Ferroelectric liquid crystal aligned on SiO2 thin films using ion‐beam deposition

Abstract— Results for a ferroelectric‐liquid‐crystal (FLC) display cell, aligned on inorganic SiO₂ thin‐film surfaces by using oblique ion‐beam sputtering deposition on the substrates, is presented. A large deposition angle from 60° to 80° can be employed for the thin alignment layer, with thicknesses varying from 5 to 40 nm. Two types of uniform alignment, chevron (before electrical treatment) and quazi‐bookshelf (after electrical treatment), were studied. High‐quality alignment on large‐sized substrates was also easily be achieved because of the linear design of the ion‐beam sputtering source, which was previously a significant challenge for FLC on SiO_x layers.     

Current and future technology of low‐temperature poly‐Si TFT‐LCDs

Abstract— The state of the art of large‐area low‐temperature TFT‐LCDs will be reported in this paper. High‐performance poly‐Si TFTs are expected to realize various applications such as system display where various signal‐processing functions are added to the display. In the past few years, low‐temperature poly‐Si thin‐film‐transistor (LTPS TFT) technology has made great progress, especially in the areas of excimer laser annealing (ELA) of high‐quality poly‐Si film, ion doping for large‐area doping, and high‐quality gate SiO₂ film formation by using the low‐temperature PE‐CVD method. Also, technology trends and possible applications, such as a system displays, will be discussed.     

Liquid‐crystal photoaligning by azo dyes (Invited Paper)

Abstract— Liquid‐crystal (LC) photoalignment using azo dyes is described. It will be shown that this photoaligning method can provide a highly uniform alignment with a controllable pretilt angle and strong anchoring energy of the LC cell, as well as a high thermal and UV stability. The application of LC photoalignment to the fabrication of various types of liquid‐crystal displays, such as VAN‐LCDs, FLCDs, TN‐LCDs, and microdisplays, on glass and plastic substrates is also discussed. Azo‐dye photoaligned super‐thin polarizers and phase retarders are considered as new optical elements in LCD production, in particular for transflective displays.     

Back‐channel‐etched thin‐film transistor using c‐axis‐aligned crystal In–Ga–Zn oxide

Our crystalline In–Ga–Zn oxide (IGZO) thin film has a c‐axis‐aligned crystal (CAAC) structure and maintains crystallinity even on an amorphous base layer. Although the crystal has c‐axis alignment, its a‐axis and b‐axis have random arrangement; moreover, a clear grain boundary is not observed. We fabricated a back‐channel‐etched thin‐film transistor (TFT) using the CAAC‐IGZO film. Using the CAAC‐IGZO film, more stable TFT characteristics, even with a short channel length, can be obtained, and the instability of the back channel, which is one of the biggest problems of IGZO TFTs, is solved. As a result, we improved the process of manufacturing back‐channel‐etched TFTs.     

Electrically commanded surfaces: A new liquid‐crystal‐display concept

Abstract— Fast in‐plane switching of the optic axis was realized in liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs) based on the concept of Electrically Commanded Surfaces (ECS). According to this concept, the liquid‐crystal layer in such a display is aligned by means of thin ferroelectric liquid‐crystal‐polymer (FLCP) film deposited onto the inner side of the display substrates. An electric field, applied normal to the substrates, switches the molecules of the ferroelectric film, representing the commanded surface that, via elastic forces, further transfers to the liquid‐crystal layer. The concept of electrically commanded surfaces opens the door to a new generation of advanced LCDs exhibiting extraordinary performance such as fast in‐plane switching.     

Advanced monochrome gray‐scale TFT‐LCD using diamond‐like‐carbon/ion‐beam alignment technology

Abstract— A novel liquid‐crystal alignment method, diamond‐like carbon and ion beam alignment (DLC/IB) technology, was announced at the 2001 SID Symposium. And since December 2001, a new‐generation ion‐beam machine has been placed into the manufacturing line of IDTech. DLC/IB technology is mainly used for medical displays, which require a monochrome high‐density and super‐uniform display. We report on the latest developments of these advanced monochrome displays.     

Novel super fast response vertical alignment‐liquid crystal display with extremely wide temperature range

We have developed a novel super fast response (SFR) thin‐film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT‐LCD) with an extremely wide temperature range. Nematic liquid crystal molecules with positive dielectric anisotropy are vertically aligned initially. Any gray‐to‐gray response is forcibly controlled by applying an electric field. Response times of the SFR TFT‐LCD are over several times shorter than those of conventional LCDs such as vertical alignment or in‐plane switching LCDs.     

Current status and future prospect of in‐cell‐polarizer technology

Abstract— A thin‐crystalline‐film (TCF) polarizer has been developed which can be used internally in liquid‐crystal‐display cells. Based on this material, a manufacturing process has been developed for the fabrication of monochrome LCDs with internal polarizers. A new TCF polarizer material and coating equipment, developed to realize a high‐performance color TFT‐LCD, are discussed.     

