Liquid crystal alignment on a ZrO₂ thin film as a function of ion beam incident angle

Abstract

Nematic liquid crystal alignment capabilities and electro-optical performance characteristics have first been embodied in a ZrO₂ layer using ion-beam irradiation. The study demonstrates that liquid crystal layers can be aligned homogeneously as a function of the incident angle of the ion beam device, which causes a uniform dense plasma. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that full oxidation of the ZrO₂ thin-film surfaces was produced by ion irradiation, shifting the Zr 3d spectra to lower binding energies. In addition, the electro-optical performance characteristics of twisted nematic cells on a ZrO₂ thin-film layer after ion beam irradiation showed similar characteristics to those of a rubbed polyimide cell.

Keywords:

• zirconium oxide
• ion beam irradiation
• liquid crystal alignment XPS analysis

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the MKE (The Ministry of Knowledge Economy), Korea under the ITRC (Information Technology Research Centre) Support program supervised by the NIPA (National IT Industry Promotion Agency) (NIPA-2009-C1090-0902-0018).