• Journal of Information Display
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.191-194
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• 2011

A symmetric-viewing inverse-twisted-nematic (ITN) liquid crystal display (LCD) with alternating alignment layers was developed using a stamping-assisted rubbing (SAR) technique. A patterned layer of a fluorinated acrylate polymer was transferred onto the first rubbed vertical-alignment layer prepared on a substrate by stamping. The fluorinated acrylate polymer provided a protective layer covering the first rubbed alignment layer during the second rubbing process, which promoted the vertical alignment of the LC molecules. The LC cell in the ITN geometry with two orthogonally rubbed alignment layers showed symmetric-viewing characteristics with fourfold symmetry. The SAR technique was shown to be a mask-free alignment method of producing multidomains for symmetric-viewing LCDs.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.330-333
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• 2005

We investigated the liquid crystal (LC) alignment phenomena using a-C:H and a-C:F:H thin films. Homogeneous alignment is obtained using ion beam treated hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin films. Homeotropic alignment is obtained using F treated a-C:H thin films, namely, fluorinated amorphous carbon (a-C:F:H) thin films. We investigated the relationship between the surface properties of amorphous carbon based alignment layer and LC alignment phenomena.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.821-825
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• 2013

Effect of multi-stacked layer (MSL), 0.1 mol (M) and 0.3 mol (M) hafnium oxide ($HfO_2$) alignment layers were fabricated via a solution-process for LCs orientation. The solutions were spin-coated and annealed in a furnace. MSL consists of three sub-layers using 0.1 M solution, mono-layer (ML) is composed of 0.3 M $HfO_2$ solution. Then ion-beam irradiation was treated with 1.8 keV for 2 min. $HfO_2$-based LC cells were investigated through photographs, pre-tilt angle using crystal rotation method, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement, and surface roughness using atomic force microscopy(AFM) for their characteristic research. Good LC orientation characteristics were observed on MSL $HfO_2$ surface. The LC alignment mechanism on MSL $HfO_2$ and ML $HfO_2$ surfaces was attributed to van der Waals (VDW) interaction between the LC molecular and substrate surface.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.484-492
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• 2003

How the characteristics and stability of the rubbing-induced alignment of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) relate to the interfacial characteristics of LC-polyimide has been studied. The characteristics of the LC alignment (such as the LC texture, the pretilt angle, and the anchoring energy) and their thermal stability have been investigated for 5 polyimides synthesized for this work. The work showed that the rubbed polyimide alignment layer induces the strong LC anchoring and that the characteristics and stability of LC alignment are determined by the short-ranged interactions between LC and polyimide molecules at the alignment layer surface. The increased flexibility of the polyimide accelerates thermal imidization, increases the pretilt angle, and improves the alignment stability. It also turned out that fluorination of the polyimide tends to deteriorate the alignment uniformity and stability. No distinct differences in the alignment characteristics were shown for the aromatic- and alicyclic-dianhydride polyimides.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

This paper investigates the effect of the electrode edge of a patterned vertical alignment (PVA) liquid crystal (LC) device on the viewing angle characteristics. In general, a transmissive LCD applies an LC layer with half-wave retardation for a bright state and with zero retardation for a dark state. The retardation of the LC layer would be distorted in each point, however, when a voltage is applied because of the non-uniform voltage distribution in the electrode edge effect. In this paper, the feasibility of the full effect of the electrode edge on the viewing angle property is considered, and the optical viewing angles of the VA LCD with a uniform half-wave LC layer and the PVA LCD with a practical non-uniform LC layer are compared.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.303-312
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• 2001

The fabrication of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels involves several thermal processes such as imidization of the alignment layer (AL) and annealing of the rubbed polyimide AL. The nature of these processes on the LC alignment, especially on the pretilt angle (Θ$\_$p/) has been systematically studied, employing various types of polyimide structures. The imidization effect depends on the nature of polyimid precursors; Θ$\^$p/ increases with the degree of the imidization for the main-chain type of ALs, due to the decrease in the surface polarity, but this relation is not applicable to the alkylated ones in which the steric effect at the AL surface by the aliphatic side chains is dominant. Annealing of the rubbed polyimide AL deteriorates its rubbing-induced molecular orientation and subsequently the overlying LC alignment, resulting in the decrease in Θ$\_$p/. Especially, annealing of the LC cell affects the LC-AL interaction as well as the AL orientation and thus its effect on LC alignment depends sensitively on the nature of LC-polyimide interface; aromatic moiety in the polyimide structure gives better thermal stability of LC alignment while fluorinated polyimide ALs induce the less stable alignment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.431-431
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• 2007

In this paper, the LC alignment characteristics of the NDLC thin film deposited by PECVD and sputtering were reported respectively. The NDLC thin film deposited using sputter showed uniform LC alignment at the 1200 eV of the ion beam intensity and pretilt angle was about $2^{\circ}$ while the NDLC thin film deposited using the PECVD showed uniform LC alignment and high pretilt angle at the 1800 eV of the ion beam intensity. Concerning the ion beam intensity, uniform LC alignment of the NDLC thin film deposited by the sputtering was achieved at the lower intensity. And the pretilt angle of the NDLC thin film deposited by sputter was higher than those of NDLC thin film that was deposited using the PECVD. The uppermost of the thermal stability of NDLC thin film was $200^{\circ}C$, respectively. However, NDLC thin film deposited by the PECVD showed stability at high temperature without defects, compared to NDLC thin film deposited by the sputter.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.1457-1461
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• 2013

The effect of liquid crystal (LC) alignment on a homeotropic polyimide (PI) surface induced by ion beam (IB) irradiation and rubbing process was studied. LC alignment was not affected by IB irradiation with an exposure time of 10 s, and an IB irradiation with an exposure time of 60 s more effectively oriented the LCs on the PI layer than the rubbing process. It was assumed that the LC alignment depended on the C-O bonds created from the C=O bonds on the PI surface broken by IB irradiation after an exposure time of 60 s, which resulted in a strong surface energy that transformed the homeotropic LC alignment to homogeneous states.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.214-218
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• 2003

We studied the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) aligning capabilities by the UV alignment method on a diamond like carbon (DLC) thin film surface A good LC alignment by UV exposure on the DLC thin film surface at 200${\AA}$ of layer thickness was achieved. Also, a good LC alignment by the UV alignment method on the DLC thin film surface was observed at annealing temperature of 180$^{\circ}C$. However, the alignment defect of the NLC was observed above annealing temperature of 200$^{\circ}C$. Consequently, the good thermal stability of LC alignment by the UV alignment method o the DLC thin film surface can be achieved.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.328-329
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• 2005

Inorganic alignment layer (IAL) was deposited on an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) by using reactive sputtering deposition method. After deposited, IAL was irradiated by $Ar^+$ ion beam (IB) for liquid crystal (LC) alignment. IAL treated by various conditions such as IB energy, IB incident angle, and IB irradiation time had excellent alignment property and electro-optical property the same as that of PI. We investigated into the stability of ion beam treated IAL after a lapse of long time. However IAL irradiated IB did not occur degradation of electro-optical property. The results implied that IAL irradiated IB was adopted as LC alignment layer instead of rubbed polyimide.