Analysis of Liquid Crystal Orientation at Interface between Liquid Crystal and Alignment Film by Total Reflection Ellipsometry

The total reflection ellipsometry (TRE) method is proposed to investigate the behavior of the liquid crystal (LC) molecules at the interface between LC and an alignment film. Theoretical analysis indicated that the TRE method is useful for studying the behavior of interfacial LC molecules. From the numerical results of the TRE method, it was found that the phase difference versus applied voltage depends on the polar anchoring strength. The TRE method is sensitive enough to estimate the polar anchoring strength of LC cells.