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We demonstrated uniform LC alignment on IB-irradiated aluminium tin oxide (AlSnO) by controlling the annealing temperature. Physico-chemical analyses were carried out to determine the surfa...

The characteristics of ion beam (IB) irradiated polyethylene glycol (PEG) films were analyzed to determine their potential use as a liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. The transmittance of...

We investigated the surface modification induced by the ion-beam (IB) irradiation of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) film and its liquid crystal (LC) alignment characteristics. The X-ray photoe...

Ion beam (IB)-spurted indium tin oxide (ITO) thin layers are used to align liquid crystals (LC) with a lower driving voltage. During IB spurting process, the microcrystals transforming to large crystals of ITO is intimated by the change of In (3d), Sn (3d) and O (1s) core level in XPS spectra and the surface topology modifications in SEM and AFM images, and IB-spurted ITO thin layers are comparably transparent and conductive compared with ITO thin layers. The increased interactions between LC and IB-spurted ITO thin layers together with the roughed surface topology of ITO thin layers are the main causes for LC alignment. The fast response and distribution of electrical dipoles to external voltage in LC causes LC’s extremely low threshold voltage drive; in addition, LC directly aligned on ITO thin layers free from alignment layers shield effect further decreases LC’s threshold voltage. 1.8-keV IB-spurted ITO thin layers are more appropriate to align LC with the threshold voltage of 0.4853 V and the...

Liquid crystal (LC) alignment characteristics were investigated using a solution-derived lanthanum-doped zinc oxide (La:ZnO) film that was exposed to various intensities of ion-beam (IB) irradiation. At an IB intensity of 1700 eV, uniform and homogeneous LC alignment was achieved, as revealed by cross-polarized optical microscopy and pre-tilt angle measurement. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to verify that the IB irradiation induced physical and chemical surface reformation of the La:ZnO film that relate to LC alignment. FE-SEM and AFM revealed that the IB irradiation reformed the existing surface structure into a new structure with an altered surface roughness. The XPS results showed that the van der Waals force with anchoring energy increased as the IB intensity increased, and this profoundly affected the state of LC alignment. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis curve was measured as ...

Uniform and defect-free homogeneous alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules on solution-derived bismuth-doped tin oxide (TBO) films has been achieved using ion-beam (IB) irradiation. We ...

We achieved vertically aligned (VA) liquid crystals (LCs) on aluminum oxide (Al2O3) films deposited via e-beam evaporation using a rubbing treatment. Uniform and vertical LC alignment was a...

We investigated the characteristics of a solution-processed indium-doped zinc oxide (In:ZnO) film formed via ion-beam (IB) irradiation as a liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. The In:ZnO f...

We investigated the induced uniform alignment of liquid crystals (LCs) on a polyurethane (PU) ion-beam (IB) irradiated at a certain incidence angle. Polarized optical microscopy (POM) and the crystal rotation method were used to evaluate the LC alignment state. On PU films IB-irradiated with incidence angles of 60° or less, the LC cells exhibit a clear and uniform alignment. At an incidence angle of 75°, light scattering was observed via POM, indicating the randomly aligned state of the LC cells. Moreover, the calculated pretilt angles for LC cells on IB-irradiated PU at incidence angles of 15°, 30°, 45°, and 60° were 0.05°, 0.05°, 0.20°, and 0.18°, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to confirm the effect of varying the IB irradiation incidence angle. The PU surface irradiated by IB was modified differently as the incidence angle changed. IB irradiation at low incidence angles broke C–C, C–O/C–N, and N–C(O)–O bonds and caused C=O bond f...

We present the fabrication of an anisotropic structure on a polyurethane (PU) film for aligning liquid crystal (LC) molecules with ion beam (IB) irradiation at an incident angle. The obtained aniso...

We present the liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties of solution-derived lanthanum tin oxide (LaSnO) films cured at various temperatures and exposed to ion-beam (IB) irradiation. Using a solution process, LaSnO films were deposited on the indium-tin-oxide glass substrates and IB irradiation was used as an alignment method. Homogeneous and uniform LC alignment was achieved and observed by cross-polarised optical microscopy. Pre-tilt angle results with low standard deviation supported the notion of uniform LC alignment. The LaSnO film cured at 300°C showed nearly zero capacitance–voltage hysteresis. The change of the surface morphology of the LaSnO film due to IB irradiation was observed by atomic force microscopy. The effects of IB irradiation on the LC alignment layer were further demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The strong IB irradiation broke the metal–oxide bonds present, which in turn induced an increased number of oxygen vacancies on the whole surface. Uniform LC alignment...

