Photoalignment of Liquid Crystalline Materials: Physics and Applications

Series Editor's Foreword.

1. Introduction.

References.

2. Mechanisms of LC Photoalignment.

2.1 Cis-Trans Isomerization.

2.2  Pure Reorientation of the Azo-Dye Chromophore Molecules or Azo-Dye Molecular Solvates.

2.3 Crosslinking in Cinnamoyl Side-Chain Polymers.

2.4 Photodegradation in Polymide Materials.

2.5 Photoinduced Order in Langmuir–Blodgett Films.

References.

3. LC-Surface Interaction in a Photoaligned Cell.

3.1 Pretilt Angle Generation in Photoaligning Materials.

3.2 Generation of Large Pretilt Angles.

3.3 Anchoring Energy in Photoaligning Materials.

3.4 Stability of Photoaligning Materials Sensitivity to UV Light.

3.5 Comparison of the Characteristics of Photoalignment Layers for Different Mechanisms of LC Photoalignment.

3.6 Various Methods for the Experimental Characterization of Photoalignment Layers.

References.

4. Photoalignment of LCs.

4.1 Vertical LC Alignment.

4.2 Twisted LC Photoalignment.

4.3 Photoalignment of Ferroelectric LC.

4.4 Optical Rewritable LC Alignment.

4.5 Photoalignment with Asymmetric Surface Anchoring.

4.6 LC Photoalignment on Plastic Substrates.

4.7 Photoalignment on Grating Surface.

4.8 Photoalignment of Lyotropic and Discotic LCs.

4.9 Other Types of LC Photoalignment.

References.

5. Application of Photoalignment Materials in Optical Elements.

5.1 Polarizers.

5.2 Retardation Films.

5.3 Transflective LCD with Photo-Patterned Polarizers and Phase Retarders.

5.4 Security Applications of Photoaligning and Photo-Patterning.

5.5 Optical Elements Based on Photoaligning Technology.

References.

6. Novel LCDs Based on Photoalignment.

6.1 Bistable Nematic Displays.

6.2 Photoaligned Liquid-Crystal-on-Silicon Microdisplays.

6.3 Photoaligned Ferroelectric LCDs.

6.4 New Optical Rewritable Electronic Paper.

6.5 Application of Photoalignment in Photonic LC Devices.

References.

7. US Patents Related to Photoalignment of Liquid Crystals.

7.1 Introductory Remarks.

7.2 List of Patents Patent Classification.

7.3 Analysis and Comments on the Patents.

Index.