Pretilt Direction of Liquid Crystal Molecules on an Ion-Beam-Treated SiO_x Films

Abstract

The pretilt direction (PD) of liquid crystal (LC) molecules on an ion-beam (IB) treated SiO_x layer is systematically examined. Using a contact angle (CA) method and scanning probe microscopy (SPM), we can clearly determine the PD of LC molecules. the PD of the LC molecules on an IB-treated SiO_x film aligns along the direction in which the CA and the surface roughness are low.

Keywords:

• liquid crystal
• pretilt direction
• SiO _x
• ion beam
• contact angle
• scanning probe microscopy

Acknowledgment

This work was supported by a grant from the Kyung Hee University. (KHU-20110246).