Low-voltage blue-phase liquid crystal display with diamond-shape electrodes

We propose a new electrode configuration, called diamond-shape in-plane switching, to lower the operation voltage of polymer-stabilised blue-phase liquid crystal (BPLC) displays (BPLCDs). The electrode structure is modified from conventional protruded IPS, where the strip protrusion is changed to diamond shape. By optimising the electrode gap and diamond length, we are able to obtain peak transmittance over 75% at 15 V. It enables single thin-film transistor (TFT) driving, and more importantly, this is based on an industrially proven BPLC material. That means good long-term stability, adequate TFT charging time for high-resolution displays and sub-millisecond response time and acceptable voltage-holding ratio for field sequential displays can be achieved simultaneously. Our device design helps accelerate the emergence of the long-awaited BPLCDs. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 6 November 2016 Accepted 20 November 2016