Homeotropic and Homogeneous Hybrid Alignment Layer for Wide Viewing Angle LCDs

Abstract

We introduce a homeotropic and homogeneous hybrid double layer for liquid crystal (LC) alignment into a multi-domain vertically aligned mode. A blend of polyimide (PI) and poly(vinyl cinnamate) (PVCi) was cast onto a preformed PI layer. After curing, PVCi was extracted by washing to yield a LC alignment layer with homogeneous micro-domains uniformly distributed over the homeotropic layer. The size of homogeneous domains was strongly influenced by the weight content of PVCi as well as the solvent of PVCi. The viewing angle of ±30° with contrast ratio of 10:1 along the direction of 45° to a polarizer was obtained from hybrid double layer LC cells with no compensation film.