Electro-optical characteristics of a chiral hybrid in-plane switching liquid crystal mode for high brightness

Abstract

We propose a new in-plane switching (IPS) nematic liquid crystal (LC) mode which uses a twist effect with a hybrid LC alignment and interdigitated electrodes as an approach for a high brightness. This is optimized to a normally white mode to minimize loss of transmittance at the electrode compared to the conventional IPS mode. The proposed mode shows an excellent dark state because the bulk LCs are aligned in parallel to the optic axis of the polarizer under low electric fields. Consequently, this proposed mode exhibits a much higher contrast ratio (980:1) than that of the conventional IPS mode (550:1). (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.