JPH06104825B2 - Liquid crystal electro-optical device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a liquid crystal electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display element or a liquid crystal optical shutter array, and more specifically, by improving the initial alignment state of liquid crystal molecules. The present invention relates to a liquid crystal electro-optical device having improved display and driving characteristics.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional liquid crystal electro-optical device, a device using a twisted nematic liquid crystal is known. The TN liquid crystal has a problem that crosstalk occurs during time-division driving using a matrix electrode structure having a high pixel density, and thus the number of pixels is limited.

In addition, an active matrix type display element in which a switching element using a thin film transistor is connected to each pixel and switching is performed for each pixel is known, but the process of forming a thin film transistor on a substrate is extremely complicated, and its manufacturing cost is low. There is a problem that it is difficult to manufacture a large-area display device due to factors such as yield.

As a solution to these problems, Clark proposed a ferroelectric liquid crystal device in US Pat. No. 4,367,924.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of a cell for explaining the operation of the ferroelectric liquid crystal. 11 and 11 'are substrates (glass plates) covered with a transparent electrode composed of a thin film such as In ₂ O ₂ or ITO (Indium-Tin-Oxide), between which the liquid crystal molecular layer 12 is perpendicular to the glass surface. The SmC ^* phase orientated in such a manner or another liquid crystal phase exhibiting ferroelectricity is encapsulated. In this liquid crystal electro-optical device, as shown in FIG. 4, the ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules are + with respect to the normal direction of the smectic layer.
The first state (I) tilted by θ and the second state (I
I) take.

An electric field is externally applied between these two states to switch the ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules, and display is performed by a difference in birefringence effect.

At this time, in order to change the ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules from the first state (I) to the second state (II), for example, a positive electric field is applied to the smectic layer in the vertical direction. On the contrary, in order to reverse the state from the second state (II) to the first state (I), conversely, a negative electric field was applied. That is, the two states taken by the ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules are changed by changing the direction of the electric field applied from the outside, and the difference in the electro-optical effect caused by the change is utilized.

Further, even if the electric field applied from the outside was removed, the ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules kept their state in a stable state and had the first and second bistable memory properties.

Therefore, a bipolar pulse train is used as a signal waveform for driving the liquid crystal electro-optical device using the ferroelectric liquid crystal, and the two states taken by the ferroelectric liquid crystal molecules are switched depending on the switching direction of the pulse polarities. It was

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In an electro-optical device using such a ferroelectric liquid crystal, uniform driving characteristics are naturally required in the entire device. For this reason, technical development has been conventionally made with the goal of forming a uniform liquid crystal phase, that is, a monodomain, in the entire liquid crystal electro-optical device without defects.

However, a liquid crystal material, especially a ferroelectric liquid crystal having a smectic layer structure, is used for various scratches on an alignment film, unevenness of electrodes for driving a liquid crystal, spacers for keeping a constant space between substrates of a liquid crystal device, and various other types. Due to a defect in the layer structure due to the cause, a uniform monodomain cannot be obtained. Therefore, conventionally, a method of growing a liquid crystal one-dimensionally from the edge of the liquid crystal electro-optical device cell (temperature gradient) is used to cover the entire cell. Attempts were made to grow the domain.

However, this method cannot be applied when the liquid crystal electro-optical device has a large area. That is, the maximum size of the monodomain realized by this method is about several tens of millimeters square, and it was impossible to industrially use it with a large area.

Even if a usable monodomain is realized, the ferroelectric liquid crystal material has a property that the liquid crystal material is not aligned parallel to the substrate but is aligned (pretilt) with a certain inclination, so that the ferroelectric liquid crystal is not aligned. The layer structure of the liquid crystal is bent,
It breaks. Therefore, there is a problem that a zigzag defect occurs in the domain, resulting in non-uniformity in display characteristics and driving characteristics.

Then, when changing the possible states of the liquid crystal material by an electric field from the outside, it is observed that the inversion process is reversed at the zigzag defect as a boundary. Therefore, there is a problem that uniform display and drive characteristics cannot be obtained in the entire device.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention solves the problem that uniform display and driving characteristics cannot be obtained by a technical idea different from the conventional idea of obtaining a monodomain. The present inventors pay attention to the initial alignment property that can be taken by the liquid crystal material in the cell, and make the alignment property completely different from the state considered to be the conventional idea, thereby displaying or driving a good liquid crystal electro-optical device. It is the one that realized the characteristics.

