Photo-alignment and patterning of liquid-crystal displays

Twisted-nematic liquid-crystal displays (TN-LCDs)- or any other LCD that depends on the effect of an electric field - require that the alignment of the liquid-crystal molecules be controlled. The traditional way of achieving this control is by confining LC layer between two mechanically rubbed surfaces. This paper presents new alignment technique, called photopolymerization (LPP), that promise not only economical multi-domain LCDs but also novel and exciting uses of polymeric liquid-crystal films. The in situ photo-cross-linking resulting from the polymerization process of LPP makes LPP photo-alignment optically stable.