Abstract
The requirements for ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) for an application in fast-switching electro-optic devices are summarized. Typical molecular structures for FLC-mixtures are discussed. New non-chiral SmC-substances as well as some chiral dopants are shown. Important material parameters which are presented include spontaneous polarization, tilt angle, helical pitch in the smectic and cholesteric phase, rotational viscosity, response time, optical anisotropy and dielectric anisotropy. New developed broad range FLC-mixtures with SmC*-phases, SmI*-phases or SmA*-phases at room temperature are introduced.