Anchoring energy and cell gap effects on liquid crystal response time

The anchoring energy and cell gap effects on liquid crystal response time $\left({\tau }_0\right)$ is analyzed theoretically and validated experimentally. Analytical expressions are derived using two different approaches: effective cell gap and surface dynamic equation methods. Consistent results are deduced from these two approaches. A simplified equation ${\tau }_0\sim d^x$ also fits the experimental data well, where $d$ is the liquid crystal cell gap and $x$ is the exponent. Under two extreme (strong and weak) anchoring limits, the exponent $x$ approaches 2 and 1, respectively. This information is helpful for optimizing liquid crystal devices for display applications.