**Meet the editor**

Dr. Sci. PhD. Natalia Vladimirovna Kamanina was born in Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, 1957. She graduated with an Honor Diploma from Leningrad Polytechnical Institute (1981), St. Petersburg, Russia, and received a PhD (Physics & Mathematics) at Vavilov State Optical Institute, St.-Petersburg, Russia (1995), as well as a Dr. Sci. (Physics & Mathematics) at the same institution (2001).

She is currently a Head of the Lab for "Photophysics of media with nanoobjects" at Vavilov State Optical Institute St.-Petersburg, Russia and has been involved in collaboration research with many researchers and scientists all over the world since 1995, publishing about 170 technical papers in the area of Laser-Matter Interaction. Parallel to her scientific activity, she has also been lecturing from 2001, as a Professor of Physical Electronics and Opto-Electron Devices. Dr. Kamanina is the Chair of the Electronics Department (St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University "LETI"), and a Professor of the Optical Physics and Modern Natural Science and the Chair of the Photonics and Optoinformation Department (St. Petersburg Technical University "IFMO").

Contents

**Preface IX** 

Yusuke Tsuda

Chin-Tai Chen

**Part 1 Materials and Interfaces 1** 

Chapter 3 **Inkjet Printing of Microcomponents:** 

**Part 2 Technical Schemes and Processes 61** 

Chapter 4 **Electromagnetic Formalisms for Optical Propagation in Three-Dimensional** 

I-Lin Ho and Yia-Chung Chang

Lyes Saad Saoud, Fayçal Rahmoune, Victor Tourtchine and Kamel Baddari

Chapter 5 **Wavelet Network Implementation** 

Makoto Watanabe

Jian-Chiun Liou

Chapter 1 **Polyimides Bearing Long-Chain Alkyl Groups and Their Application for Liquid Crystal Alignment Layer and Printed Electronics 3** 

Chapter 2 **Transparent ZnO Electrode for Liquid Crystal Displays 25**  Naoki Yamamoto, Hisao Makino and Tetsuya Yamamoto

**Periodic Liquid-Crystal Microstructures 63** 

**Part 3 Liquid Crystal Displays - Future Developments 103**

Chapter 6 **Active Matrix Driving and Circuit Simulation 105** 

Chapter 7 **Intelligent and Green Energy LED Backlighting** 

**on an Inexpensive Eight Bit Microcontroller 87** 

**Techniques of Stereo Liquid Crystal Displays 131** 

**Theory, Design, Characteristics and Applications 43** 

## Contents

## **Preface** XI

	- **Part 2 Technical Schemes and Processes 61**

#### **Part 3 Liquid Crystal Displays - Future Developments 103**


## Preface

Since the First International Congress on Liquid Crystals (Lcs), held at Kent State University, OH, USA, in 1965, the implications of these systems associated with various aspects of telecommunications, laser, display, automobile, aerospace technologies, thermo-optics, medicine and biology have been the subject of considerable debate among researchers, scientists and engineers. Indeed, LCs, being a unique mesomorphic phase of matter, combine properties of both solids (long-range orientation order, manifestations of Bragg diffraction, etc.) and liquids (fluidity, viscosity, etc.). Important features of LCs are weak dispersion forces between organic molecules and strong orienting fields. An intrinsic characteristic of the organic liquid crystal state is unidirectional (nematic structure) or bidirectional (smectic structure) ordering, albeit not in three dimensions as in a real inorganic crystals. In other words, this state is more structured than the liquid one, but less than the solid phase. Moreover, the orienting power of LCs is used in the development of composite materials. LC aligns suspended particles, acting as matrices easily controllable by elastic forces and by thermal, magnetic, light and electric fields. The order parameter of an LCs is the degree of its regularity characterized by the deviation of the direction of the long axis of a molecule from that of the LC director. Peculiarities of electrical schemes to control LC systems and features of LC molecules orientation along, perpendicular or at some pretilt angle on the substrates, coated with conducting and alignment layers, predict the operation of LC devises and generally display technology (TN, IPS, MVA, etc.) with good advantage.

