Plasma-Polymerized Films as Orientating Layers for Liquid Crystals

Polymeric films were deposited onto a glass plate by RF glow-discharge polymerization. Monomer gases tried were ethylene, allylamine and tetrafluoroethylene. The effects of such surface properties as the contact angle, surface energy, and those measured by FT-IR or XPS on liquid crystal alignment were studied. It is shown that liquid crystal alignment can be controlled systematically by plasma copolymerization of different monomers or plasma treatment after polymerization which can vary surface properties continuously.