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 hybrid aligned nematic reflective liquid crystal display driven by a fringe-field

We have designed a novel reflective nematic liquid crystal (LC) cell driven by a fringe electric field, in which the LCs are hybrid aligned in the initial state. Due to the hybrid alignment of the LC, the effective retardation value of the cell is greatly reduced when viewed in the normal direction and such a cell retardation value of 0.28 µm equals a quarter wave plate viewed in the normal direction. This means that the new reflective device can have a large cell gap of greater than 3 µm, which is advantageous when manufacturing the cell and, in addition, the device shows excellent electro-optic characteristics.     

The in-plane switching of homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystals

We have investigated the electro-optical effects and physical switching principle of homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystals when applying an in-plane electric field with interdigital electrodes. By using the in-plane switching (IPS) of the liquid crystals which is achieved by the in-plane electric field, the viewing angle characteristics of the electro-optical effects were confirmed to be far superior to those of the conventional twisted nematic mode in which the electric field is applied along the direction perpendicular to the substrates. The non-reversal region of grey scales was extremely wide in which a high contrast ratio was kept, even along quite an oblique direction in the IPS mode. In order to clarify the switching principle of the liquid crystals in the IPS mode, a simplified expression describing the threshold behaviour of the device was derived with the assumption that a uniform in-plane electric field was applied along a direction perpendicular to the director and parallel to the homogeneously aligned nematic slab, and found to be sufficiently able to explain the experimental results. First, a critical field at which the liquid crystals just began to twist, was found to be proportional to the reciprocal of the cell gap. Second, it was the electric field and not the voltage that drives the liquid crystals. This relationship was due to the independence of the electric field regarding the liquid crystal layer normal direction. So the threshold voltage in the IPS mode was strongly dependent on the variation of the cell gap. For the dynamical response mechanism of the liquid crystals to the in-plane electric field, the switching on and off processes of the liquid crystals were analysed quantitatively. The relaxation time of the liquid crystals when removing the electric field could be described as proportional to the square of the cell gap. A thinner cell gap also proved to be effective in obtaining a fast response time in the IPS mode. In contrast, the switching on time when applying the in-plane electric field was found to be inversely proportional to the difference between the square of the electric field strength and the square of the critical electric field strength at which the liquid crystals began to deform.     

Quantification of the azimuthal anchoring of a homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal using fully-leaky guided modes

A novel optical guided mode technique, the fully-leaky guided mode technique, has been used to investigate the director distortion under the application of an in-plane electric field of a homogeneously aligned conventional cell filled with the nematic liquid crystal E7. The liquid crystal is aligned using polyimide rubbed along the direction of the gold electrode edges. A weak field is applied across a 3 mm gap between the gold electrodes to induce small changes in the twist angle of the director. These distortions are determined by fitting to the angledependent reflectivity and transmissivity data and are compared with continuum theory. From careful analysis of the results, both the twist elastic constant, k22, and the azimuthal anchoring strength, Wa, of the system are obtained. At 23.5 C for E7 on rubbed polyimide we find that k22=(6.50 +/- 0.05)x10-12N and Wa=(2.9 +/- 0.2)x10-5 J m-2.     

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.     

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.     

Viewing angle characteristics of a homogeneously aligned two-domain liquid crystal cell with an inter-digitated electrode

The in-plane switching (IPS) mode in liquid crystal displays is known to exhibit a wide viewing angle. However, since the LC director rotates in one direction in the plane, devices with a single domain exhibit both a colour shift depending on the viewing angle, and greyscale inversion at specific angles especially at low grey levels. This has been improved by wedge shaped electrodes so that fields in two directions exist inside a pixel, causing the LC molecules to rotate in opposite directions to compensate each other; this acts as a virtual two domains structure. Nevertheless, the colour shift still exists to some extent, especially at low grey levels. In this paper, we propose a realistic two-domain IPS mode that exhibits a minimized colour shift at all grey levels on changing the viewing direction. In this device, the LC molecules are initially aligned in two directions orthogonal to each other, and two field directions exist perpendicular to each other. We have performed device simulations with respect to viewing angle characteristics, and found that IPS devices with a real two-domain structure reduce the variation of the retardation more effectively, when the viewing direction changes.     

