A single-gap transflective liquid crystal driven by fringe and vertical electric fields

A single-gap transflective liquid-crystal display driven by a fringe electric field in the transmissive (T) region and a vertical electric field in the reflective (R) region was designed. In the device, a homogeneously aligned liquid crystal (LC) rotates almost in plane by a fringe field in the T-region whereas the LC tilts upwards by a vertical field in the R-region. A high surface pre-tilt angle of the LC in the R-region is achieved through polymerization of an UV curable reactive mesogen monomer at the surfaces and thus the effective cell retardation in the R-region becomes half of that in the T-region. Consequently, a transflective display driven by a vertical and a fringe electric field with a single cell gap and single gamma curves is realized.