Ferroelectric liquid crystal device alignment
US5754264A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 6, 1996 |
| Grant date | May 19, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 6, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/1416
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A ferroelectric liquid crystal device comprises a layer of a ferroelectric liquid crystal material contained between two cell walls carrying electrode structures and a surface alignment treatment. The surface alignment is provided by a profiled surface, e.g., a grating, on at least one cell wall. The grating may be a monograting or a bigrating, with a symmetric or asymmetric profile. Such a profiling enables surface tilt and alignment anchoring energy to be independently arranged to suit liquid crystal material and device type to give a required molecular arrangement and low device defect. The grating may be provided by interferography, photolithography, embossing, ruling, or carrier layer transfer. Alignment directions on the cell walls may be parallel or non-parallel. The surface tilt on both cell walls may be the same or different values. The cell walls may be relatively rigid, e.g., glass slides, or flexible, e.g., thin plastic which may have its inner face embossed to provide one or both a grating and a set of spacer pillars.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.