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How is indium tin oxide used in liquid-crystal displays?

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conductive ceramics Figure 1: Schematic diagram of a zirconia oxygen sensor used to monitor automobile exhaust gases. The sensor, approximately the size of a spark plug, is fitted into the exhaust manifold of an automobile engine. The thimble-shaped zirconia sensor, sandwiched between thin layers of porous platinum, is exposed on its interior to outside air and on its exterior to exhaust gas passing through slits in the sensor shield. The two platinum surfaces serve as electrodes, conducting a voltage across the zirconia that varies according to the difference in oxygen content between the exhaust gas and the outside air.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a ceramic material composed of a mixture of indium oxide and tin oxide. It is uniquely valuable in the electronics industry because it is both an outstanding electronic conductor and optically transparent, a combination achieved through its large band gap and specific electron concentration.1

In liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), ITO is used to create patterned, transparent electrodes on the inner surfaces of the display's glass substrate plates. These electrodes are essential for controlling the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules. By applying a voltage across these ITO layers, the display can alter the alignment of the liquid crystals to either block or transmit light, thereby creating the images seen on screens such as those in laptop computers and flat-panel televisions. The ITO is typically applied to these substrates using standard thin-film deposition and photolithographic techniques.12