Liquid crystal device with chemically-induced high-tilt alignment coating

US4776674A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• American Telephone and Telegraph Company, AT&T Bell Laboratories · US

Inventors

• Robert W. Filas · Berkeley Heights, US
• Jayantilal S. Patel · Red Bank, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 25, 1986
• Grant date: Oct 11, 1988
• Expiry date: Jun 25, 2006

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S359/90
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

High-tilt (e.g., 5.degree.-85.degree.) can be achieved by chemical treatment of the interior surfaces of a liquid crystal device. Illustratively, the treatment entails applying a combination of surface coupling agents one of which alone would cause the LC director to make and angle .alpha..sub.1 (e.g., .alpha..sub.1 =0.degree.; homogeneous alignment) with the surface and another of which alone would yield .alpha..sub.2 (e.g., .alpha..sub.2 =90.degree., homeotropic alignment), but together they produce .alpha..sub.3 different from .alpha..sub.1 and .alpha..sub.2.