• Journal of Information Display
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.5-9
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• 2007

We demonstrate novel soft-lithographic techniques for preparing patterned liquid crystal (LC) orientations at an alignment layer. By controlling patterning conditions such as wetting property and operating temperature depending on polymeric materials, multi-directional or modified LC alignment conditions can be simply achieved.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.08a
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• pp.1719-1722
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• 2006

We proposed a soft-lithographic method for aligning a liquid crystal (LC) in patterned azimuthal orientations. It is demonstrated that a thermoplastic polystyrene layer is patterned from a thermally stable polyimide layer via pressure-assisted capillary force lithography, which provides multidirectional LC alignment condition simply followed by a unidirectional rubbing process.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.12-15
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• 2006

We propose a patterning method of liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer for producing multi-domain LC structures. By controlling thermal conditions during micro-contact printing procedures and facilitating wetting properties of patterning materials, patterned LC orientation can be easily obtained on a bare ITO surface or other polymer films. The newly proposed patterning method is expected to be a very useful tool for fabricating multi-domain LC structures to enhance or design electro-optic properties of LC-based devices.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.180-183
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• 2009

A stamping-assisted rubbing technique for generating bidirectional alignment in the fabrication of wide-viewing twistednematic (TN) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) was developed. A patterned layer of a fluorinated acrylate polymer was transferred onto the first rubbed alignment layer prepared on a substrate by stamping. The fluorinated acrylate polymer provides a protective layer that covers the first alignment layer during the second rubbing process to facilitate the bidirectional alignment of the LC molecules. The LC cell in the twisted geometry with two bidirectional-alignment layers showed stable electro-optic properties and wide-viewing characteristics. The stamping-assisted rubbing technique serves as a mask-free alignment method of producing multidomains for wide-viewing LCDs.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.191-194
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• 2011

A symmetric-viewing inverse-twisted-nematic (ITN) liquid crystal display (LCD) with alternating alignment layers was developed using a stamping-assisted rubbing (SAR) technique. A patterned layer of a fluorinated acrylate polymer was transferred onto the first rubbed vertical-alignment layer prepared on a substrate by stamping. The fluorinated acrylate polymer provided a protective layer covering the first rubbed alignment layer during the second rubbing process, which promoted the vertical alignment of the LC molecules. The LC cell in the ITN geometry with two orthogonally rubbed alignment layers showed symmetric-viewing characteristics with fourfold symmetry. The SAR technique was shown to be a mask-free alignment method of producing multidomains for symmetric-viewing LCDs.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2011

To come up with a bistable liquid crystal (LC) device using unpolarized UV light, single-step laser patterning on a photoalignment layer using a photomask was proposed to achieve an equilibrium configuration of LC molecules in contact with a periodically patterned substrate. The patterns were formed by stripes of alternating random planar and homeotropic anchoring on a submicrometer scale in the order of $0.5{\mu}m$. Two possible configurations of bistable LC cells that can be obtained by combining a micropatterned surface formed with alternating random-planar- and homeotropic-alignment with planar- or homeotropic-alignment surfaces were proposed. The alignment properties of the two proposed models were investigated, along with the microscopic switching behavior of micropatterned nematic LC cells.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

This paper investigates the effect of the electrode edge of a patterned vertical alignment (PVA) liquid crystal (LC) device on the viewing angle characteristics. In general, a transmissive LCD applies an LC layer with half-wave retardation for a bright state and with zero retardation for a dark state. The retardation of the LC layer would be distorted in each point, however, when a voltage is applied because of the non-uniform voltage distribution in the electrode edge effect. In this paper, the feasibility of the full effect of the electrode edge on the viewing angle property is considered, and the optical viewing angles of the VA LCD with a uniform half-wave LC layer and the PVA LCD with a practical non-uniform LC layer are compared.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.133-136
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• 2000

We investigated the improvement of viewing angle using a patterned double twisted (PDT) vertical-alignment (VA) cell mode on a homeotropic alignment layer. Good voltage-transmittance curves for negative dielectric anisotropic nematic liquid crystal (NLC) using the PDT-VA cell without a negative compensation film were obtained. The viewing angle of the PDT-VA cell without a negative compensation film was wider than that of a conventional VA cell.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.133-136
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• 2000

We investigated the improvement of viewing angle using a patterned double twisted (PDT) vertical-alignment (VA) cell mode on a homeotropic alignment layer. Good voltage-transmittance curves for negative dielectric anisotropic nematic liquid crystal (NLC) using the PDT-VA cell without a negative compensation film were obtained. The viewing angle of the PDT-VA cell without a negative compensation film was wider than that of a conventional VA cell.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.677-680
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• 2009

DC influence between pixel electrode and alignment layer (AL) in in-plane switching mode LCD was analyzed through DC equivalence-circuit equation induction, DC charge-discharge simulation, luminance and residual-DC measurement systems using test patterned (TP) cell. DC discharging rate (DDR) of single layer electrode was faster than that of double layer electrode and DDR of low resistance AL was faster than that of high resistance AL. DC discharging characteristics had a close relation to layer number and resistance between two electrodes.