Decreasing the residual DC voltage by neutralizing the charged mobile ions in liquid crystals

The decrease of the residual direct current (DC) voltage (V _rdc ) of the anti-parallel liquid crystal (LC) cell using silver (Ag)-doped Polyimide (Ag-d-PI) alignment layers is presented in this manuscript. A series of Ag/PI composite thin layers are prepared by spurting or doping PI thin layers with Ag nano-particles, and Ag/PI composite thin layers are highly transparent and resistive. LC are homogeneously aligned between 2.0 mg/ml Ag-d-PI alignment layers, and the V _rdc of the cell that assembled with Ag-d-PI alignment layers decreases about 82%. The decrease of V _rdc is attributed to the trapping and neutralizing of mobile ions by Ag nano-particles. Regardless of the effect of Ag nano-particles on the conductivity of Ag-d-PI alignment layers, the voltage holding ratio (VHR) of the cells is maintained surprisingly. The experiment results reveal a simple design for a low V _rdc LC cell.