• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2009

We suggest a new method to determine the off-alignment error of the composite film, together with in-plane($R_{in}$) and out-of-plane retardation($R_{th}$) of the compensation film, simultaneously. The composite film consists of a polarizing film and a compensation film for improvement of viewing angle of a liquid crystal display. We regarded the compensation film as o-plate with its optic axis along an arbitrary direction. By using an extended Jones matrix method, the polarization characteristics of the composite film are examined. The calculated Fourier constants, ($\alpha$, $\beta$) curves of the composite film as the azimuth angle is varied at the incident angles of $0^{\circ}$ and $50^{\circ}$, respectively, are used to determine the axis misalignment, the tilt angle and the azimuth angle of the compensation film by adopting the linear regressional analysis technique. Since this method can be applied for the inspection of the composite film even after laminating the polarizing film and the compensation film, it will be useful for simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the production cost of liquid crystal display panels.