That is, the present invention provides a liquid crystal electro-optical device in which a liquid crystal composition containing a ferroelectric liquid crystal is sandwiched between a pair of parallel substrates in which an alignment portion for initial alignment of an electrode and a liquid crystal material is formed. The feature is that the initial orientation state to be taken is not a mono domain but a multi-domain state in which minute domains are present.

As a result of earnest efforts based on this new idea, the present inventors have discovered that microdomain alignment is always performed when a special substance is contained in the liquid crystal material composition. Used for.

This special substance is a substance that constitutes a liquid crystal composition and has at least two or more asymmetric carbon atoms in its molecule. (However, R ₁ is a hydrocarbon group and R ₂ is at least 2 in the molecular chain.
A hydrocarbon group having two asymmetric carbons is shown. ) Is a liquid crystal composition.

If the number of carbon atoms in the molecule of R _{2 in} this general formula is within the range of 6 to 12, it has liquid crystallinity and can develop a smectic C phase, and outside this range, a liquid crystal composition is formed. It was a reward.

When a liquid crystal material containing such a substance was injected into a liquid crystal cell as shown in FIG. 1 and its alignment state was observed with a microscope, the multi-domain alignment state as shown in FIG. 2 was obtained.

The size of the multi-domain was several μm to several hundred μm, and the ratio of major axis / minor axis was in the range of about 5 to 500.

The size of this domain could be controlled by changing the conditions of the orientation control unit on the substrate.

It is unknown why such a multi-domain orientation state is achieved by including such a substance.

In such a multi-domain state, the alignment defect of the liquid crystal is relaxed by the boundary of the domain, so that the zigzag defect or the like does not occur in the entire liquid crystal electro-optical device cell.

Further, since the inside of these minute domains is in a good mono-domain state, there is no difference in the display or drive characteristics of the liquid crystal in each minute domain, and the device as a whole realizes uniform display or drive characteristics. Is something you can do.

An example is shown below.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the cell of the liquid crystal electro-optical device used in this example. The figure shows a part of the end portion of the electrode portions arranged in a matrix in the row and column directions.

Since it is a schematic diagram, its dimensions are arbitrary. The cell used in this embodiment is exactly the same as that used conventionally. That is, liquid crystal driving electrodes 3, 3'are patterned and formed on a transparent substrate (for example, glass) 2, 2'in a matrix in the row and column directions. Further, alignment controls 4, 4'are provided on the electrodes, and one side thereof is subjected to a known rubbing treatment so that liquid crystal molecules are aligned. This orientation control film 4, 4 '
Both may use the same material or different materials on each side, but in the present embodiment, the alignment control film of 4 is a polyimide film and the other alignment control film 4'is used.
A SiO ₂ film was used.

As described above, when the type of the orientation control film is changed, a relatively large threshold value can be obtained when driving the liquid crystal molecules by an external signal, which is advantageous in the liquid crystal electro-optical device in the matrix form. .

A liquid crystal cell is formed by sandwiching a spacer (not shown) between two substrates 2 and 2'which are superposed on each other and sandwiching a spacer (not shown).

In such a cell, the polyimide film 4 of the orientation control film
On the other hand, the rubbing treatment was performed under the following conditions.

This condition is described as a relative comparison value based on Case 2.

A liquid crystal material was injected into the cell thus treated by a known vacuum injection method.

This injected material contains the general formula (However, R ₁ is a hydrocarbon group and R ₂ is at least 2 in the molecular chain.
A hydrocarbon group having two asymmetric carbons is shown. ) The liquid crystal composition represented by

In the present embodiment, R ₁ is -C ₈ H ₁₈ and R ₂ is In particular, R ₂ uses a hydrocarbon group of 1) and a substance having two asymmetric carbon atoms in its molecule is added to the liquid crystal composition.

The present invention is not particularly limited to the above structure, and a wide range of combinations are possible. Further, the position of the asymmetric carbon of R ₂ is not limited to the above example and can be at another position, and particularly when the above substance is a ferroelectric liquid phase, it only affects the magnitude of spontaneous polarization. It did not affect the molecular alignment.

