Eliminating optical bounce of homeotropic liquid crystal cells with sputtered silicon dioxide alignment films by rubbing treatment

In this article, we propose a mechanical rubbing method to eliminate the optical bounce and decrease the response time of homeotropic liquid crystal (LC) cells with sputtered silicon dioxide alignment films. After gently rubbing the inorganic alignment film (sputtered silicon oxide, SiO2), the decreasing polar anchoring energy results in slightly smaller pretilt angle which gives LC a toppling direction to shorten the transition time while LC cell is applied by an external electric field. The results of our work show that this rubbing remedy can suppress the optical bounce. This simple and efficient surface treatment could be applied to liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) technique for high resolution microdisplays and portable electronic products.

► We introduce a cloth rubbing treatment to eliminate the optical bounce. ► This successful mechanical method avoids complex lithography process. ► It increases the azimuthal anchoring energy and dramatically drops the response time.