Polarised UV-induced homogeneous alignment for fringe-field switching liquid crystal display with a new azobenzene monomer

ABSTRACT

A novel preparation method of homogeneous alignment polymer film (HAPF) was proposed by polymerisation of the monomer, 4,4ʹ-di-methacryloyl-oxy azobenzene (4,4ʹ-DMOAz), being dissolved in the liquid crystal (LC) material of positive dielectric anisotropy. For obtaining the homogeneous alignment, exposure of the polarised UV light was carried out to the LC cell above the nematic to isotropic transition temperature of the LC material. The fringe-field switching (FFS) mode LC cell with the HAPF formed from the monomer 4,4ʹ-DMOAz (FFS-HAPF-LC cell) exhibited enough level of alignment state, electro-optical and response properties compared with the FFS-LC cell carrying the conventional polyimide-type alignment layer. FFS-HAPF-LC cell can be expected to be useful for next-generation displays such as flexible LC displays.

Graphical Abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Monomer
• azobenzene
• homogeneous alignment polymer film
• FFS

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.