Doping with cerium (IV) oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles can significantly enhance the thermal stability and electro-optical (EO) properties of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) systems. Thermal stability was improved without aggregation and reduction of transmittance by adding CeO2 nanoparticles in a liquid crystal medium. In particular, the EO properties greatly improved in CeO2-dispersed NLC cells. The threshold voltage reduced from 3.027 to 2.279 V and the response time decreased from 13.097 to 9.970 ms with increased CeO2 nanoparticles in the NLC cells. The improved properties of liquid crystals doped with CeO2 nanoparticles depend on the anchoring energy and the electric field of the CeO2-dispersed liquid crystal displays.

We obtained homogeneously aligned liquid crystals (LCs) on ion beam (IB) irradiated poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by controlling the IB energy. We then examined the LC alignment state using polarized optical microscopy and conducted thermal stability testing. We obtained homogeneous LC alignment at IB energies above 1,400 eV, indicating that strong IB energy facilitates the alignment of LCs on the PMMA surface. This surface was analyzed by atomic force microscopy, and the contact angles (CAs) were measured to elucidate the mechanism of LC alignment. The increased surface energy strengthened the van der Waals interaction between the surface and LCs, thereby inducing stable, homogeneous LC alignment. Electro-optical (EO) characteristics were measured using twisted nematic (TN) LC mode. Compared to LC cells with conventionally used rubbed polyimide (PI), the LC cells with IB-irradiated PMMA exhibited higher thermal budgets and good electro-optical characteristics. These new LC cells have promising...

The alignment of liquid crystals (LCs) in LC-based optical devices determines the visual quality of devices, and a simple pretreatment is necessary for LC alignment. Here, we present a BiFeO3 (BFO) thin layer working as an alignment layer, homogeneously aligning LCs after a pre-thermal annealing treatment. Dramatic BFO bumps were observed during the thermal annealing process, and a corresponding enhancement in wettability was detected from measurement of tunable contact angles. LCs in the BFO bump thin layer sandwiched TN cell were found to be perfectly homogeneously aligned due to the enhanced anisotropy and wettability caused by the morphology change of the thin layer.

We demonstrate homogeneous and uniform liquid crystal (LC) alignment on poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [PVDF-TrFE] films using ion-beam (IB) irradiation and a performance improvement of twisted nematic (TN) cells using IB-irradiated PVDF-TrFE films. Spontaneous ferroelectricity of the PVDF-TrFE films was modified by IB irradiation, which affected the LC alignment properties. The variation in the pre-tilt angles of the LC molecules on the IB-irradiated PVDF films is attributed to surface reformation, including defluorination and oxidation because the pre-tilt angles of LC molecules can be controlled by adjusting the fluorine content. The results of contact angle measurements supported this phenomenon. A 58% reduction in the switching voltage was observed for TN cells, indicating that the IB-irradiated PVDF-TrFE films are a promising candidate for use as an alignment layer.

Liquid crystal (LC) alignment layers were prepared by fabricating solution-processed HfZnO films, annealing them, and treating them with ion beam (IB) irradiation, and the effect of annealing temperature upon the resulting film properties was studied. Homogeneous LC alignment was achieved on IB-irradiated HfZnO films. Topographical changes were observed from field-emission scanning electron microscopy as annealing temperature increased. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that IB irradiation resulted in oxidation of HfZnO surfaces, which caused the LCs to be oriented more uniformly. The best electro-optical characteristics observed corresponded to the annealing temperature of 200°C. The low optimal annealing temperature for fabricating the HfZnO films suggested that this material has remarkable potential for LCD applications.

We present a new approach for the alignment process to orient liquid crystal (LC) molecules. The process consists of fabrication of a stamp composed of reactive mesogens (RMs), transfer of RM from the stamp onto polyimide (PI) layers, and LC device fabrication using the resulting RM/PI layers. The RM stamp was made anisotropic by a rubbing treatment, and this anisotropy was transferred to the PI layers via contact imprinting, leading to an achievement of uniform LC alignment. In addition, the pretilt angle of the LC molecules could be controlled by varying the content of homogeneous PI in the PI layers. We describe the effects of high pretilt angle upon the electro-optical (EO) characteristics of twisted-nematic (TN) cells based on the RM transfer film/blended PI layers.

