High performance of the electrically controlled birefringence mode in solution-derived La₂O₃ film using low temperature

We demonstrated the electro-optical characteristics of multi-stacked solution-derived La₂O₃ films in low temperature. Uniform and homogeneous liquid crystal (LC) alignment was achieved, and the films showed high performance. The electro-optic characteristics of the electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode with La₂O₃ layers were comparable to layers derived from polyimide, which indicated that La₂O₃ film had potential as an alignment layer due to its low threshold voltage (1.70 V) and fast response time (3.17 ms). The LC alignment on the solution-derived La₂O₃ surfaces was attributed to Van der Waals forces between LC molecules and La₂O₃ films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that the number of layers of coating changed the chemical structure, thereby shifting the binding energy and altering the bonding intensity.