Liquid crystal display apparatus using liquid crystal having ferroelectric phase and method of driving liquid crystal display device using liquid crystal having ferroelectric phase

A liquid crystal display apparatus comprising:

• a liquid crystal display device including a first substrate having pixel electrodes formed thereon, a second substrate having an opposing electrode facing said pixel electrodes, formed thereon, a liquid crystal having a ferroelectric phase and a layer structure in a smectic phase, said liquid crystal being alignable to a first alignment state in which liquid crystal molecules are substantially aligned to a first alignment direction, to a second alignment state in which said liquid crystal molecules are substantially aligned to a second alignment direction and to an intermediate alignment state in which an average alignment direction of said liquid crystal molecules is aligned toward an arbitrary direction between said first and second alignment directions in accordance with a voltage applied between said pixel electrodes and said opposing electrode, a first polarization plate having an optical axis set substantially parallel to a normal direction of a layer of said layer structure of said liquid crystal, and a second polarization plate having an optical axis set perpendicular or parallel to said optical axis of said first polarization plate, said liquid crystal display device having optical response characteristics which are caused by antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition pre-driving phenomenon, and which show that optical changes corresponding to continuous changes in voltages of one polarity to be applied between said pixel electrodes and said opposing electrode and optical changes corresponding to continuous changes in voltages of another polarity whose absolute values are equal to those of the voltages of said one polarity are substantially equal;
• and
• drive means for receiving one image signal corresponding to a display image and applying one drive pulse corresponding to said one image signal which has a voltage representing a display gradation of said display image between associated ones of said pixel electrodes and said opposing electrode while inverting a polarity of said application voltage frame by frame.