Polymeric Optical Films as Patterned Retarders and Alignment Layers for Transflective Liquid Crystal Displays

We developed a simple and versatile imprinting technique in combination with the exposure of ultraviolet light to fabricate several patterned optical wave plates using a polymerizable liquid crystalline (PLC) material. One of such patterned PLC films, produced by imprinting, can be used as both an in-cell retarder and an alignment layer for liquid crystal (LC) display applications. The chain ordering of the PLC molecules produced during imprinting results in anisotropic surface forces to align the LC molecules on the patterned PLC film without any surface treatment. A transflective LC display adopting an imprinted PLC film as an in-cell patterned retarder is demonstrated in a twisted nematic geometry.