Effects of cell structure on the reflection of cholesteric liquid crystal displays

Cholesteric liquid crystal displays employ cells consisting of parallel glass plates which have indium-tin-oxide coating as the electrode and polyimide as the alignment layer. We have performed a systematic study of the reflections from the interfaces and the liquid crystal. We measured the reflection spectra using various incident light, various polarizations, and detection polarizations. Using the Berreman 4x4 method, we simulated the reflection spectra without fitting parameters; the results agreed well with the experimental results. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.