Stable and fast switching of liquid crystals on solution-derived compound oxide films irradiated by ion beam

We fabricated stable, homogeneous, fast-switching liquid crystal cells on solution-processed zinc tin oxide films treated by ion-beam irradiation >1200 eV. The ion-beam-irradiated zinc tin oxide films were amorphous and demonstrated good transparency. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was used to determine the liquid crystal alignment mechanism with respect to the ion-beam-irradiated zinc tin oxide film. The total response time of electrically controlled birefringence-liquid crystal cells on 2200-eV ion-beam-irradiated zinc tin oxide films was 5.04 ms; the threshold voltage was reduced by 15% compared with rubbed polyimide. Thus, ion-beam-irradiated zinc tin oxide films showed great potential as an alignment layer for high-performance electrically controlled birefringence-liquid crystal cells in industrial applications. Graphical abstract