Homogeneous and homeotropic orientations of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) are investigated on various inorganic thin films which are exposed to Ar ion-beam. It is the novel investigations which results in a completely dry processing technique for both the thin film deposition and alignment steps. In the case of homogenous alignment on diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer, optical band gap and the polar surface energy are investigated in order to elucidate the alignment mechanism by ion beam (IB) irradiation. We elucidate the role of surface polarity in DLC films with respect to the LC orientation. On the other hand, FDLC thin films are selected by homeotropic alignment layer with regard to the relationship between surface tension and LC orientation. Selected pretilt angles in the range of 71.1–89.8° can be easily obtained with ion beam irradiation. It is sensitively changed by thin films composition and the angle of ion beam irradiation.

No abstract

Abstract. Recently many studies have attempted to implement intelligent characters for fighting action games. They used genetic algorithms, neural networks, and evolutionary neural networks to create intelligent characters. This study quantitatively compared the performance of these three AI techniques in the same game and experimental environments, and analyzed the results of experiments. As a result, neural network and evolutionary neural network showed excellent performance in the final convergence score ratio while evolutionary neural network and genetic algorithms showed excellent performance in convergence speed. In conclusion, evolutionary neural network which showed excellent results in both the final convergence score ratio and the convergence score is most appropriate AI technique for fighting action games.

No abstract

We studied the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) aligning capabilities using the new alignment material of Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon (NDLC) thin film. The NDLC thin film exhibits high electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity that are similar to the properties shown by diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films. The diamond-like properties and nondiamond-like bonding make NDLC an attractive candidate for applications. A high pretilt angle of about 9.9 by ion beam (IB) exposure on the NDLC thin film surface was measured. A good LC alignment is achieved by the IB alignment method on the NDLC thin film surface at annealing temperature of 200 C. The alignment defect of the NLC was observed above annealing temperature of 250 C. Consequently, the high pretilt angle and the good LC alignment by the IB alignment method on the NDLC thin film surface can be achieved.