By the way, an electric field applied to a liquid crystal or an electric current passing through a medium produces effects that do not occur in other electro-optical media, and are responsible for most LC devices technical characteristics, such as: resolution, contrast, speed, sensitivity, grey level, etc. These parameters can be improved using new studies and searching for the new theoretical methods and practical approach. This book includes advanced and revised contributions, covering theoretical modeling for optoelectronics and nonlinear optics, along with including experimental methods, new schemes, new approach and explanations which extend the display technology for laser, semiconductor device technology, medicine equipment, biotechnology, etc.

The advanced idea, approach and information described here will be fruitful for the readers to find a sustainable solution in a fundamental study and in the industry

#### XII Preface

approach. The book can be useful to students, post-graduate students, engineers, researchers and technical officers of optoelectronic universities and companies.

### **Acknowledgements**

The editor would like to thank all chapter authors, reviewers and to all who have helped to prepare this book. The editor would also like to acknowledge Ms. Ivona Lovric, Process Manager at InTech – Open Access Publisher, Croatia for her good and continued cooperation.

> **Natalia V. Kamanina**, Dr.Sci., PhD, Head of the Lab for "Photophysics of media with nanoobjects", Vavilov State Optical Institute, Saint-Petersburg, Russia

**Part 1** 

**Materials and Interfaces** 

**1** 

Yusuke Tsuda

*Japan* 

*Kurume National College of Technology* 

**Polyimides Bearing Long-Chain Alkyl Groups** 

Polyimides exhibit excellent thermal and mechanical properties, and have extensive engineering and microelectronics applications. Aromatic polyimides such as polyimides based on pyromellitic dianhydride are prepared from aromatic diamines and aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydrides *via* poly(amic acid)s. Since conventional aromatic polyimides are insoluble, these polymers are usually processed as the corresponding soluble poly(amic acid) precursors, and then either thermally or chemically imidized. However, owing to the instability of poly(amic acid)s and the liberation of water in the imidization process, problems can arise (Fig. 1). Extensive research has been carried out to improve the solubility of polyimides and successful recent examples involve the incorporation of fluorine moieties, isomeric moieties, methylene units, triaryl imidazole pendant groups, spiro linkage groups, and sulfonated structure. Soluble polyimides bearing long-chain alkyl groups have also been reported, and their applications mainly involve their use as alignment layers for liquid

Our research group has systematically investigated the synthesis and characterization of soluble polyimides based on aromatic diamines bearing long-chain alkyl groups such as alkyldiaminobenzophenone (ADBP-X, X = carbon numbers of alkyl chain) (Tsuda et al., 2000a) alkoxydiaminobenzene (AODB-X) (Tsuda et al., 2000b), diaminobenzoic acid alkylester (DBAE-X) (Tsuda et al., 2006), and alkyldiaminobenzamide (ADBA-X) (Tsuda et al., 2008), and the results from these research are described in the original papers and the review paper (Tsuda, 2009). Our recent paper has described soluble polyimides having dendritic moieties on their side chain, and it was found that these polyimides having dendritic side chains were applicable for the vertically aligned nematic liquid crystal displays (VAN-LCDs) (Tsuda et al., 2009). These dendronized polyimides were synthesized using the novel diamine monomer having a first-generation monodendron, 3,4,5-tris(ndodecyloxy)benzoate and the monomer having a second-generation monodendron, 3,4,5-

Some soluble polyimides were synthesized from the diamine monomer having three longchain alkyl groups; aliphatic tetracarboxylic dianhydride; 5-(2,5-dioxotetrahydrofuryl)-3 methyl-3-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride (Cyclohexene-DA) or aromatic tetracarboxylic dianhydride; 3,3',4,4'-diphenylsulfone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (DSDA)

**1. Introduction** 

crystal displays (LCDs).

tris[-3',4',5'-tri(n-dodecyloxy)benzyloxy]benzoate.

**and Their Application for Liquid Crystal** 

**Alignment Layer and Printed Electronics** 
