Stamping-assisted fabrication technique of the bidirectional alignment layer for wide-viewing twisted-nematic liquid crystal displays

Abstract

A stamping-assisted rubbing technique for generating bidirectional alignment in the fabrication of wide-viewing twistednematic (TN) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) was developed. A patterned layer of a fluorinated acrylate polymer was transferred onto the first rubbed alignment layer prepared on a substrate by stamping. The fluorinated acrylate polymer provides a protective layer that covers the first alignment layer during the second rubbing process to facilitate the bidirectional alignment of the LC molecules. The LC cell in the twisted geometry with two bidirectional-alignment layers showed stable electro-optic properties and wide-viewing characteristics. The stamping-assisted rubbing technique serves as a mask-free alignment method of producing multidomains for wide-viewing LCDs. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.