Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Liquid Crystals

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Springer Handbook of Electronic and Photonic Materials

Part of the book series: Springer Handbooks ((SHB))

Abstract

This chapter outlines the basic physics, chemical nature and properties of liquid crystals. These materials are important in the electronics industry as the electro-optic component of flat-panel liquid-crystal displays, which increasingly dominate the information display market.

Liquid crystals are intermediate states of matter which flow like liquids, but have anisotropic properties like solid crystals. The formation of a liquid-crystal phase and its properties are determined by the shape of the constituent molecules and the interactions between them. While many types of liquid-crystal phase have been identified, this Chapter focuses on those liquid crystals which are important for modern displays.

The electro-optical response of a liquid crystal display (GlossaryTerm

LCD

) depends on the alignment of a liquid-crystal film, its material properties and the cell configuration. Fundamentals of the physics of liquid crystals are explained and a number of different displays are described.

In the context of materials, the relationship between the physical properties of liquid crystals and their chemical composition is of vital importance. Materials for displays are mixtures of many liquid-crystal compounds carefully tailored to optimise the operational behaviour of the display. Our current understanding of how chemical structure determines the physical properties is outlined, and data for typical liquid-crystal compounds are tabulated. Some key references are given, but reference is also made to more extensive reviews where additional data are available.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. P.J. Collings, M. Hird: Introduction to Liquid Crystals (Taylor & Francis, London 1997)

    Google Scholar 

  2. M.A. Bates, G.R. Luckhurst: Computer simulation studies of anisotropic systems. XXX. The phase behaviour and structure of a Gay–Berne mesogen, J. Chem. Phys. 110, 7087 (1999)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. M. Hird: In: The Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 1.1

    Google Scholar 

  4. P. Pasini, C. Zannoni: Advances in the Simulation of Liquid Crystals (Kluwer, Dordrecht 1998)

    Google Scholar 

  5. J.W. Emsley, G.R. Luckhurst, G.H. Shilstone, I. Sage: The preparation and properties of the α,ω-bis(4,4′-cyanobiphenyloxy)alkanes: nematogenic molecules with a flexible core, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. Lett. 110, 223 (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  6. G.W. Gray: In: The Molecular Physics of Liquid Crystals, ed. by G.R. Luckhurst, G.W. Gray (Academic, New York 1979) Chap. 12

    Google Scholar 

  7. T.J. Sluckin, D.A. Dunmur, H. Stegemeyer: Crystals that Flow (Taylor Francis, New York 2004)

    Google Scholar 

  8. R.B. Meyer, L. Liebert, L. Strzelecki, P.J. Keller: Ferroelectric liquid crystals, J. Phys. (Paris) L36, 69 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  9. S.R. Renn, T.C. Lubensky: Abrikosov dislocation lattice in a model of the cholesteric-to-smectic A transition, Phys. Rev. A 38, 2132 (1988)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. J.W. Goodby, M.A. Waugh, S.M. Stein, E. Chin, R. Pindak, J.S. Patel: Characterization of a new helical smectic liquid crystal, Nature 337, 449 (1989)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. S. Chandrasekhar, B.K. Sadashiva, K.A. Suresh: Liquid crystals of disc-like molecules, Pramana 9, 471 (1977)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. K. Praefcke: In: The Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 1.2

    Google Scholar 

  13. G.G. Nair, D.S.S. Rao, K.S. Prasad, S. Chandrasekhar, S. Kumar: Electrooptic and viewing angle characterisitics of a display device employing a discotic nematic liquid crystal, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 397, 545 (2003)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. N. Boden, R. Bissel, J. Clements, B. Movaghar: Discotic liquid crystals: Self-organising molecular wires, Liq. Cryst. Today 6(1), 1 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  15. V. Tsvetkov: Über die Molekülanordnung in der anisotrop-flüssigen Phase, Acta Physicochim. 15, 132 (1942)

    Google Scholar 

  16. G.R. Luckhurst: In: Dynamics and Defects in Liquid Crystals, ed. by P.E. Cladis, P. Palffy-Muhoray (Gordon Breach, Philadelphia 1998) p. 141

    Google Scholar 

  17. P.G. de Gennes: The Physics of Liquid Crystals (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1974) p. 96

    Google Scholar 

  18. J. Cognard: Alignment of nematic liquid crystals and their mixtures, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 1, 1 (1982)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. D.W. Berreman: Solid surface shape and the alignment of an adjacent nematic liquid crystal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 28, 1683 (1972)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. A. Rapini, M. Papoular: Distortion d’une lamelle nématique sous champ magnétique. Conditions d’anchorage aux parois, J. Phys. Colloq. (France) 30, C4-54 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  21. A. Sugimura: In: The Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 10.2

