The helix unwinding process in a short-pitch chiral smectic C (SmC Ã ) mixture has been studied by means of conoscope observation and its simulation based on the elastic theory and 4 Â 4 matrix method. Upon the application of an electric field parallel to the smectic layer, an isogyre shifts perpendicular to the field keeping a uniaxial figure (low field), splits along the direction parallel to the field (intermediate field), and then changes its splitting direction to that perpendicular to the field. This indicates that the biaxiality of the system changes its sign during the field application. This behavior is essentially the same as that expected on the basis of the simulation obtained by applying the 4 Â 4 matrix method to deformed helices under an electric field. It is also noted that the biaxial figure under the intermediate field is similar to that observed in the ferrielectric SmC Ã (SmC ferri1 ) phase, although it should not be.

We developed a novel LC alignment method for controlling molecular tilt angle by applying a field with photo-reactive polyimide as an alignment layer. This innovative technology establishes a high level VA-LCD whose characteristic is not only fast response time but also a lower black level even more high reliability.

No abstract

A three dimensionally shaped pixel electrode (TD electrode) for the 4K × 2K VA‐LCD is proposed. With this novel electrode, a more efficient and stable transmittance property can be achieved. The mechanisms for transmittance improvements and the stability of productions were analyzed with comparisons to the conventional VA electrode.

No abstract