A liquid crystal display including: a first substrate; a second substrate configured to overlap the first substrate and to be separate from the first substrate; a liquid crystal layer disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate and including a liquid crystal molecule; a first alignment layer disposed between the first substrate and the liquid crystal layer; a second alignment layer disposed between the second substrate and the liquid crystal layer; and a plurality of protrusions disposed between the first alignment layer and the liquid crystal layer, wherein at least one protrusion of the plurality of protrusions includes an orientation polymer including a polymerized reactive mesogen, the first alignment layer includes a photo-reactive group, and the liquid crystal layer includes a photoreaction initiator.

A method of fabricating an electrically-controlled birefringence cell. The cell has a cell gap no more than 20 micrometers. The cell has an alignment layer arranged to impart a pretilt on liquid crystal in contact with the alignment layer. The method comprises processing the alignment layer to achieve a surface anchoring value between the liquid crystal and alignment layer of less than 1 mJ/m.sup.2.

A channel layer is formed of an oxide semiconductor. A first insulating film is provided on the channel layer, a source line, and a drain electrode, and includes a drain contact hole which reaches the drain electrode. A pixel electrode is provided on the first insulating film, includes a connection conductive layer which is connected to the drain electrode by the drain contact hole, and is formed of a transparent conductive material. The pixel electrode is covered with a second insulating film. A common electrode is provided on the second insulating film, includes an opening which faces the pixel electrode in a thickness direction, and is formed of a transparent conductive material. A metal layer, in conjunction with a part of the common electrode, forms a laminated structure, and includes a light-shield part which overlaps the channel layer at least partially in plan view.

A liquid crystal photo-alignment agent includes a polyimide copolymer including a first structure unit represented by the described Chemical Formula 1 and a second structure unit represented by the described Chemical Formula 2, and, based on a 100 mole % sum total of the first structure unit and the second structure unit, the first structure unit is included in an amount of 70 to 95 mole % and the second structure unit is included in an amount of 5 to 30 mole %. A liquid crystal photo-alignment film may be manufactured using the same, and a liquid crystal display may include the liquid crystal photo-alignment film.

The present disclosure provides a display panel, a manufacturing method thereof, and a transfer printing device. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one groove is defined in a transfer printing plate of the transfer printing device, through holes corresponding to blind holes can be formed in an area corresponding to the grooves, thereby preventing blocking effect of an original alignment film on light passing through the blind holes, increasing light transmittance of the blind holes, and improving an overall performance of devices with the blind holes.

The present invention provides a laminate and an image display device, in which alignment defects of a liquid crystal layer provided on an optical alignment layer are suppressed. The laminate includes an optical alignment layer and a liquid crystal layer provided on the optical alignment layer. In the laminate, the liquid crystal layer is formed from a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal compound and a surfactant, and the liquid crystal compound is immobilized in a horizontal alignment state, and the surfactant is a copolymer having a repeating unit containing a fluorinated alkyl group and having a repeating unit containing a mesogenic group.

A liquid crystal display includes: a lower panel in which a plurality of pixel areas is defined; an upper panel opposite to the lower panel and in which the plurality of pixel areas is defined, where each pixel area is divided into domains; a first alignment layer on the lower panel and photo-aligned to have sub alignment portions corresponding to the domains, respectively; and a second alignment layer on the upper panel and photo-aligned to have sub alignment portions corresponding to domains, respectively, where one of the sub alignment portions of the first alignment layer has no pretilt and remaining of the sub alignment portions of the first alignment layer has different pretilt directions, and one of the sub alignment portions of the second alignment layer has no pretilt and remaining of the alignment portions of the second alignment layer has different pretilt directions.

This liquid crystal display device has a plurality of pixels. Each pixel in the plurality of pixels includes first to fourth alignment regions; these first to fourth alignment regions are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the pixels, and the difference between any two alignment orientations in the first to fourth alignment regions is approximately equal to an integer multiple of 90 degrees. Of the pre-tilt angles defined by a first alignment film and a second alignment film in each of the first to fourth alignment regions, one pre-tilt angle is less than 90 degrees and the other pre-tilt angle is substantially 90 degrees. The optical alignment film is formed using a polymer having an optical alignment group in the side chain, and the content of the optical alignment group in the side chain of the polymer is less than 1.1 mmol/g.

An alignment layer composition including a copolymer of a dianhydride compound and a diamine compound, the copolymer including a repeating unit represented by chemical formula (1); and a repeating unit represented by chemical formula (2):

##STR00001##

wherein R.sub.1 is a tetravalent organic group derived from an alicyclic dianhydride or an aromatic dianhydride, and wherein R.sub.1 includes a phenyl ester group.

An alignment layer composition including a copolymer of a dianhydride compound and a diamine compound, wherein the copolymer includes a repeating unit represented by Formula 1:

##STR00001##

wherein each of Ar.sub.1 and Ar.sub.2 is independently a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group comprising 6 to 30 carbon atoms, X is an electron donating group, and

##STR00002##

is an ester group, wherein “*” indicates a point of attachment to the aromatic groups Ar.sub.1 and Ar.sub.2.