Patent ID: 7929094
Filing Date: 2011-04-19
Classification: B29C,B82Y,G02F

Abstract:
1. A liquid crystal display device comprising a pair of substrates, a vertical alignment liquid crystal layer provided between the pair of substrates, and electrodes for applying a voltage to the vertical alignment liquid crystal layer, wherein, at least one of the pair of substrates has a rugged structure on a surface which is in contact with the vertical alignment liquid crystal layer; the rugged structure comprises a plurality of substantially columnar unit features arranged along a first direction with a period of no less than 0.1 μm and no more than 10 μm, each unit feature having vertical side walls vertical with respect to the substrates and an upper face parallel to the substrates; the plurality of unit features are arranged to form bottom faces entirely surrounded on all lateral sides by the vertical side walls of most adjacent ones of the plurality of unit features so as to confine liquid crystal alignment within each bottom face, the each bottom face lacking a symmetry axis of rotation in a substrate normal direction so that liquid crystal molecules at the each bottom face are aligned in a direction parallel to the bottom face, liquid crystal molecules located near the side walls are aligned perpendicular to the side walls, and liquid crystal molecules at each upper face are aligned perpendicular to the upper face; the vertical alignment liquid crystal layer with no voltage applied thereacross has a pretilt due to the rugged structure; and wherein at least a plurality of the unit features of the rugged structure with substantially columnar shape extend less than half way through the liquid crystal layer.