We demonstrated the electro-optical characteristics of multi-stacked solution-derived La2O3 films in low temperature. Uniform and homogeneous liquid crystal (LC) alignment was achieved, and the films showed high performance. The electro-optic characteristics of the electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode with La2O3 layers were comparable to layers derived from polyimide, which indicated that La2O3 film had potential as an alignment layer due to its low threshold voltage (1.70 V) and fast response time (3.17 ms). The LC alignment on the solution-derived La2O3 surfaces was attributed to Van der Waals forces between LC molecules and La2O3 films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that the number of layers of coating changed the chemical structure, thereby shifting the binding energy and altering the bonding intensity.

The alignment of liquid crystals (LCs) has been widely studied to enable their use in high-quality displays. In addition to the deposition of an alignment layer, an alignment process to orient the LCs is also required. To accomplish self-alignment and to simplify the fabrication process, many alternatives have been proposed, including the doping of nanoparticles or organic/inorganic composites into LCs or the use of special treatments, such as ultra-violet (UV) irradiation or imprinting. However, an additional treatment is required to achieve proper LC orientation. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of an aligned LaYSrO (LYSO) via a solution process. Using this technique, we have generated a simple manufacturing method that eliminates the alignment process, and we have found that the quality of the LC cell is comparable to that of polyimide-rubbed films. The mechanisms of the film formation and the LC alignment were elucidated with a nanocrystalline LYSO film. In comparison with LCs, the nanocrystal i...

We report the doping effect of graphene quantum dots (QDs) in a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) device. The use of graphene QDs leads to improved electro-optical (EO) properties, such as faster response times and a decreased threshold voltage. A 14.8% reduction in the threshold voltage (3.165 V), a 30% decrease in the falling time (4.9 ms) and a 63.6% decrease in the rising time (2.4 ms) were observed for twisted nematic (TN) LC devices (LCDs) that were doped with QDs. We confirm that the doping of the TN-LCD with graphene QDs reduces the field-screening effect, which is caused by impurity ions, whereas the other properties of conventional TN-LCDs are maintained.

In this study, we report on characterisation of residual DC voltage in homogeneously aligned nematic liquid crystal (N-LC) system with ferromagnetic Ni nanoparticles. A residual DC is greatly reduced in the N-LC cell as the increase of Ni particle concentration in LC mixture. The relationship between the doping concentration in Ni nanoparticles and the trapping of impurity ions was examined. In addition, the N-LC cells had faster response times and lower driving voltages, which translated to better electro-optical (EO) characteristics, than pure LC cells.

We propose a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-doped liquid crystal (LC) device with enhanced electro-optical properties. MWCNT-doped LC cells were successfully operated as a twisted nematic LC device with high performance. The LC cells fabricated with MWCNT-doped LCs and a polyimide layer exhibited the best electro-optical properties, such as a low threshold voltage (1.60 V) and fast response time (13.95 ms). MWCNT doping decreased the pre-tilt angles of LC mixtures. Additionally, UV-visible transmittances and photomicrograph images of LC cells indicated LCD application potential with clear and uniform LC alignment.

In this article, we study the electro-optical (EO) properties of the homogeneous aligned nematic liquid crystal (N-LC) doped with cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanoparticles (NPs). The EO characteristics of Co3O4 doped N-LC are higher performance, indicating lower threshold voltage (1.33 V), faster rising time (1.479 ms), and faster falling time (9.343 ms) than pure liquid crystal (LC) cells. We have demonstrated these results by investigating the relationship between dielectric constants and LC device properties. Furthermore, we proved NPs doped N-LC cells drive low power operation without capacitance hysteresis. Our experimental results were verified by software simulation based on general physical properties.

We report the electro-optic (EO) characteristics of a Y2O3 nanoparticle-doped nematic liquid crystal (NLC) system. After doping with 2 wt.% Y2O3 nanoparticles, LC alignment shows a homogeneous orientation state without aggregation and crack. In particular, the pretilt angle was slightly increased in proportion to Y2O3 doping concentration. Response time was improved by nearly 53%, and the threshold voltage for display operation was reduced from 4.2 V to 2.6 V. We assumed that superior EO properties were achieved by the Y2O3 nanoparticle, which reduces the field-screening effect of impurity ions. We also confirmed that enhanced EO characteristics were achieved without loss of light transmittance.

