RELATION BETWEEN THE ORIENTATIONS OF POLYMER ALIGNMENT LAYER AND LIQUID CRYSTAL MOLECULES

Abstract

Effects of surface topology and polymer molecule orientation on the liquid crystal(LC) orientation have been examined using photolithography and Langmuir-Blodgett techniques. It has been clarified that the polymer orientation in the alignment layer affects more effectively than surface topology. UV/Visible spectroscopy has shown that the elevation angle of the polymer main chain in the alignment layer from the substrate plane does not correspond to the LC pretilt angle, which suggests that long alkyl side chains produce high pretilt angle for some polyimides.