Review of viewing‐angle compensation of TN‐mode LCDs using WV film

Abstract— Wide‐view (WV) films for TN‐mode LCDs, which optimize the optical parameters of the polymerized discotic material (PDM) layer and cellulose triacetate (CTA) have been developed. The development concept of the WV film and realization of its concept in the past and for the future will be reviewed. In particular, the discotic molecular alignment control enabled the improvement of the contrast ratio at oblique viewing angles of TN‐mode LCDs. In addition, color shifts at oblique angles are important for large‐screen TN‐mode LCD monitors and LCD‐TV sets. To improve the color‐shift problem, new technologies have been developed.     

Surface modified solution‐derived nickel oxide film via ion‐beam irradiation as a liquid crystal alignment layer

In this article, we demonstrate the liquid crystal (LC) alignment characteristics of solution‐derived nickel oxide (NiO) film modified with ion‐beam (IB) irradiation. Cross‐polarized optical microscopy and pretilt angle measurements verified that uniform LC alignment was achieved using the NiO film as an alignment layer regardless of IB incidence angle. Contact angle measurements revealed that all of the NiO films had a deionized water contact angle below 90°, which indicates that they had hydrophilic surfaces that had an effect on the homogeneous LC alignment. Atomic force microscopy was conducted to determine the physical surface modification due to the IB irradiation, which showed that it reduced the size of the surface grains with agglomerations depending on the surface tilt from the IB incidence angle. Furthermore, microgroove structures strongly related to uniform LC alignment were observed after IB irradiation. Chemical surface modification was investigated via an X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis which revealed that IB irradiation modified the chemical bonds in the NiO film, and this affected the LC alignment state. Thus, these results indicate that using NiO film exposed to IB irradiation as an alignment layer is a suitable method for LC applications.     

Single‐cell‐gap transflective liquid‐crystal display using double‐ and single‐mode approaches

Abstract— In this paper, many popular methods to study transflective liquid‐crystal‐displays (LCDs) have been discussed, and several new transflective LCD configurations with a single‐cell gap have been proposed. The traditional double‐cell‐gap method gives the best match of the transmittance/reflectance voltage curve (TVC/RVC) and also the widest viewing angle, but also brings the highest fabrication complexity. The single‐cell‐gap transflective LCD is much easier to fabricate and also shows a good match of TVC/RVC. A new methodology has been shown to find optimal configurations for single‐cell‐gap transflective LCDs. New configurations using multimode in a single pixel include twisted nematic (TN) optically compensated bend (OCB), TN electrically controlled birefringence (ECB), and TN low‐twisted nematic (LTN). TN and hybrid‐aligned nematic (HAN) modes have been investigated for single‐mode transflective LCDs. The results exhibit high contrast ratio, a good match of TVC/RVC, as well as wide viewing angle.     

Plasma‐beam alignment technique for ferroelectric liquid crystals

Abstract— The plasma‐beam alignment procedure earlier developed for the alignment of nematic liquid crystals is successfully extended to ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC). The highly uniform alignment of the “chevron” structure (before electrical treatment of FLC cells) and “quasi bookshelf” structure (after the electrical treatment) are realized. The contrast of bistable switching larger than 350:1 is achieved. This makes the non‐contact plasma‐beam alignment procedure especially attractive for high‐contrast bistable LCDs on an LCOS base, particularly used in PDA and e‐books. Fast switching and realization of gray scale in the plasma‐beam aligned FLC cells makes this technique also promising for full‐color displays including color LCD TV.     

Ultra‐FFS TFT‐LCD with super image quality,fast response time,and strong pressure‐resistant characteristics

Fringe‐field‐switching (FFS) devices using liquid‐crystal (LC) with a negative dielectric anisotropy exhibit high transmittance and wide viewing angle simultaneously. Recently, we have developed an “Ultra‐FFS” thin‐film‐transistor (TFT) LCD using LC with a positive dielectric anisotropy that exhibits high transmittance, is color‐shift free, has a high‐contrast ratio in a wide range, experiences no crosstalk and has a fast response time of 25 msec. In this paper, the device concept is discussed, and, in addition, the pressure‐resistant characteristics of the devices compared with that of the twisted‐nematic (TN) LCD is discussed.     

Polyimide‐free LCD by dissolving dendrimers

Vertical alignment (VA) and in‐plane switching modes have been widely used for liquid crystal displays (LCDs). They require a polyimide (PI) alignment layer in the pixel structure. PI‐free LCDs have been proposed to exploit the VA of liquid crystals (LCs) obtained by dissolving dendrimers without PI. In this paper, we report a new PI‐free VA mode with a pixel structure that has in‐plane electrodes. The PI‐free VA is achieved by dissolving an LC dendrimer in a positive LC mixture. We measured the test cell properties and obtained a lower voltage and a higher brightness in the voltage–brightness curve. In addition, we analyzed the alignment surface of LC dendrimer by time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy observations. We found that dendrimer molecules are uniformly adsorbed on the glass surface and that the layer was generally one molecule thick. These properties are responsible for the lower voltage and higher brightness of the PI‐free VA mode. The use of dendrimers allows the PI process to be omitted and reduces the power consumption of the VA mode. It is thus possible to reduce the high manufacturing costs and improve the performance of the VA mode.     