As R _{1 in} this example, as −C ₈ H ₁₈ , R _2. The substance having a is a liquid crystal exhibiting ferroelectricity even by itself, but since the temperature showing the liquid crystal composition is narrow, several kinds of liquid crystal compositions were mixed and used as a mixed liquid crystal.

The transition temperature of this mixed liquid crystal is as follows.

Such a mixed liquid crystal was injected into the cell by a known injection method. At the time of injection, since the mixed liquid crystal is injected in an isotropic liquid state, when cooling is performed, a part of the liquid crystal state and a part of the isotropic liquid state exist. At this time, the liquid crystal portion is aligned with the rubbing treatment applied to the alignment control film 4 to form microdomains. When the temperature is further lowered, a liquid crystal portion is newly generated from the liquid state portion, and similarly a micro domain is formed.

In this way, the entire cell can be filled with microdomains. The size of the microdomains was an elongated one with a width of several μm and a length of several hundred μm.

Then, the alignment state of the liquid crystal of each case was observed with a polarization microscope. The liquid crystal material is oriented in a direction in which strain energy generated in the alignment film 4 is relaxed by the rubbing treatment, and the size of its domain is balanced with the magnitude of the strain energy.

The actual measurement of domain size is 10μm x 200μ in Case 1.
m, Case2 is 8μm × 200μm and the main size is
Multi-domains were generated on almost the entire surface of the cell, and there was no partial deviation of orientation within the substrate.

Also, when examining these display characteristics, one pixel (40
(0 μm square), there are 20 or more minute domains,
Even when reversing the display of one pixel, there was no deviation and a uniform reversal characteristic was obtained.

When the multi-domain alignment state as in Case 2 was observed with an optical microscope, as shown in FIG.
The boundary 9 between the regions was in a state where all the defects were included, and the defects were small, so it seemed that uniform alignment was obtained in the entire cell. To such a liquid crystal, at a temperature near room temperature, a ± 10 V triangular wave that drives the liquid crystal by externally applying a voltage between the upper and lower electrodes 3 and 3'is applied and the inversion state is observed. The reversal was carried out in 8 units, and the reversal was not performed by forming the boat-shaped domain within the monodomain as in the conventional case. Moreover, the inversion of each domain was also performed almost at the same time, and it was observed that the entire cell was inverted at the same time when viewed in the whole cell.

Further, the inversion of the liquid crystal in the vicinity of the center of the cell was almost the same as the inversion of the liquid crystal at the edge, and no difference in the inversion state was observed depending on the place.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, it is possible to carry out multi-domain alignment which is the opposite direction of the conventional technological progress, and as a result it is possible to obtain a uniform alignment state as a whole.

We were able to achieve uniform display characteristics and a high contrast ratio without the occurrence of defects such as zigzag defects that have a large optical effect.
Furthermore, since the inversion characteristics of each multi-domain are uniform, it is possible to drive the liquid crystal uniformly over the whole area.

In addition, a complicated technical process for forming a mono domain is not required, which facilitates industrial production.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a liquid crystal electro-optical device cell used in the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the alignment state of the liquid crystal of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a diagram schematically showing the ferroelectric liquid crystal. FIG. 4 shows possible states of liquid crystal. 2,2 '... Substrate 3,3' ... Electrode 4,4 '... Alignment control film 5 ... Liquid crystal 8 ... Microdomain

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G02F 1/137 101 9315-2K

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A liquid crystal electro-optical device in which a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal exhibiting ferroelectricity is sandwiched between a pair of parallel substrates on which an alignment portion for initial alignment of an electrode and a liquid crystal material is formed. General formula in the composition (However, R ₁ is a hydrocarbon group and R ₂ is at least 2 in the molecular chain.
A hydrocarbon group having two asymmetric carbons is shown. ) A liquid crystal electro-optical device, characterized in that a multi-domain alignment is formed between the parallel substrates by containing the substance shown in (4). 2. A liquid crystal electrical device according to claim 1, wherein R _{2 in the} general formula has two asymmetric carbon atoms and the number of carbon atoms in the molecule is 6 to 12. Optical device.