Determination of the Azimuthal Anchoring Strength of a Nematic Liquid Crystal Cell by Transmission ellipsometry

Abstract

The azimuthal anchoring energy at the nematic liquid crystal-alignment surface was evaluated by using the transmission ellipsometry. The anchoring energy was evaluated by following two different method: one is the torque balance method, and another is numerical fitting with the experimental result of electrooptical characteristics of in-plane switching (IPS) mode, where the anchoring energy is a parameter. Comparing these results, it is suggested that the 'effective' anchoring energy associating with the IPS-driving is different from the initial anchoring energy measured by the torque balance method.