Electro-optical characteristics and switching behavior of a twisted nematic liquid crystal device based upon in-plane switching

Abstract

A driving mechanism for a twisted nematic liquid crystal device that could possibly improve the viewing-angle characteristics and the cell gap error margin is proposed. It is important that the surface azimuthal anchoring strength of the liquid crystal cell differs at the upper and lower substrates, unlike a conventional twisted nematic (TN) mode. Electro-optical characteristics were investigated with an electric field applied in the plane of the substrates. It is numerically demonstrated and predicted that the proposed driving mechanism can have both the desirable features of in-plane switching mode (such as an excellent viewing angle) and those of a conventional TN type device (such as a small color shift and wide cell gap margin).