Liquid crystal alignment on ion-beam irradiated bismuth-doped tin oxide films and their application to liquid crystal displays

Uniform and defect-free homogeneous alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules on solution-derived bismuth-doped tin oxide (TBO) films has been achieved using ion-beam (IB) irradiation. We performed measurements and physicochemical analysis to verify and establish the cause of the successful LC alignment. In addition, we measured the electro-optical characteristics of twisted-nematic cells with IB-irradiated TBO films to explore the suitability of this material for liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The results indicate that this approach will allow the fabrication of high-performance enhanced LCD devices. [GRAPHICS] .