    Google Scholar 

  22. F.C. Frank: On the theory of liquid crystals, Trans. Faraday Soc. 25, 19 (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  23. V. Fréedericksz, V. Zolina: Forces causing the orientation of an anisotropic liquid, Trans. Faraday Soc. 29, 919 (1933)

    Google Scholar 

  24. R.B. Meyer: Piezoelectric effects in liquid crystals, Phys. Rev. Lett. 22, 918 (1969)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. P. Rudquist, S.T. Lagerwall: On the flexoelectric effect in nematics, Liq. Cryst. 23, 503 (1997)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. A.E. Petrov: In: The Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 5.5

    Google Scholar 

  27. J. Prost, J.P. Marcerou: On the microscopic interpretation of flexoelectricity, J. Phys. (Paris) 38, 315 (1977)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. J.K. Moscicki: In: The Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 8.2

    Google Scholar 

  29. W. Helfrich: Molecular theory of flow alignment of nematic liquid crystals, J. Chem. Phys. 50, 100 (1969)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. C. Gähwiller: The viscosity coefficients of a room-temperature liquid crystal (MBBA), Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 20, 301 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  31. H. Kneppe, F. Schneider, N.K. Sharma: Rotational viscosity γ1 of nematic liquid crystals, J. Chem. Phys. 77, 3203 (1982)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. F.M. Leslie: In: The Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 8.1

    Google Scholar 

  33. O. Parodi: Stress tensor for a nematic liquid crystal, J. Phys. (Paris) 31, 581 (1970)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Y. Björnståhl: Untersuchungen über die anisotropen Flüssigkeiten, Ann. Phys. 56, 161 (1918)

    Google Scholar 

  35. B. Levin, N. Levin: Improvements in or relating to light valves, British Patent, 441274 (1936)

    Google Scholar 

  36. P. Yeh, C. Gu: Optics of Liquid Crystal Displays (Wiley, New York 1999)

    Google Scholar 

  37. P.M. Alt, P. Pleshko: Scanning limitations of liquid crystal displays, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 21, 146 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  38. E. Jakeman, E.P. Raynes: Electro-optic response times in liquid crystals, Phys. Lett. A 39, 69 (1972)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. K. Tarumi, U. Finkenzeller, B. Schuler: Dynamic behaviour of twisted nematic cells, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 31, 2829 (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  40. M. Schadt, W. Helfrich: Voltage-dependent optical activity of a twisted nematic liquid crystal, Appl. Phys. Lett. 18, 127 (1971)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. C. Mauguin: Sur les cristaux liquides de Lehmann, Bull. Soc. Fr. Mineral. 34, 71 (1911)

    Google Scholar 

  42. C.H. Gooch, H.A. Tarry: The optical properties of twisted nematic liquid crystal structures with twist angles \(\leq{\mathrm{90}}^{\circ}\), J. Phys. D 8, 1575 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  43. T.J. Scheffer, J. Nehring: A new highly multiplexed liquid crystal display, Appl. Phys. Lett. 45, 1021 (1984)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. C.M. Waters, E.P. Raynes, V. Brimmell: Design of highly multiplexed liquid crystal dye displays, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 123, 303 (1985)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. A.J. Snell, K.D. Mackenzie, W.E. Spear, P.G. LeComber, A.J. Hughes: Application of amorphous silicon field effect transistors in addressable liquid crystal display panels, Appl. Phys. 24, 357 (1981)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. G. Baur, R. Kiefer, H. Klausmann, F. Windscheid: In-plane switching: A novel electro-optic effect, Liq. Cryst. Today 5(3), 13 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  47. M. Oh-e, K. Kondo: Electro-optical characteristics and switching behaviour of the in-plane switching mode, Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 3895 (1995)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. N.A. Clark, S.T. Lagerwall: Submicrosecond bistable electro-optic switching in liquid crystals, Appl. Phys. Lett. 36, 899 (1980)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. G.P. Bryan-Brown, C.V. Brown, I.C. Sage, V.C. Hui: Voltage-dependent anchoring of a liquid crystal on a grating surface, Nature 392, 365 (1998)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. C.V. Brown, L. Parry-Jones, S.J. Elston, S.J. Wilkins: Comparison of theoretical and experimental switching curves for a zenithally bistable nematic liquid crystal device, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 410, 417 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  51. J.S. Patel, R.B. Meyer: Flexoelectric electro-optics of a cholesteric liquid crystal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1538 (1987)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. V.V. Belyaev: In: Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 8.4

