Optical characterization of the in-plane switching effect utilizing multidomain structures

Color shift and gray scale reversal for very large viewing angles are analyzed theoretically for in-plane switching. It follows that the color shift depends on the change of the effective birefringence dΔn, whereas gray scale reversal depends on the effective angle between the polarizers and the liquid-crystal director angle. Experimental results confirmed the theory that small gray levels result in a larger color shift. Likewise, the viewing angles in which a gray scale reversal occurs, correlate with the theory. To counter these drawbacks, two multidomain structures are proposed, neither of which requires additional orientation processes. With these multidomain structures, color shift was suppressed and no gray scale reversal was observed. However, the multidomain structures reduce maximum transmission, the extent of which depends on the type and design of the structure.