Invited Paper

The modern history of liquid crystals has been dominated by the development of electronic displays. These developments began in 1964, when Heilmeier of RCA Laboratories discovered the guest-host mode and the dynamic-scattering mode. He thought a wall-sized flat-panel color TV was just around the corner. From that point on, twisted-nematic (TN) mode, super TN mode, amorphous-Si field-effect transistor, and room-temperature liquid crystals were developed. In the beginning, liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) were limited to niche applications such as small-size dis-plays for digital watches, pocket calculators, and small handheld devices. That all changed with the development of the notebook computer industry. In 1988, Washizuka et al. of Sharp Corporation demonstrated an active-matrix full-color full-motion 14-in display using a thin-film-transistor array. The electronics industries now recognized that Heilmeier’s 25-year dream of a wall-hanging tele-vision had become reality. LCDs could be used to replace existing cathode ray tubes. Through the cooperation and competition of many electronics giants, the LCD industry was firmly established. Keywords—Active matrix, amorphous silicon, azoxy, bire-fringence, cholesteric, cyanobiphenyl, dielectric anisotropy