There is a strong demand for realizing intermediate LC pretilt angle for newly developed LCD mode such as OCB or bistable LCD. In the present study, we propose a new method to control the LC pretilt angle based on surface modification of polyimide alignment layer by atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment. We found that atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment can adjust the wettability of polyimide surface with long alkyl side chains and so that the pretilt angle can be controlled from vertical to arbitrary degree.
