Abstract

General theories for light propagation are applied to specific liquid crystal displays. For the case of a homogeneous molecular distribution as well as that of a uniform twist we elaborate the classical Poincaré sphere method and a modified Jones calculus. The evolution of the polarization ellipse in the different configurations is studied and is depicted in an original way, which gives a better understanding of the color effects in liquid-crystal displays. Practical quantitative calorimetric conclusions are drawn in order to facilitate the experimental study of thickness variations in liquid crystal displays.

© 1994 Optical Society of America

Viewing angle of liquid-crystal displays: representation on the Poincaré sphere

Koenraad Vermeirsch, Arnout De Meyere, Johan Fornier, and Herbert De Vleeschouwer
Appl. Opt. 38(13) 2775-2786 (1999)

Cell-thickness dependence of color properties for a twisted nematic liquid crystal display

Teruo Shimomura, Kiyoshi Kawaguchi, and Shunsuke Kobayashi
Appl. Opt. 24(20) 3390-3394 (1985)

Color modulation properties of a liquid-crystal device

Kazunobu Ohkubo, Junji Ohtsubo, and Naoki Izumi
Appl. Opt. 33(25) 5895-5901 (1994)

Numerical optimization of liquid-crystal displays with use of performance metrics

Mark F. Flynn
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 11(8) 2220-2225 (1994)

Comparison of extended Jones matrices for twisted nematic liquid-crystal displays at oblique angles of incidence

F. H. Yu and H. S. Kwok
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 16(11) 2772-2780 (1999)