Viewing angle control for automotive display using hybrid nematic liquid crystals

Abstract As many displays are installed inside electric vehicles, technologies for controlling the viewing angles are attraction. We demonstrate a viewing-angle controllable device comprising hybrid-aligned nematic (HAN) liquid crystals. In the narrow viewing mode, the optical axis distribution in the HAN cell changes from hybrid to twist by changing the viewing angle from normal to oblique. The proposed HAN cell can be switched to wide viewing mode by applying a vertical electric field. Therefore, the switchable viewing-angle-controllable device can control the driver's viewing angle and block the reflected light from the co-driver's window. The proposed mechanism can be further applied to construct an achromatic polarization rotator with angle-dependence.