Liquid crystal alignment
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsStephen Christopher Kitson, Adrian Derek Geisow
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A liquid crystal device has a surface alignment structure comprising an array of alignment features (10) which are shaped and/or orientated to produce a desired alignment. Depending on the geometry and spacing of the features (10), the liquid crystal may be induced to adopt a planar, tilted, or homeotropic alignment.
Claims22
A liquid crystal device comprising a first cell wall and a second cell wall enclosing a layer of liquid crystal material;
- electrodes for applying an electric field across at least some of the liquid crystal material;
- and a surface alignment structure on the inner surface of at least the first cell wall providing a single desired alignment to the liquid crystal director, wherein the said surface alignment structure comprises a two dimensional array of upstanding features which are shaped and/or orientated to produce the desired alignment;
- but not including any device in which the surface alignment structure comprises a sinusoidal bigrating.
A liquid crystal device comprising a first cell wall and a second cell wall enclosing a layer of liquid crystal material;
- electrodes for applying an electric field across at least some of the liquid crystal material;
- and a surface alignment structure on the inner surface of at least the first cell wall providing a desired homeotropic or tilted homeotropic alignment to the liquid crystal director, wherein the said surface alignment structure comprises an array of upstanding features which are shaped and/or orientated to produce the desired alignment.
A liquid crystal device comprising a first cell wall and a second cell wall enclosing a layer of liquid crystal material;
- electrodes for applying an electric field across at least some of the liquid crystal material;
- and a surface alignment structure on the inner surface of at least the first cell wall providing a desired alignment to the liquid crystal director in a single azimuthal direction, wherein the said surface alignment structure comprises an array of upstanding posts which are shaped and/or orientated to produce the desired alignment.
A liquid crystal device comprising a first cell wall and a second cell wall enclosing a layer of liquid crystal material;
- electrodes for applying an electric field across at least some of the liquid crystal material;
- and a surface alignment structure on the inner surface of at least the first cell wall providing desired alignments to the liquid crystal director in a plurality of azimuthal directions, wherein the said surface alignment structure comprises an array of features which are shaped and/or orientated to produce the desired alignments, wherein the distortion energy of the liquid crystal material is not the same in all of the said azimuthal directions.
A liquid crystal device comprising a first cell wall and a second cell wall enclosing a layer of liquid crystal material;
- electrodes for applying an electric field across at least some of the liquid crystal material;
- and a surface alignment structure on the inner surface of at least the first cell wall providing desired alignments to the liquid crystal director in at least three azimuthal directions, wherein the said surface alignment structure comprises an array of features which are shaped and/or orientated to produce the desired alignments.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.