Homogeneous liquid crystal alignment on poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) films subjected to ion-beam irradiation |
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| Authors: | Hong-Gyu Park Young Soo Park Kyoung Yong Park Min Sun Kim Hae-Chang Jeong |
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| Institution: | 1. Information Display Device Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University, 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea;2. Korea National Convergence Center, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, 143 Hanggaulro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan-si, Republic of Korea |
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| Abstract: | We demonstrate homogeneous and uniform liquid crystal (LC) alignment on poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) PVDF-TrFE] films using ion-beam (IB) irradiation and a performance improvement of twisted nematic (TN) cells using IB-irradiated PVDF-TrFE films. Spontaneous ferroelectricity of the PVDF-TrFE films was modified by IB irradiation, which affected the LC alignment properties. The variation in the pre-tilt angles of the LC molecules on the IB-irradiated PVDF films is attributed to surface reformation, including defluorination and oxidation because the pre-tilt angles of LC molecules can be controlled by adjusting the fluorine content. The results of contact angle measurements supported this phenomenon. A 58% reduction in the switching voltage was observed for TN cells, indicating that the IB-irradiated PVDF-TrFE films are a promising candidate for use as an alignment layer. |
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| Keywords: | liquid crystal poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) ion-beam irradiation twisted-nematic cell |
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