Modern liquid crystal displays (LCDs) operate by achieving a desired orientation of the LC molecules within the display. LCMRC researchers have demonstrated that topographic surface patterns made by nanoimprinting can produce exotic surface alignment of LCs, including bistable orientations (NE or NW) generated by an array of nanoscale boxes on the surface, as shown in the figure. Bistability is a feature by which the pixels in a display to remember their state even in absence of applied voltage, an enabling capability for the fabrication of extremely low power consumption displays.
