Atomic beam alignment of liquid crystals
US5770826A · kind A · utility
52Cited by
5References
16Claims
0Family size
Assignee
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Key dates
| Filing date | May 10, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jun 23, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 10, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/133742
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
We have found that liquid crystals can be aligned on a polyimide surface exposed to a low energy and neutral Argon ion beam. The energy of the incident ions were varied between 75 and 500 eV, the integrated current density from 100 .mu.A/cm.sup.2 to 500 mA/cm.sup.2, and the angle of incidence over which alignment was measured was between 10 and 20 degrees. The pretilt angle of the liquid crystals could be varied between 0 and 8 degrees, by controlling the processing conditions. Degradation of the polyimide, which leads to charge migration, can be avoided by operating at low accelerating voltages.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.