    Google Scholar 

  53. G.W. Gray, S.M. Kelly: Liquid crystals for twisted nematic displays, J. Mater. Chem. 9, 2037 (1999)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. V.F. Petrov: Liquid crystals for AMLCD and TFT-PDLCD applications, Liq. Cryst. 19, 729 (1995)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. H. Takatsu, K. Takeuchi, H. Sato: Synthesis and some physical properties of 1-cyclohexyl-2-(4\({}^{\prime\prime}\)-halobiphenyl-4′-yl) ethanes, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 100, 345 (1983)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. D. Coates: In: Liquid Crystals, Applications and Uses, Vol. 1, ed. by B. Bahadur (World Scientific, Singapore 1990) p. 91

    Google Scholar 

  57. L. Pohl, U. Finkenzeller: In: Liquid Crystals, Applications and Uses, Vol. 1, ed. by B. Bahadur (World Scientific, Singapore 1990) p. 1139

    Google Scholar 

  58. K. Tarumi, M. Bremer, T. Geelhaar: Recent liquid crystal material development for active matrix displays, Ann. Rev. Mater. Sci. 27, 423 (1997)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. D. Pauluth, K. Tarumi: Advanced liquid crystals for television, J. Mater. Chem. 14, 1219 (2004)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (Eds.): Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics (INSPEC, London 2001)

    Google Scholar 

  61. D.S. Hulme, E.P. Raynes, K.J. Harrison: Eutectic mixtures of nematic 4′-substituted 4-cyanobiphenyls, J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. (1974), doi:10.1039/C39740000098

  62. D. Demus, C. Fietkau, R. Schubert, H. Kehlen: Calculation and experimental verification of eutectic systems with nematic phases, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 25, 215 (1974)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. R.L. Humphries, P.G. James, G.R. Luckhurst: A molecular field treatment of liquid crystalline mixtures, Symp. Faraday Trans. 5, 107 (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  64. D.A. Dunmur: In: Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 7.1

    Google Scholar 

  65. G.H. Heilmeier, L.A. Zanoni, L.A. Barton: Dynamic scattering: A new electro-optic effect in certain classes of nematic liquid crystals, Proc. IEEE 56, 1162 (1968)

    Google Scholar 

  66. D.A. Dunmur, K. Toriyama: In: Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals, ed. by D. Demus, J. Goodby, G.W. Gray, H.-W. Spiess, V. Vill (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 1999) p. 129

    Google Scholar 

  67. D.A. Dunmur, M.R. Manterfield, W.H. Miller, J.K. Dunleavy: The dielectric and optical properties of the homologous series of cyano-alkylbiphenyl liquid crystals, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 45, 127 (1978)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. K. Toriyama, D.A. Dunmur, S.E. Hunt: Transverse dipole association and negative dielectric anisotropy of nematic liquid crystals, Liq. Cryst. 5, 1001 (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  69. D.A. Dunmur, D.A. Hitchen, X.-J. Hong: The physical and molecular properties of some nematic fluorobiphenylalkanes, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 140, 303 (1986)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. S. Naemura: In: Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 11.2

    Google Scholar 

  71. H. Gruler: The elastic constants of a nematic liquid crystal, Z. Naturforsch. 30a, 230 (1975)

    Google Scholar 

  72. R.G. Priest: Theory of the Frank elastic constants of nematic liquid crystals, Phys. Rev. A 7, 720 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  73. K. Tarumi, M. Heckmeier: In: Physical Properties of Liquid Crystals: Nematics, ed. by D.A. Dunmur, A. Fukuda, G.R. Luckhurst (INSPEC, London 2001) Chap. 11.4

    Google Scholar 

  74. J. Stelzer, R. Beradi, C. Zannoni: Flexoelectric effects in liquid crystals formed by pear-shaped molecules. A computer simulation study, Chem. Phys. Lett. 299, 9 (1999)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  75. J.L. Billeter, R.A. Pelcovits: Molecular shape and flexoelectricity, Liq. Cryst. 27, 1151 (2000)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  76. A. Ferrarini: Shape model for the molecular interpretation of the flexoelectric effect, Phys. Rev. E 64, 021710 (2001)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. I.W. Stewart: The Static and Dynamic Continuum Theory of Liquid Crystals (Taylor Francis, London 2004)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Geoffrey Luckhurst & David Dunmur

Authors
  1. Geoffrey Luckhurst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Dunmur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoffrey Luckhurst .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Safa Kasap

  2. Formerly with Leonardo MW Ltd, Southampton, UK

    Peter Capper

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Luckhurst, G., Dunmur, D. (2017). Liquid Crystals. In: Kasap, S., Capper, P. (eds) Springer Handbook of Electronic and Photonic Materials. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48933-9_36

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation