We fabricated BiAlO thin film by a solution process with a brush coating to be used as liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. Solution-processed BiAlO was coated on the glass substrate by brush process. Prepared thin films were annealed at different temperatures of 80℃, 180℃, and 280℃. To verify whether the BiAlO film was formed properly, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was performed on Bi and Al. Using a crystal rotation method by polarized optical microscopy, LC alignment state was evaluated. At the annealing temperature of 280℃, the uniform homogenous LC alignment was achieved. To reveal the mechanism of LC alignment by brush coating, field emission scanning electron microscope was used. Through this analysis, spin-coated and brush coated film surface were compared. It was revealed that physical anisotropy was induced by brush coating at a high annealing temperature. Particles were aligned in one direction along which brush coating was made, resulting in a physical anisotropy that affects a uniform LC alignment. Therefore, it was confirmed that brush coating combined with BiAlO thin film annealed at high temperature has a significant potential for LC alignment.

We investigated a solution-derived Y₂O₃ film treated by ion beam (IB) irradiation as a liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. With IB irradiation, homogeneous LC alignment was achieved irrespective of the annealing temperature. To verify the effect of IB irradiation, we conducted surface analyses such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As Y₂O₃ is a high-k material, the electro-optical properties of the twisted nematic (TN) cells were superior to those of conventional TN cells based on a rubbed polymer, with an LC rising time of 4.1ms and falling time of 2.9ms. The IB-irradiated Y₂O₃ is a good alternative as an alignment layer for fast-switching TN LC displays.

In this paper, by using a dual frequency liquid crystal material, we propose a liquid crystaldevice with a fast response characteristics. The dual frequency liquid crystal material has a positivedielectric anisotropy value at a low frequency. With a high frequency, the dielectric anisotropy becomesnegative. Therefore, the relaxation process is governed by not only the elastic deformation, but also thedielectric interaction. The measured decay time and rise time were 0.88 ms and 0.33 ms, respectively.