This paper introduces zirconia (ZrO2) use in liquid crystal (LC) alignment for uniform and effective LC orientation. We used a conventional rubbing process to induce LC alignment. As a result, uniform LC alignments were achieved in all samples with ZrO2 nanoparticles from 0.01 wt% to 0.3 wt%. Pretilt angles of LCs on ZrO2 nanoparticles doped LC alignment layers slightly increased as the percentage of ZrO2 nanoparticles rose. However, contact angles were almost the same. When twist-nematic (TN) LC cells used LC alignment layers with ZrO2 nanoparticle content of 0.1 wt%, best performance was shown. Finally, it is shown that ZrO2 nanoparticles doped LC alignment layers have more thermal budget than pristine ones in thermal stability test.

This report discusses homogeneously aligned liquid crystals (LCs) subjected to ion-beam (IB) irradiation of the amorphous(a)-Al2O3 alignment layer. We studied the relationship between LC alignment and IB alignment conditions acting on homogeneous surfaces. We attained homogeneous LC orientations on a- Al2O3 alignment layer by optimization between the van der Waals interactions caused by Al-O bonding breaking with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The voltage-transmittance characteristics of the twisted nematic – liquid crystal displays (LCDs) on the a-Al2O3 film indicate potential for use as the LC alignment layer in various LCD display applications.

This paper introduces the characteristics of the zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) inorganic film deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The homogeneously aligned liquid crystal (LC) on ZrO2 layer via ion beam (IB) irradiation at various incident angles was embodied with LC alignment capability and performance. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) data shows that O-Zr bonds on the ZrO2 surface are broken and induce the van der Waals force for the homogeneous alignment of LCs. That is the van der Waals force, affecting the alignment of the LCs, is verified by the contact angle of the liquid and by the XPS analysis on the ZrO2 thin film. In addition, the advantage of IB alignment method is verified by using atomic force microscope (AFM).

This is a study of ion beam (IB)-irradiated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer-induced liquid crystal (LC) effects and electro-optical (EO) properties with varying IB incident angles. Depending on the incident angle, the homogeneously aligned LC on the PDMS layer via IB irradiation was embodied with LC alignment capability and performance. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis, the intensity of O–Si as a function of incident angle shows oxidation of the IB-treated PDMS surface. It revealed that van der Waals forces generated by delocalised electrons on the PDMS surface were attributed to LC alignment by selective destructions of the Si–C bonding in the direction of IB irradiation. EO characteristics comparable with rubbed polyimide were also achieved.

The authors introduce variable liquid crystal (LC) properties via ion beam (IB) irradiation on the ZrO2 layers. A uniform LC alignment characteristic was achieved on the ZrO2 thin film, and the pretilt angle was about 1.2°. We have shown that the pretilt angle can be controlled by changing ion beam parameters, such as the ion beam energy, the angle of incidence, and the irradiation time. The low pretilt angle for the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) on the ZrO2 thin film treated by ion beam irradiation could be adopted in planer alignment LCD liquid crystal display (LCD) applications as in-plane switching and fringe-field switching modes. The thermal stability of the ZrO2 thin film was sustained until 210°C. We also have shown that a liquid crystal cell aligned homogeneously by the ion beam irradiation exhibits the voltage-transmittance curve similar to that of a rubbed polyimide cell.

We present the characteristics of titanium dioxide (TiO2) inorganic film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering for liquid crystal display applications in this paper. TiO2 films supported vertically aligned liquid crystal (LC) molecules based on ion-beam (IB) irradiation time dependence. Uniform alignment was obtained only when the incident time was two minutes with 1.8 keV of incident energy and an incident angle of 45°. Energy from uniform high-density plasma by IB irradiation affected the interaction between the TiO2 layer and LC molecules to produce vertical alignment of the LC molecules.

This paper introduces a novel alignment method for control of pretilt angles in liquid crystals (LCs) using an etchant dipping effect on a mixed polyimide layer as an alternative alignment layer for liquid crystal display applications. A rubbing process was used to induce LC alignment and induce the measured LC pretilt angle on the etchant dipped mixture layer. The resulting thermal stabilities were good, however thermal stresses decreased as the etchant dipping time increased, indicating that the LC anchoring energy became weaker as a function of etchant dipping time after treatment. Excellent voltage-transmittance characteristics for vertically aligned cells were observed for all conditions.

Liquid crystal alignment using ion beam (IB) irradiated a-C:H films on either plastic or glass substrates can be affected by the type of topographical structure. Strong IB irradiation induces greater roughness to the micro-groove on a plastic substrate, leading to a device with increased pretilt angle, fast response time and reduced threshold voltage. In contrast to the hysteresis in the transmittance–voltage curve of the rubbed polyimide film, which rapidly increases with increasing thermal and UV stress time, study of the residual DC voltage revealed no hysteresis on an a-C:H film due either to thermal or UV stress.

