抄録
In this paper we describe homeotropic splayed nematic liquid crystal displays (HSN-LCD). A pixel of a HSN-LCD is composed of three components; a pair of homeotropically aligned substrates between which nematic liquid crystal with negative dielectric anisotropy is filled, two kinds of optical compensators, and a pair of polarizers between which substrates and compensators are placed. This liquid crystal has three fundamental modes ; splay, bend, and π-twist. When the driving voltage is higher than the critical value, the Gibbs free energy of the splay-mode is the lowest among the three. The splay-mode, therefore, becomes stable. We calculated the spatial distributions of the director by using continuum theory, arid the V-T characteristics by using a 4×4 method. One compensator was optimized so as to minimize the wavelength dependence of the V-T characteristics. The other was optimized so as to maximize the viewing angle. The experimental results almost agreed with computer simulations. It was found that HSN-LCDs are promising because of their wide viewing angle and comparatively fast response characteristics.
