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Title: Equivalent retarder-rotator approach to on-state twisted nematic liquid crystal displays

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2198929· OSTI ID:20795820
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Department de Ciencies Experimentals, Universitat Jaume I, 12080 Castello (Spain)

Polarization properties of a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell are fully characterized by an equivalent optical system that consists of a retarder wave plate and a rotator. In this paper we show that this result is of interest to optimize the light-modulation capabilities of a voltage-addressed liquid crystal display (LCD). We provide two examples. First, we demonstrate a calibration method that can be carried out by a standard polarimetric technique with a high degree of precision. Second, we propose an optical device to generate a family of equiazimuth polarization states by adding a quarter-wave plate to the LCD. We find that the design procedure is best described in geometrical terms on the Poincare sphere by use of the equivalent model. Finally, laboratory results corresponding to a commercial LCD are presented.

OSTI ID:
20795820
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 99, Issue 11; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2198929; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English