Liquid crystal display devices and methods of manufacturing the same

A liquid crystal display device, comprising:

• two substrates facing each other;
• an electrode on each of the two substrates;
• a liquid crystal layer between the two substrates;
• and
• an alignment layer between the electrode and the liquid crystal layer, wherein the alignment layer comprises a polyimide-based polymer having an imidization ratio,
• wherein the imidization ratio at the portion of the alignment layer adjacent to the electrode is about 65% to about 90%, and
• the imidization ratio of the portion of the alignment layer adjacent to the liquid crystal layer is less than the imidization ratio at the portion of the alignment layer adjacent to the electrode.

A method of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, comprising:

• forming an electrode on each of two substrates;
• coating an alignment layer composition comprising a polyimide-based polymer resin on the electrode to form a preliminary alignment layer, wherein the polyimide-based polymer resin has an imidization ratio of about 65% to about 90%;
• thermally treating the preliminary alignment layer to form an alignment layer, wherein the alignment layer is phase-separated into a vertical alignment layer and a tilting alignment layer, wherein the vertical alignment layer is adjacent to the electrode and the tilting alignment layer is spaced apart from the electrode, and wherein the tilting alignment layer comprises a pattern comprising a plurality of islands;
• forming a liquid crystal layer between the two substrates, wherein the liquid crystal layer comprises liquid crystal molecules;
• and
• aligning the liquid crystal molecules.