Development of tunable electro-optical properties on U-shaped-alignment in-plane switching liquid crystal devices

The tunable electro-optical properties of U-shaped-alignment (USA) in-plane switching (IPS) liquid crystal (LC) devices are successfully developed by adjusting the curing voltage (VCU) and the surface-anchored crosslinking monomer concentration during the polymerization process. As the VCU is increased, the threshold voltage and maximum-output-light-transmittance voltage are reduced, attributed to the pretilt effect on the LC molecular configuration. Furthermore, the dark-state brightness and the response performance are also changed. Of all the proposed devices, the 2-wt.% USA-IPS LC device through 2-V VCU treatment is the best candidate for the fast switching applications. This fabricated method will benefit the design of device properties.