Birefringence interference colours

In order to produce black-and-white as well as full-colour STN-LCDs, the monochrome interference colours must first be eliminated. This was achieved initially by using two STN-LCDs in a combined double-layer (DSTN) LCD configuration. This involves the use of another non-addressed, passive STN cell in addition to the active display STN-LCD. However, the non-addressed cell has an opposite sense of twist of the nematic director in the cell to that of the addressed STN-LCD. The second STN-LCD, which is identical to the first, but not addressed at all, acts as a retardation compensation layer. The use of an identical second STN-LCD in combination with the active STN-LCD has the advantage that both displays exhibit exactly the same temperature dependence of the birefringence with the same dispersion, assuming that both cells are filled with the same liquid crystal mixture. The second STN-LCD is not addressed and, therefore, there is no increase in power consumption. However, the use of two identical STN-LCDs instead of only one clearly increases the cost and weight of the final product significantly. 

Simpler, cheaper and more practical approaches adopted subsequently to compensate for the interference colours of STN-LCDs involve the use of a passive optical element, such as selective polarisers and colour filters, see Chapter 2. A black-on-white appearance is produced most efficiently by using optical retardation layers with a high birefringence and an opposite twist sense to the STN-LCD. However, this also reduces the brightness of the display due to additional light absorption. 

Interference between the e-ray and the o-ray, which have travelled with different velocity through the nematic medium, gives rise to the coloured appearance of LCDs operating with plane polarised light. For a wave at normal incidence, the phase difference in radians between the o-ray and the e-ray caused by traversing a birefringent film of thickness d and birefringence An, is referred to as the optical retardation, <5 ... 

A coloured backgrormd caused by optical interference is the most serious disadvantage of the STN-LCD because it degrades the colour reproduction of an LCD display. To solve this problem and produce an achromatic black-and-white bacl rormd, the double-layered STN-LCD (D-STN-LCD), which comprises a liquid crystal optical compensator mounted on the STN-LCD, has been developed [4]. Figure 4.3.5 shows the principle of the D-STN-LCD. The compensation layer, which is placed ready fabricated on the driven cell, compensates the optical dispersion caused by the birefringence effect and decolourizes the STN-LCD as long as the following three conditions are met ... 

Optical properties which have a certain importance for these systems are streaming birefringence, which has been discussed in chapter III, 3 b, p. 109, the changes in turbidity daring the imbibition of a silica gel, which has been treated in volume II, chapter XII, 6a 3, p 529, and the remarkable colour effects detected by Coelingh, that are due to interference in thin gcls at different stages of imbibition, which are discussed in the same chapter (p, 531 ff )... 

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