Antiferroelectric liquid crystals : hosts and binary mixtures

This thesis details the work carried out towards a doctoral degree in the synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of liquid-crystalline materials possessing antiferroelectric smectic C* (SmCA*) and non-chiral anticlinic smectic C (SmCait) phases. The effects of structural modifications of the materials on the occurrence and stability of the alternating-tilt smectic phases are described. The work was designed to evaluate the potential use of chiral-dopant antiferroelectric mixtures for antiferroelectric liquid crystal display devices (AFLCDs), analogous to the chiral- dopant ferroelectric mixtures used currently in ferroelectric liquid crystal display devices (FLCDs), for fast-switching display device applications. The most suitable materials from those prepared, including both optically active (chiral) dopants and achiral or racemic hosts, were selected and their applications in this novel mixture concept investigated. The switching characteristics of some model chiral-dopant binary mixtures were also studied, and the practical applicabilities of the mixtures developed are discussed

Design, Development & Functional Validation of Magnets system in support of 42 GHz Gyrotron in India

A multi institutional initiative is underway towards the development of 42 GHz, 200 kW gyrotron system in India under the frame work of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Indigenous realization comprising of design, fabrication, prototypes and functional validations of an appropriate Magnet System is one of the primary technological objective of these initiatives. The 42 GHz gyrotron magnet system comprises of a warm gun magnet, a NbTi/Cu based high homogenous superconducting cavity magnet and three warm collector magnets. The superconducting cavity magnet has been housed inside a low loss cryostat. The magnet system has been designed in accordance with gyrotron physics and engineering considerations respecting highly homogenous spatial field profile as well as maintaining steep gradient as per the compression and velocity ratios between the emission and resonator regions. The designed magnet system further ensures the co-linearity of the magnetic axis with that of the beam axis with custom winding techniques apart from a smooth collection of beam with the collector magnet profiles. The designed magnets have been wound after several R & D validations. The superconducting magnet has been housed inside a low loss designed cryostat with in-built radial and axial alignment flexibilities to certain extent. The cryostat further houses liquid helium port, liquid nitrogen ports, current communication ports, ports for monitoring helium level and other instrumentations apart from over-pressure safety intensive burst disks etc. The entire magnet system comprising of warm and superconducting magnets has been installed and integrated in the Gyrotron test set-up. The magnet system has been aligned in both warm and when the superconducting cavity magnet is cold. The integrated geometric axes have been experimentally ensured as well as the field profiles have been measured with the magnets being charged. Under experimental conditions, all magnets including the superconducting magnet have been charged to their nominal values with appropriate protection measures against the quench. This is the first time in India that a gyrotron specific magnet system with superconducting magnet has been realized

Electrooptic and dielectric spectroscopy measurements of binary chiral-dopant antiferroelectric mixtures

Recent examinations on binary chiral-dopant antiferroelectric liquid crystalline mixtures revealed an unusual switching behaviour. In order to investigate the switching processes that take place in the mixtures, both in the bulk and as influenced by surfaces, further electrooptic and dielec- tric spectroscopy studies have been carried out on two model binary mix- tures in the induced SmA*, SmC* and SmCA* phases. The dielectric spectra feature the different modes typical for these phases, but of varying purity, indicating a more complex phase behaviour than expected. The electrooptic behaviour in the antiferroelectric phase varied from clearly antiferroelectric to near hysteresis-free switching directly between ferro- electric states. We conclude that the phase sequence, and consequently switching behaviour, is a function of both the type of dopant used and of the strength of the surface interactions (cell thickness). In thin cells syn- clinic (ferroelectric) ordering appears to be favoured

41.4 / H. Zhang 41.4: Influence of Ion Transport in AFLCDs

In this article we present measurement results of greylevel hysteresis in an AFLC mixture in test cells with different alignment layers at various temperatures. Ion content has also been measured in the AFLC mixture in order to study the relationship between ionic contamination and the image sticking phenomenon. 1

On the coexistence of SmC* and SmCa* phases in binary chiral-dopant antiferroelectric mixtures

We present the results from investigations on a series of binary chiral- dopant liquid-crystalline mixtures. The racemic host materials possess tilted smectic phases with varying strengths of synclinic and anticlinic ordering (SmC and SmCalt phases respectively). The dopants used were either a strongly synclinic-favouring non liquid-crystalline chiral material (commonly used in FLC chiral-dopant mixtures) or a strongly anticlinic (antiferroelectric) material ((S)-MHPOBC). The electrooptic and dielectric properties of the mixtures were investigated in test cells of different thickness and the influence of each mixture component on the observed physical properties is discussed

Phases, phase transitions and confinement effects in a series of antiferroelectric liquid crystals

Using a variety of optical and electrooptical techniques as well as dielectric spectroscopy, we have investigated three homologues in the chiral liquid crystal series nF1M7, where n denotes the length of the unbranched side-chain. The main focus of the study is the series of smectic C subphases, i.e. SmCa*, SmC1/3* and SmC1/4*. During switching in the SmCa* phase, a peculiar redirection of the plane of biaxiality, distinguishing this phase from SmA* and SmC*, was observed. We present a simple explanation for this behaviour which correlates well with the clock model description of the SmCa* phase. We found a zero mesoscopic polarisation for the SmC1/4* phase and a non-zero mesoscopic polarisation for SmC1/3*, observations which are consistent with a distorted clock model. The dielectric spectroscopy investigations, performed at several different cell gaps, clearly show that the dielectric response in these materials is easily dominated by surface-induced structures if the cell gap is reduced, and thus reflects the bulk thermodynamic phase in very thick cells only

Design, Development & Functional Validation of Magnets system in support of 42 GHz Gyrotron in India

A multi institutional initiative is underway towards the development of 42 GHz, 200 kW gyrotron system in India under the frame work of Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Indigenous realization comprising of design, fabrication, prototypes and functional validations of an appropriate Magnet System is one of the primary technological objective of these initiatives. The 42 GHz gyrotron magnet system comprises of a warm gun magnet, a NbTi/Cu based high homogenous superconducting cavity magnet and three warm collector magnets. The superconducting cavity magnet has been housed inside a low loss cryostat. The magnet system has been designed in accordance with gyrotron physics and engineering considerations respecting highly homogenous spatial field profile as well as maintaining steep gradient as per the compression and velocity ratios between the emission and resonator regions. The designed magnet system further ensures the co-linearity of the magnetic axis with that of the beam axis with custom winding techniques apart from a smooth collection of beam with the collector magnet profiles. The designed magnets have been wound after several R & D validations. The superconducting magnet has been housed inside a low loss designed cryostat with in-built radial and axial alignment flexibilities to certain extent. The cryostat further houses liquid helium port, liquid nitrogen ports, current communication ports, ports for monitoring helium level and other instrumentations apart from over-pressure safety intensive burst disks etc. The entire magnet system comprising of warm and superconducting magnets has been installed and integrated in the Gyrotron test set-up. The magnet system has been aligned in both warm and when the superconducting cavity magnet is cold. The integrated geometric axes have been experimentally ensured as well as the field profiles have been measured with the magnets being charged. Under experimental conditions, all magnets including the superconducting magnet have been charged to their nominal values with appropriate protection measures against the quench. This is the first time in India that a gyrotron specific magnet system with superconducting magnet has been realized