MODELING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF FERROELECTRIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL DISPLAYS

Modelling of liquid crystal displays is useful to predict their optical properties and dynamic behaviour. An integrated modelling system for ferroelectric liquid crystal displays has been developed. The system employs data from real FLC materials, polarizers, glasses, backlights, and colour filters, aiming to describe actual devices accurately. Optical transmission dependence on light wavelength and angle of incidence is obtained as a function of the liquid crystal director profile. This profile is in turn derived from energy minimization of bulk and glass surface conditioning contributions. The above static model has been extended to study sample switching in multiplexed displays. Usual slot times in actual displays are quite close to time response of FLC materials, hence no energy-minimized configurations are obtained upon switching. A dynamic model has been formulated to derive the director profile evolution with time, according to the employed driving scheme, and the rotational viscosity of the material. Predicted dynamic and optical results have been compared to experimental measurements on FLC test cells. It has been found that the behaviour of FLC cells depends on a large number of physical and optical parameters. Some of them may be obtained from FLC data sheets, and manufacturing conditions. Other parameters related to director profiles in relaxed states may be experimentally obtained by sample characterization through optical transmission measurements. A few little known parameters (e.g. specific elastic constants) remain; fortunately their influence on cell dynamics is low.