Liquid crystal display unit

Abstract

Abstract A liquid crystal display unit and particularly a liquid crystal display unit based on a liquid crystal light bulb writing by the heat from a laser. Transparent electrodes (2a), (2b) are provided on the surfaces of glass substrates (1a), (1b), respectively horizontal orientation layers (3a), (3b) obtained by spin coating polyvinyl alcohol for example are then provided on the electrodes (2a), (2b), respectively, so that they are oriented horizontally and disposed so that the horizontal orientation layers face each other separated by a gap of approximately several microns, and a liquid crystal (5) having a chiral smectic C phase is sealed into the gap, thereby procuding this display unit. Light is shone onto the array of smectic liquid crystal particles so that a voltage which is too low for switching is applied, the array is selectively heated to within the rang of the transition temperature of the smectic A layer, and is then quenched to within the temperature range of the smectic C layer, thereby switching the alignment of the liquid crystal particles in the array having a polarity equivalent in energy to the bipolar moment of the particles, but of the opposite direction, to provide the display.

Inventors

• 👤 Shigeru Kojima
• 👤 Tetsuo Urabe

Bibliographic Details