Polymer stabilized in-plane switched LCD
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsGlenn Allen Held, Shui-Chih Alan Lien, Do Yeung Yoon
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Abstract
An in-plane switched liquid crystal device IPS LCD which provides fast switching times is formed by filling an empty IPS LCD panel having an array of display elements with a mixture of nematic liquid crystal material and a mesogenic polymerizable material, such as monomers or polymer precursers and suitable photoinitiators, curing, or cross-linking agents, and then polymerizing the mixture such that a phase-separated network of cross-linked polymer strands is formed. The cross-linked network of polymer strands displays an average orientation whose average orientation substantially conforms with nematic orientation of the nematic liquid crystal material in its “field-off” state.
Claims17
An in-plane switched liquid crystal display panel comprising:
- a) a pair of substrates,
- b) a layer of nematic liquid crystal material disposed between said pair of substrates, said liquid crystal material having a nematic orientation in the absence of an applied electric field,
- c) a plurality of display elements, each display element of said plurality of display elements comprising a pair of mutually intermeshed electrodes disposed in a substantially single plane, and
- d) a network of phase-separated strands of mesogenic polymer distributed throughout said liquid crystal material, said polymer strands having an average orientation which substantially conforms with said nematic orientation in the absence of an applied electric field.
A method of fabricating an in-plane switched liquid crystal display panel comprising:
- a) preparing a mixture of a nematic liquid crystal material and a mesogenic polymerizable material, said nematic liquid crystal material having a nematic orientation in the absence of an applied electric field,
- b) introducing said mixture into an empty in-plane switched liquid crystal display panel comprising a pair of substrates, one of said substrates comprising a plurality of display elements formed thereon, each display element of said plurality of display elements comprising a pair of mutually intermeshed electrodes disposed in a substantially single plane, and
- c) initiating polymerization of said polymerizable material to form a phase-separated network of polymer strands, comprised of cross-linked polymer molecules, separated from said nematic liquid crystal material, said polymer strands having an average orientation which substantially conforms with said nematic orientation in the absence of an applied electric field.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.