| 摘要 |
An alignment layer on a first substrate (1) comprises a material which can be altered from a first to a second state by the action of incident light (5) of at least a first wavelength, the first and second states causing adjacent portions of a liquid crystal layer (3) to tend to adopt corresponding different first and second alignments. As the alignment layer is altered from its first to its said second state, realignment of the liquid crystal is facilitated by changing its ordering out of the first alignment, for example by applying an electric field (as shown from in-plane electrodes (7)), or by disrupting the liquid crystal ordering. The alignment layer may comprise a Schiff base, azo dye or a stilbene which can effectively realign in response to incident polarised light producing cis-trans isomerisation therein. The liquid crystal layer may be locally realigned by local optical and/or electrical addressing (as shown from (a) to (c) a local beam (5) alters the planar alignment direction at substrate (1)).
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