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.     

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.     

Greyscale generation for optically driving liquid crystal display

It is very difficult to display greyscale for an optically driving liquid crystal display (ODLCD) because the driving unit and display unit are separate, and there are no electronics in the display part of ODLCD. In this paper, two greyscale generation methods are proposed to achieve this goal. Six and nine grey levels are separately achieved through the two methods.     

Electroclinic effects in a homogeneously aligned smectic A cell

The electroclinic effect, in a material having a first order S_A to S_C* transition, is studied using the half leaky guided mode geometry. Using an approximately 1 μm thick, homogeneously aligned cell, the voltage induced director twist is characterized at a few temperatures in the S_A phase. The mean field theory readily explains the data recorded at low fields where a linear dependence on voltage is found. However, at higher fields, an unexpected saturation occurs which is most likely caused by the influence of strong surface anchoring forces.     

Photopolymerization induced orientation transition in a nematic liquid crystal cell

We report the observation of a liquid crystal tilt transition from homeotropic to planar orientation induced by photopolymerization of the alignment layer in the absence of liquid crystal. The alignment agent is a unique, polymerizable lecithin (DC₂₃PC), which induces homeotropic alignment before UV exposure. After non-polarized UV exposure, a tilted orientation is obtained. Moreover, further buffing of the UV treated substrate yields a homogeneous alignment. We believe that the conformation change in the lecithin array caused by solid state polymerization is primarily responsible for the transition. These results help to explain the mechanism of liquid crystal alignment and will lead to several potential applications.     

Twist molecular orientation transition in a nematic liquid crystal cell

We theoretically demonstrate that the application of a transverse next-to-static electric field to a planar nematic liquid crystal cell - obtained by strong planar anchoring of the liquid crystal on the first surface and negligible interaction with the second surface - causes an electro-reorientational transition of the Freedericksz kind. We show that, above the transition the cell behaves as a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell with total twist depending on the applied voltage. Preliminary experimental results confirming the predicted effect are presented.     

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.     

Twist molecular orientation transition in a nematic liquid crystal cell

We theoretically demonstrate that the application of a transverse next-to-static electric field to a planar nematic liquid crystal cell - obtained by strong planar anchoring of the liquid crystal on the first surface and negligible interaction with the second surface - causes an electro-reorientational transition of the Freedericksz kind. We show that, above the transition the cell behaves as a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell with total twist depending on the applied voltage. Preliminary experimental results confirming the predicted effect are presented.     

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.     

Evidence for the flexo-electric effect in a nematic liquid crystal cell

We present evidence for the flexo-electric effect in a hybrid aligned nematic cell containing 4-methoxybenzylidene-4'-n-butylaniline (MBBA) subject to d.c. excitation, by comparing the theoretical curve derived by including the flexo-electric term in the free energy with the experimental points. The agreement appears to be very good for MBBA doped with a small amount of an additive which shows reversible electrochemical reactions at very low redox potential; this allows us to determine the sum of the flexo-electric coefficients and the anchoring energy on the planar wall. For undoped MBBA the experimental results can be justified only by assuming a low voltage screening of the electric field, due to the presence of ionic impurities in the material.     

Evidence for the flexo-electric effect in a nematic liquid crystal cell

Abstract

We present evidence for the flexo-electric effect in a hybrid aligned nematic cell containing 4-methoxybenzylidene-4'-n-butylaniline (MBBA) subject to d.c. excitation, by comparing the theoretical curve derived by including the flexo-electric term in the free energy with the experimental points. The agreement appears to be very good for MBBA doped with a small amount of an additive which shows reversible electrochemical reactions at very low redox potential; this allows us to determine the sum of the flexo-electric coefficients and the anchoring energy on the planar wall. For undoped MBBA the experimental results can be justified only by assuming a low voltage screening of the electric field, due to the presence of ionic impurities in the material.