Simple multimode stereoscopic liquid crystal display

A novel multimode stereoscopic imaging system is developed. The system consists of a polarizer and a passive liquid crystal sheet which is patterned into periodic liquid crystal configuration regions. One is in the 90° twisted nematic (TN) state while the other is in a non-twisted state (liquid crystal aligned antiparallel). This 3D imaging system can be viewed in the autostereo mode without spectacles but has discrete viewing zones and in a binocular stereo mode which requires passive polarized glasses. This system is also convertible between 2D and 3D modes. Its principle is confirmed using the test cells. The viewing angle characteristics are also investigated.