We explored the doping effects of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles on the characteristics of liquid crystal (LC) devices. The electro-optic (EO) properties of LCs with various doping contents were changed. The addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles contributed to an improvement in EO properties in nematic LC cells such as low voltage operation and fast response time. The LC cells with 1.5 wt% ZrO2 nanoparticles showed the lowest threshold voltage (0.8 V) and the fastest response time (14.5 ms), and especially, a rise time of 0.7 ms, which can be applied for use in advanced LC devices.

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.

We studied the state of the dual liquid crystal (LC) alignment which displays both homeotropic and homogeneous alignment on blended polyimide (PI) layer. The research was conducted using rubbing method at different imidizing temperatures and the blended PI was made using homeotropic PI having an alkyl side chain and homogeneous PI without the side chain. The uniform LC alignments were achieved, and have thermal stability. The results of contact angles were similar to that of pretilt angles.

The controllable pre-tilt angle of liquid crystals was investigated using a blend of horizontal and vertical polyimide prepared using a rubbing method. Various pretilt angles ranging from 0° to 90° were achieved as a function of the vertical polyimide content. We observed uniform liquid crystal alignment on the rubbing-treated blended polyimide layer. A no-bias-bend (NBB) pi cell with an intermediate pretilt angle of 47.8° was manufactured. This cell had no initial bias voltage and a low threshold voltage, which indicates that it has low power consumption. In addition, the response time of the NBB pi cell was rapid.

In this study, transparent polystyrene (PS) was replaced with conventional polyimide material. As a non-contact process, an ion beam (IB) bombardment process was applied to align the homogeneous liquid crystal (LC) material on the PS surfaces. Confirming the atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, the chemical compositional changes of the IB-irradiated PS surfaces were determined as a function of the IB exposure angle although there was no effect of modulation of the physical geographic characteristics on IB-irradiated PS surfaces. Using this analysis, the optimal IB bombardment condition was determined at the IB exposure angle of 45°. Finally, the electro-optical properties of an LC cell suggest the use of PS in conventional LC alignment materials.

The aligned liquid crystals (LCs) display on SiNx thin films using ion-beam (IB) irradiation was studied with controllability of pretilt angle depending on incident energies of the IB. The LCs alignment property for the SiNx thin films were observed to verify the practical application potential. A good LCs alignment of vertical alignment LCs cells on SiNx thin film surfaces irradiated with incident IB energy of 1800eV was achieved. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of LCs on SiNx thin film surfaces irradiated with IB energy was used for the surface analysis.

We studied homogeneous liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties on ion-beam (IB) irradiated TiO2 films deposited by the electron beam evaporation method. Stable homogeneous LC alignment on a TiO2 surface resulted from IB irradiation energy over 1800 eV. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses showed that Ti4+ 2p3/2 and Ti4+ 2p1/2 peaks were increased with increasing IB energy. Assuming that the increased peaks produced anisotropy dipole fields in the direction of the IB exposure process, we confirmed that the increasing IB energy induced strengthened the surface energy for entirely clear and stable LC molecule orientation. The voltage-transmittance characteristics of the twisted-nematic cell on the TiO2 surface indicate that the TiO2 film has potential for use as the LC alignment layer.

We studied liquid crystal (LCs) alignment effects on homogeneous polyimide (PI) surfaces induced by polarised UV (PUV) exposure and rubbing in different directions. We found that the LC orientation is not affected by PUV exposure times of less than 90 min after rubbing, and that PUV exposure times over 90 min after rubbing resulted in LC orientations that were more closely aligned with the direction of PUV exposure than the direction of rubbing. Short-term PUV exposure affects the variation of the pretilt angle of the PI and LC. In addition, as PUV exposure time increases, it can convert the LC alignment direction from the rubbing direction to the PUV direction.

We investigated liquid crystal (LC) alignment as a function of ion beam (IB) incident angles and electro-optical (EO) characteristics of twisted nematic (TN)-liquid crystal displays (LCD) on polyimide (PI) surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis showed that the intensity of C=O chemical bonding decreased, while that of C–O chemical bonding increased for increasing IB incident angles. This indicates that the dipole-dipole interaction between C–O chemical bonding and the LC molecules has a chemical alignment effect. A good uniform alignment of nematic LCs on PI surfaces by the IB irradiation was observed, and good EO properties of IB-aligned TN-LCDs on PI surfaces were achieved.

