Enhanced dynamic response of the in-plane switching liquid crystal displaymode through polymer stabilization

A significant improvement in the dynamic response time of the in-plane swit ching nematic liquid crystal mode, useful in flat-panel display application s, is achieved through polymer stabilization. This improvement is achieved by introducing a low-density, stabilizing polymer network that causes the n ematic director to favor the zero-field orientation at the expense of trans mission and slightly higher drive voltages. We present a simple model that treats the polymer network as an effective field in the general framework o f elastic continuum theory. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003- 6951(99)02847-8].