Investigation of the Thickness Mode in Surface Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Cells

Dielectric properties of surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) cells have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The thickness mode is found to consist of two relaxation processes. A decomposition of an analytical solution of the complex dielectric permittivitye(v) in terms ofthese processesis given. Theexperimental results showagreement with theory and lead to the conclusion that the thickness mode can be separated into two processes. It has been found that the ratio of the dielectric strengths for the two processes depends on the cell thickness, and that the ratio of their frequencies is approximately equal to 10. The lower frequency process is assigned to the relaxation within the bulk and the higher frequency process is assigned to the ¯uctuations of molecules at the two surfaces of the cell. The latter process is seen only in thicker cells for the reason that anchoring at surfaces predominantly controls the behaviour of thinner cells

Apokamps produced by repetitive discharges in air

New experimental and computational data on apokamps produced by repetitive discharges in air, including a detailed description of the research techniques used, are presented. It has been shown that plasma bullets–streamers in apokamps at low frequencies could start not only from the bright offshoot but also directly from the discharge channel. The experimental and computational data demonstrate that the visual color of apokamp changes from blue to red as the intensity ratio of the second to the first positive nitrogen system decreases with the decreasing pressure

Experimental study for the conditions of analog switching in ferroelectric liquid crystal cells

The authors study the effect of the spontaneous polarization (PS) of a ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture with compensated helix and of the thickness of the alignment layer (da) on the analog switching in a cell. The quality of analog switching is established in terms of its contrast ratio, texture in the dark state, and the electrostatic energy. The latter approximates to PS 2da for d

The investigation of the relaxation processes in antiferroelectric liquid crystals by electro-optic spectroscopy

Electrooptic spectroscopy of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal is carried out over a range of frequencies from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. In the antiferroelectric SmCA phase two relaxation processes are found, one at the fundamental frequency of a mode and the second at twice the frequency of a different mode. A comparison of the results of the electro-optic spectroscopy with a theoretical study of the motion of the director of an antiferroelectric helix subject to a weak alternating field enables a determination of the origin of the relaxation processes in antiferroelectric phases. © 1998 American Institute of Physics

FTIR study of a chiral tilted SmA liquid crystalline phase

In this paper we present the results of the polarized infrared spectroscopy as evidence for the existence of a chiral analogue of the SmA phase of the de Vries type. In this phase, the molecular director in the smectic layers is tilted with respect to the smectic layer normal. The dichroic ratio is found to increase when the voltage crosses a threshold, and reaches a saturation value where all the directors of different layers are interpreted to be aligned perpendicular to the direction of the electric field. The possible molecular structure of de Vries SmA* phase is discussed

V-shaped electro-optic response observed in a chiral ferroelectric smectic liquid crystal

Open Access.We report on the observation of V-shaped switching in a ferroelectric liquid crystal cell over a wide range of temperatures. Results of the optical transmittance in the visible region give us the helical pitch for various temperatures of the ferroelectric liquid crystalline compound used. We show that the helical pitch, in addition to the spontaneous polarization (PS) and thickness of the alignment layer of the cell, is an important factor in giving V-shaped switching. A longer or helical compensated mixture gives a better V-shaped switching

Spontaneous periodic deformations in nonchiral planar-aligned bimesogens with a nematic-nematic transition and a negative elastic constant

Hydrocarbon linked mesogenic dimers are found to exhibit an additional nematic phase below the conventional uniaxial nematic phase as confirmed by x-ray diffraction. The phase produces unusual periodic stripe domains in planar cells. The stripes are found to be parallel to the rubbing direction (in rubbed cells) with a well-defined period equal to double the cell gap. The stripes appear without external electromagnetic field, temperature or thickness gradients, rubbing or hybrid alignment treatments. Simple modeling proposes a negative sign for at least one of the two elastic constants: splay and twist, as a necessary condition for the observed pattern

Experimental study of de Vries properties in antiferroelectric smectic liquid crystals

Results of the experimental study on different antiferroelectric liquid crystal (AFLC) materials are presented using a number of techniques such as the optical birefringence, electro-optics and the measurements of optical thickness of free-standing films. Despite differences in the molecular structures of the various AFLC materials studied, these are found to exhibit a de Vries type of smecticA* (SmA *) properties in a temperature range higher than SmC * . This correlation leads to the conclusion that these two classes of liquid crystals are related to each other. Furthermore, we suggest that these arise from the same physical mechanism, namely the existence of the weak synclinic (or reduced anticlinic) correlations between the neighbouring molecular tilt directions