbon’s’ curvature. The ‘flexible ribbon’ reverses its curvature when velocity is directed into ‘flexible ribbon’s’ curvature.     

Bend-stripes in hybrid aligned nematic layers

Abstract

The occurrence of bend-stripes also involving twist distortion is investigated in hybrid aligned nematic layers, with stronger tilt-anchoring at the homeotropic substrate than at the planar one. The modulated structure is found to exist above the thickness threshold d _a for the aperiodic bend-splay deformation. The periodicities of the director azimuth and polar angle are incommensurate along the normal to the cell plates. In principle, two independent periodic modes are possible, the first one stable, with threshold d _p = d _a, the second one metastable, with threshold d _p > d _a, according to the values of the torsional extrapolation lengths. Both transitions are continuous with respect to the in-plane wavenumber. The second mode can appear only if the difference between the torsional and the tilt extrapolation lengths is positive at the planar substrate. Moreover, both thresholds are independent of the saddle-splay elastic constant.     

Modelling a nematic liquid crystal

The bulk phase liquid crystalline behaviour of a cyclic siloxane with a pentamethylcyclosiloxane core and biphenyl-4-allyloxybenzoate mesogens (BCS) was studied using molecular dynamics (MD) and wide angle X-ray analysis. This material exhibits partial crystallinity at room temperature and liquid crystalline behaviour above 120° C. For the MD simulations an ensemble of 27 molecules with 135 mesogenic units was simulated and a molecular mechanics force field was used to model the structural anisotropy of the siloxane molecules. Simulations were carried out both at room temperature and at an elevated temperature (425 K). Room temperature simulations showed that, contrary to our initial assumptions, the low energy molecular conformations were not cylindrical but splayed in shape. During the simulation a smectic-like, tilted layer structure was found to evolve for the cluster when full atom potentials were used, while no such development was observed when electrostatic interactions were neglected. The presence of a tilted layered structure was also suggested by the X-ray data. These results indicate that long range electrostatic interactions are significant for the molecular system under study. In order to calculate the orientational order parameter, the orientation of the molecular axis had to be determined. This was achieved by describing the mesogen shapes to be ellipsoidal and defining the principal axis of the ellipsoids to be the molecular directors. By sampling over 200 ps of simulation at 425 K, the time averaged order parameter (S) was calculated. The calculated S of 0.36 was comparable to the value of 0.4-0.45 found from the experimental data. Apart from providing insight into the relative importance of the various competing forces in the formation of the liquid crystalline phase, these simulations are also expected to be useful in predicting the mesophase behaviour of liquid crystalline systems.