Liquid-crystal cells with special electrodes for the generation of uniform colors by optical birefringence

A new electrode-preparation technique for liquid-crystal cells has been developed. The basic process is an oblique deposition of thin films onto grooved glass surfaces. Such electrodes induce a small unidirectional pretilt in thin layers of homeotropically aligned nematic liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy. This pretilt is important for the uniformity of colors generated by the electrically tunable birefringence in nematic liquid crystals.