Simple method for measuring the high pretilt angle of nematic liquid crystals.

Pretilt angle measurable by using the conventional crystal rotation method is limited to about 0°-20° and 700-90°. We propose a method by which we can measure the pretilt angle by using the crystal rotation method even if the pretilt angle is between 20° and 70°. In this method, the determination of a pretilt angle is achieved by finding the rotation angles where transmittances are maximum and minimum in the periodic transmittance characteristics obtained with the variation of rotation angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]