Effects of Vertical Alignment of Liquid Crystals on Rubbed Polymer Surfaces Using Transparent Electrodes

We investigated the liquid crystal (LC) aligning capabilities and electrooptical characteristics of transparent Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) electrodes substituting indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Experimental results show that a uniform vertical LC alignment and a large pretilt angle were achieved using the ZnO:Al electrodes. The vertical alignment mode based on the ZnO:Al electrodes showed appropriate electrooptical characteristics and a high transparency in comparison with that based on the ITO electrodes. These results indicate that the transparent ZnO:Al electrodes of liquid crystal displays could substitute the ITO electrodes.