Liquid Crystal Orientation on the Surface of Obliquely-Evaporated Silicon Monoxide with Homeotropic Surface Treatment

Abstract

We have investigated the liquid crystal molecular orientation on a surface coated by oblique evaporation of SiO followed by treatment with homeotropic surface coupling agents. This is found to be a useful technique for obtaining the liquid crystal orientation with a small pretilt from homeotropic alignment. The orientation mechanism on surfaces with and without homeotropic treatment is also investigated. The results show that the relationships among evaporation conditions, surface topography and liquid crystal orientation can be explained well by using the columnar structure model of obliquely-evaporated films proposed by Goodman-van de Waterbeemd.