From First to Fourteen Optics of Liquid Crystals Meeting, Geometrical Optics Approximation to 2 × 2, and Optical Bistability to Multi-Domain Vertical Alignment LCDs

Abstract

As a liquid crystal researcher, I was delighted to attend the first Optics of Liquid Crystals meeting, chaired by Professor Santamato and held in Napoli, Italy 25 years ago in 1986. Over the ensuing years, I was fortunate to present papers at following OLC meetings, and had the opportunity to serve in organization and advisory committees. To celebrate the OLC's 25th year anniversary, I have provide commentary on the early OLC meetings followed by a review on the optical field induced Freedericksz transition and the intrinsic optical bistability, geometrical optics approximation, generalized geometrical optics approximation and the 2 × 2 matrix, and also the progress in the wide-viewing angle LCDs and multi-domain vertical alignment LCDs.

Keywords:

• Multi-domain
• optical bistability
• optics modeling
• viewing angle

Acknowledgments

I thank the OLC’2011 organization committee for the invitation and for the kind hospitality during OLC’2011. I gratefully acknowledge Dr Nelson V. Tabiryan for a critical review of and suggestions on this paper.