We used Brewster's Law to examine the mechanism of liquid crystal (LC) alignment on an organic insulation layer when subjected to ion-beam irradiation. Brewster's Law implies that the maximum rate polarized ray on a slanted insulation layers on the substrate and it illustrates the dependence of polarization and the mechanical structure on the ion beam irradiation process. The pretilt angle of nematic LCs on the organic insulation surface was about 1.13° for an ion beam exposure of 45° for 1 minute at 1800 eV. This shows the dependence of LC alignment on the polarization ratio in a slanted organic insulation layer. We also discussed the electro-optical characteristic of twisted nematic (TN) LCD using ion beam irradiation on organic overcoat layer.

The process for depositing indume-tin oxide (ITO) electrode on polymer substrate is not readily applicable at high temperature and shows poor electrical properties than the conventional ITO deposition process on glass substrate. Especially, the deformation of polymer substrate and residual stress yield the crack which degrade the performance of organic light emitting diode (OLED) unit. In this study, we developed low resistance ITO electrode, AZO(ITO-ZnO-Ag-ZnO-ITO) to apply to the fabrication of the bottom emission OLED unit. The performance of the AZO exhibited low surface resistance as 8 ohm and the ITO electrodes were additionally deposited to guarantee the same work function as conventional ITO. The emissive efficiency was 92% at 550 nm which almost corresponds to that of the conventional ITO.

The nematic liquid crystal alignment capability and electro‐optical (EO) performance characteristics of in‐plane switching (IPS) cells were first demonstrated on organic hybrid overcoat layers via ion beam irradiation. Usually the organic hybrid overcoat is used as the material for making a plate alignment layer in a colour filter process. To characterise the organic hybrid overcoat layer, we analysed the surface composition of the organic hybrid overcoat by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the intensity of C = O and C–O bonding undergoes a change corresponding to the changes in energy of the ion beam exposure. Moreover, EO performance characteristics of IPS cells on the organic hybrid overcoat layer via ion beam irradiation were observed to have similar characteristics to the polyimide.

We studied the electro-optical (EO) characteristics and nematic liquid crystal (NLC) aligning capabilities with the new alignment material of the Silicon Carbide (SiC) thin film using two kinds of ion beam (IB) gun. The SiC thin film exhibits good chemical and thermal stability. A vertical alignment of nematic liquid crystal by atomic beam exposure on the SiC thin film surface was achieved via all IB exposure system. The generated NLC tilt angle is about 87° using Kaufman type ion gun. The about 88° of stable tilt angle was achieved with incident angle of 10° using duoPIGatron type ion gun. An excellent voltage-transmittance (V-T) and response time curve of the IB-aligned VA-LCD using duoPIGatron type ion gun was observed. The V-T hysteresis characteristics of IB-aligned VA-LCD are almost the same as that of the rubbing-aligned VA-LCD. Consequently, the vertical alignment effect of liquid crystal and the good EO characteristics by the atomic beam alignment method on the SiC thin film layer can be achieved.

Applying inorganic thin film to liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer has been observed for the alternative of the LC alignment method. In this study, LC alignment characteristics of the nitrogen doped diamond like carbon (NDLC) thin film which was deposited using different deposition method–sputtering and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system was investigated. The difference of the thin film deposition method and the rate of composition gas can affect the LC alignment. The NDLC thin film that was deposited using sputter showed uniform LC alignment at the 1200 eV of the ion beam intensity while the NDLC thin film that was deposited using PECVD showed uniform LC alignment at the 1800 eV of the ion beam intensity in our previous research. The uppermost of the thermal stability of NDLC thin film was 200°C. However, NDLC thin film deposited using sputter showed stability at high temperature, compared with NDLC thin film deposited using sputter.

Transparent electrodes are indispensable for most of the flat panel display as liquid crystal display (LCD). We investigated liquid crystal (LC) aligning capabilities and electro-optical (EO) characteristics of transparent electrodes as Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) substituting indium tin oxide (ITO). The experiment results show that a uniform vertical LC alignment on ZnO:Al electrodes based on a rubbed polyimide (PI) surface were achieved. A high pretilt angle of about 88° was obtained. EO performances of the VA-LCD on rubbed PI surfaces with ZnO:Al is almost the same as that of the VA-LCD with ITO electrodes. These results appeared that ZnO:Al electrodes as transparent electrodes of LCDs could substitute ITO electrodes.