Propagation of Light with an Arbitrary Incident Angle through Anisotropic Media

Summary

This chapter aims to determine the nature of the ordinary and extraordinary beams which, according to Maxwell's equations, can propagate through the liquid crystal (LC) cell. The more complex case is an arbitrary angle of incidence of light with respect to the director. The chapter investigates the optical properties of an LC cell viewed perpendicularly to the glass plates. Measures against degraded contrast and the associated colour changes for an increased viewing angle are compensation foils with negative birefringence, adding an inverse cell with negative or positive birefringence and the in‐plane switching mode. Crucial for the enhancement of contrast over a wide viewing angle is the improvement of the black state. The grey shade inversion and the grey shade stability are related to the minima of luminance shifting to lower viewing angles with increasing voltage. The chapter is devoted to the improvement of image quality for viewing from oblique angles by special cell designs.