Rogier H. M. Cortie

Reduced-Order Model Technique for the Analysis of Anisotropic Inhomogeneous Media: Application to Liquid-Crystal Displays

Electromagnetic wave propagation in anisotropic inhomogeneous media is computed by a novel reduced-order model technique, which is based on the restriction of the Marcuvitz-Schwinger equations on Krylov subspaces and on the application of the singular-value decomposition. The model is derived from the standard coupled-wave method and includes both wide-angle diffraction and light scattering at dielectric interfaces. The method, currently implemented for two-dimensional problems, was applied to the analysis of different liquid-crystal test cells. Numerical results are compared with those obtained through the application of the coupled-wave method and the Jones method and with experimental microscopic measurements.

LP-3: Late-News Poster: Optical Simulations and Measurements of In-Plane Switching Structures with Rapid Refractive-Index Variations

Measurements and simulations of liquid-crystal devices with In-Plane Switching structures are compared. It is shown that the Jones calculus breaks down in case of rapid lateral variations in the director profile. Advanced simulation methods like the reduced-order grating method and the beam propagation method, which take into account diffraction effects, show good agreement with experiment.

Domain walls in photoaligned double-domain twisted-nematic LCDs

Advanced two- and three-dimensional modelling was used to explain microscopic measurements on two different double-domain twisted-nematic liquid-crystal-display (TN-LCD) configurations that were made using photoalignment. The shape of domain walls and their effect on the transmitted intensity were described correctly. For some double-domain configurations, the brightness and contrast of the display will be affected by the domain walls.