Light wave propagation in liquid crystal displays by the 2-D finite-difference time-domain method

Abstract Light wave propagation within liquid crystal (LC) devices is studied using a two-dimensional (2-D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Computational space termination is provided by a combination of the perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary condition and periodic boundary conditions, to overcome the limitations imposed by previously proposed FDTD methods for LC optics. Both normal and oblique incidence cases are successfully implemented and a consistent method for magnitude and phase extraction is made available. This provides a rigorous numerical solution for the light wave propagating within LC devices, and a sample application for a small twisted nematic pixel is given.

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