Effect of surface anchoring energy on electro-optic characteristics of a fringe-field switching liquid crystal cell

Surface anchoring strength of the alignment layer on liquid crystal (LC) determines electro-optic characteristics in the LC devices. This paper investigates how azimuthal and polar anchoring strength affects the electro-optic performance of a fringe-field switching (FFS) mode associated with electrode structure, cell gap and dielectric anisotropy of the LC by numerical simulation. Our important findings in the FFS mode are that both azimuthal and polar anchoring energy can considerably affect the operating voltage and also maximum transmittance when using a LC with positive dielectric anisotropy; however, when using a LC with negative dielectric anisotropy only azimuthal anchoring energy affects electro-optic characteristics. The study proposes an optimal design of an alignment layer for maximizing transmittance in the FFS mode.