Photoalignment and photo‐patterning of planar and homeotropic liquid‐crystal‐display configurations

Abstract— Optical alignment and micro‐patterning of the alignment of liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs) by linear photopolymerization (LPP) technology renders high‐quality multi‐domain twisted‐nematic (TN) and supertwisted‐nematic (STN) displays with broad fields of view over wide temperature ranges feasible. The prerequisites are the generation of photo‐induced high‐resolution azimuthal alignment patterns with defined bias‐tilt angles 0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°. For the first time, LPP‐aligned single‐ and dual‐domain vertically aligned nematic LCDs (VAN‐LCDs) are presented. Dual‐domain VAN‐LCDs are shown to exhibit broad fields of view which are further broadened by combining the displays with LPP‐aligned optical compensators made of liquid‐crystal polymers.     

Review of various measurement methodologies of migration ion influence on LCD image quality and new measurement proposal beyond LCD materials

Nowadays, thin‐film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT‐LCDs) have realized high reliability of display characteristics by improving liquid crystal (LC) materials and cell fabrication processes. In order to improve display reliability, measurement methodologies are important to see the progress of improvement of materials and processes; thus, our group has proposed voltage holding ratio (VHR), ion impurity, residual direct current (DC) and elastic constants for LC cells, and the optical anisotropy of an alignment layer on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate for LCD industry. In case of an ion impurity, we have succeeded in measuring the ion impurity amount in TFT‐LCD. Furthermore, we have recently proposed ion impurity measurement methodology for beyond LCD applications that are organic light emitting diode (OLED) and organic photovoltaics (OPV). In this review, I introduce each measurement methodology for LCDs and beyond LCDs in detail.     

Optical design and roll‐to‐roll fabrication process of microstructure film for wide viewing LCDs

We have developed a new microstructure film for wide viewing liquid crystal displays (LCDs). By attaching it to the surface of a conventional LCD, the viewing angle characteristics of LCD has drastically improved without causing a blur of the frontal image and a decrease in the contrast ratio under bright ambient light conditions. This film can be applied to various LC modes including twisted nematic and multidomain vertical alignment by changing its internal micrometer‐size 3D structure. Further, this film can be mass‐produced efficiently by self alignment roll‐to‐roll process.     

A new low‐power driving method for high‐resolution mobile IPS LCDs

Abstract— High‐resolution displays are now needed for mobile equipment, not only for cell phones but for other devices such as ultra‐mobile PCs (UMPCs) and mobile Internet protocol televisions (IPTVs). A new low‐cost and low‐power driving method for high‐resolution in‐plane‐switching (IPS) liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs) on a low‐temperature polycrystalline‐silicon (LTPS) thin‐film‐transistor (TFT) platform has been developed. Because this method drives common electrodes separated by each line, it can reduce inversion frequency, unlike “dot‐inversion” or “column‐inversion” methods. On the other hand, it was found that horizontal smear is an obstacle to achieve this method. To solve this problem, techniques to optimize the timing of RGB time‐sharing are proposed. A 5‐in. WXGA (1366 × 768) prototype using the new driving method was fabricated, and it was found that the horizontal smear is less than ±1% of the luminance and that the power consumption of the display discharge and charge is 0.245 W.     

Novel top‐gate zinc oxide thin‐film transistors (ZnO TFTs) for AMLCDs

Abstract— High‐performance top‐gate thin‐film transistors (TFTs) with a transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) channel have been developed. ZnO thin films used as active channels were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering. The electrical properties and thermal stability of the ZnO films are controlled by the deposition conditions. A gate insulator made of silicon nitride (SiN_x) was deposited on the ZnO films by conventional P‐CVD. A novel ZnO‐TFT process based on photolithography is proposed for AMLCDs. AMLCDs having an aperture ratio and pixel density comparable to those of a‐Si:H TFT‐LCDs are driven by ZnO TFTs using the same driving scheme of conventional AMLCDs.     

Development of rollable silicon thin‐film‐transistor backplanes utilizing a roll‐to‐roll continuous lamination process

Abstract— Rollable silicon thin‐film‐transistor (TFT) backplanes utilizing a roll‐to‐roll process have been developed. The roll‐to‐roll TFT‐backplane technology is characterized by a glass‐etching TFT transfer process and a roll‐to‐roll continuous lamination process. The transfer process includes high‐rate, uniform glass‐etching to transfer TFT arrays fabricated on a glass substrate to a flexible plastic film. In the roll‐to‐roll process, thinned TFT‐glass sheets (0.1 mm) and a base‐film roll are continuously laminated using a permanent adhesive. Choosing both an appropriate elastic modulus for the adhesive and an appropriate tension strength to be used in the process is the key to suppressing deformation of the TFT‐backplane rolls caused by thermal stress. TFT backplanes that can be wound, without any major physical damage such as cracking, on a roll whose core diameter is approximately 300 mm have been sucessfully obtained. Incorporating the TFT‐backplane rolls into other roll components, such as color‐filter rolls, will make it possible to produce TFT‐LCDs in a fully roll‐to‐roll manufacturing process.