Glass substrate with ITOelectrodes. The shapes of these electrodes will determine the shapes that will appear when the LCD is switched ON. Vertical ridges etched on the surface are smooth.
Twisted nematic liquid crystal. It normally rotates the light's polarization by 90°. But if the surrounding electrodes are charged, the light's polarization won't be rotated.
Glass substrate with common electrode film (ITO) with horizontal ridges to line up with the horizontal filter.
Polarizing filter film with a horizontal axis. Light whose polarization was rotated by the liquid crystal will pass through, but light that wasn't rotated will be blocked.
Reflective surface to send light back to viewer. (In a backlit LCD, this layer is replaced or complemented with a light source.)
