Abstract
The system of nonlinear equations describing a surface-stabilized ferroelectric smectic C* liquid crystal in the chevron geometry has been investigated by numerical methods in the framework of the continuum model of liquid crystals. Stable orientational and structural configurations have been studied, and the results obtained have been compared with those derived using simplified models. The height of the potential barrier separating two stable configurations has been determined, and the transition between them under the action of the external electric field has been examined. It has been demonstrated that this effect has a threshold character. The dependence of the threshold field on the film thickness has been analyzed.
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Original Russian Text © V.P. Romanov, S.V. Ul’yanov, K.G. Chernyak, 2010, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2010, Vol. 52, No. 9, pp. 1849–1854.
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Romanov, V.P., Ul’yanov, S.V. & Chernyak, K.G. Bistability of a “chevron” smectic C* liquid crystal in an external electric field. Phys. Solid State 52, 1985–1991 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063783410090337
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063783410090337