Measurements of lateral ion transport in LCD cells

The ions present in liquid crystal devices modulate the applied electric field and lead to deterioration of the expected good optical response. In addition to the flicker and ghost images, a boundary image-retention effect is also possible. It occurs near the edges of a stressed pixel. We have attributed this effect to ions moving in the plane perpendicular to the applied electric field. This hypothesis has been proven using a combination of electrical and optical measurements. The observed optical non-homogeneity and its evolution with stress time were explained using the new model of lateral ion transport. The physical cause of this phenomenon is subject to further study.