| Title |
Nanogroove-structured Indium Bismuth Oxide Film for Homogeneous Liquid Crystal Alignment Achieved by Brush Coating |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5573/ieie.2024.61.9.13 |
| Keywords |
Brush coating process; Indium bismuth oxide film; Surface topology; Liquid crystal alignment; Electro-optical performance |
| Abstract |
This work achieved homogeneous and uniform liquid crystal (LC) alignment on an indium bismuth oxide (InBiO) film with a nanogroove structure. An easy brush-coating technique was used to create the InBiO film, which was then cured at different temperatures. Whereas atomic force microscopy demonstrated an anisotropic surface structure, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the formation of the InBiO film. As a result of the shear stress caused by the movement of the brush hair soaked in the InBiO solution, a nanogroove structure was visible in the corresponding line profile data. Polarized optical microscopy and pretilt angle measurements were used to verify the homogeneous LC alignment state and the surface-induced uniform orientation of the LCs. The InBiO film exhibited high optical transmittance with hydrophilicity at higher curing temperatures compared with the indium-tin-oxide-coated glass. Moreover, the InBiO film-based twisted-nematic LC cell demonstrated stable switching and enhanced voltage operation performance compared with conventional polyimide layers. Therefore, we anticipate that this brush-coated InBiO film will serve as a useful substitute for LC alignment layers in LC displays. |