Electro-optical response of a thin layer of a ferroelectric liquid crystal with a small pitch and high spontaneous polarization

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The electro-optical response was investigated of thin cells (d = 3-7;μ) with a ferroelectric liquid crystal having a rather high value of the spontaneous polarisation (P = 50-70 nC cm−2) and a small helical pitch (p =S0.3-0.5μ). Initially the optical axis of the helical structure coincides with the helical axis. An external field causes a linear electro-optical effect which results in switching the optical axis by an angle <Θ> proportional to the field. This switching takes time about 200-300μS at voltages of the order of tenths of volt. A novel effect is described which is due to the averaging of the optical indicatrix over time when an alternating voltage of a rather high frequency (hundreeds of herz) is applied to a cell.