Effect of addition of nanoparticles to the alignment layer on the anchoring strength

Abstract

The interfacial properties between liquid-crystal (LC) and alignment layer of LC display such as pretilt angle, azimuth and polar anchoring strength are important for display performance. It was indicated in our previous study that the presence of nanoparticles in the alignment layer probably influences the interfacial properties of a LC display. We here study these interfacial properties of liquid-crystal display with nanoparticle-embedded alignment layers at a variety of fabricating conditions. In a certain case, the twist anchoring strength decreases remarkably, while the polar one does not. We also discuss the relation between the interfacial properties and the electro-optical properties of LCD with nanoparticle-embedded alignment layers.