Abstract.
Comparative electro-optical measurements have been made on a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) in surface stabilized geometry and confined to an ellipsoidal cavity within a polymer matrix. The static and dynamic electro-optical characteristics were measured for both systems and show qualitatively similar behaviours. A fast switching and important bistability were observed and characterized as a function of the applied electric field strength. The switching time between the two stable states of the surface stabilized cell was found to be longer than that found for the composite films. We argue that the faster switching dynamic of the FLC in cavities is due to the enhance of the rotational mobility of the molecules, probably (and partly) because of the “soft” anchoring character of the molecules at the cavity walls. Using a collective switching model in the high field regime, which assume a linear coupling between the spontaneous polarization and the local cavity electric field, we give an estimate of the rotational viscosity of the FLC molecules in the droplets.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J.W. Doane, Liquid Crystals-Application and uses, edited by B. Bahadur (World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, 1990) p. 361
J.W. Doane, N. Vaz, B.G. Wu, S. Žumer, Appl. Phys. Lett. 48, 269 (1986)
J.W. Doane, A. Golemme, J.L. West, J.B. Whitehead, B.G. Wu, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 165, 511 (1988)
H.S. Kitzerow, Polymer-dispersed and Polymer-stabilized Chiral Liquid Crystals, in Liquid Crystals in Complex Geometries, edited by G.P. Crawford, S. Žumer (Taylor and Francis, London, 1996) p. 187
J.H. Erdmann, S. Žumer, J.W. Doane, Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 1907 (1990)
U. Maschke, F. Benmouna, F. Roussel, A. Daoudi, F. Gyselinck, J.M. Buisine, X. Coqueret, M. Benmouna, Macromolecules 32, 8866 (1999)
F. Benmouna, A. Daoudi, F. Roussel, L. Leclercq, J.M. Buisine, X. Coqueret, M. Benmouna, B. Ewen, U. Maschke, Macromolecules 33, 960 (2000)
Ma. Vilfan, B. Zalar, A.K. Fontecchio, Mo. Vilfan, M.J. Escuti, G.P. Crawford, S. Žumer, Phy. Rev. E 66, 021710 (2002)
H.S. Kitzerow, H. Molsen, G. Heppke, Appl. Phys. Lett. 60, 3093 (1992)
H.S. Kitzerow, H. Molsen, G. Heppke, Poly. Adv. Techn. 3, 231 (1992)
H. Molsen, H.S. Kitzerow, J. Appl. Phys. 75, 710 (1994)
L. Komitov, S.T. Lagerwall, G. Chidichimo, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices and Applications III, edited by R. Shashidhar (SPIE Proc., 1994), Vol. 2175, p. 160
G. Heppke, H.S. Kitzerow, H. Molsen, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 237, 471 (1993)
H. Molsen, H.S. Kitzerow, G. Heppke, Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 31, L1083 (1992)
N. Clark, S.T. Lagerwall, Appl. Phys. Lett. 36, 899 (1980)
A.D.L. Chandani, E. Gorecka, Y. Ouchi, H. Takezoe, A. Fukuda, Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 28, L1265 (1989)
S. Garoff, R.B. Meyer, Phys. Rev. Lett. A 19, 338 (1979)
L.A. Beresnev, V.G. Chigrinov, D.I. Dergachev, E.P. Pozhidaev, J. Fünfschilling, M. Schadt, Liq. Cryst. 5, 1171 (1989)
J. Fünfschilling, M. Schadt, J. Appl. Phys. 66, 3877 (1989)
P.G. De Gennes, J. Prost, The Physics of Liquid Crystals, 2nd edn. (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993)
I. Muševic, R. Blinc, B. Žekš, The Physics of Ferroelectric and Anti-Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals (World Scientific, 2000)
J. Pirš, R. Blinc, B. Marin, S. Pirš, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 264, 155 (1995)
R.A.M. Hikmet, H.M.J. Boots, M. Michielsen, Liq. Cryst. 19, 65 (1995)
I. Dierking, M.A. Osipov, S.T. Lagerwall, Eur. Phys. J. E 2, 303 (2000)
V. Vorflusev, S. Kumar, Science 283, 1903 (1999)
V.Ya. Zyryanov, S.L. Smorgon, V.F. Shabanov, Ferroelectrics 143, 271 (1993)
K. Lee, S.-W. Suh, S.-D. Lee, Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 718 (1994)
J.-H. Kim, K. Lee, S.-D. Lee, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 302, 79 (1997)
C.M. Leader, W. Zheng, J. Tipping, H.J. Coles, Liq. Cryst. 19, 415 (1995)
H. Xu, J.K. Vij, A. Rappaport, N.A. Clark, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 249 (1997)
L. Naji, F. Kremer, R. Stannarius, Liq. Cryst. 25, 363 (1998)
S.A. Rozanski, S. Stannarius, F. Kremer, S. Diele, Liq. Cryst. 28, 1071 (2001)
F.M. Aliev, Liquid Crystals and Polymers in Pores, in Liquid Crystals in Complex geometries, edited by G.P. Crawford, S. Žumer (Taylor and Francis, London, 1996), p. 345
J.A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Theory (Mc Graw Hill, New York, 1941)
B.-G. Wu, J.H. Erdmann, J.W. Doane, Liq. Cryst. 5, 1453 (1989)
S.L. Smorgon, A.W. Barannik, V.Ya. Zyryanov, E.P. Pozhidaev, A.L. Andreev, I.N. Kompanets, D. Ganzke, W. Haase, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 368, 207 (2001)
K.H. Yang, T.C. Chieu, S. Osofsky, Appl. Phys. Lett. 55, 125 (1989)
N. Vaz, G.W. Smith, G.P. Montgomery, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 146, 1 (1987)
S.T. Lagerwall, B. Otterholm, K. Skarp, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 152, 503 (1987)
K. Miyatso, S. Abe, H. Takezoe, A Fukuda, E. Kuse, Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 22, L661 (1983)
S.J. Watson, L.S. Matkin, L.J. Baylis, N. Bowring, H.F. Gleeson, M. Hird, J. Goodby, Phys. Rev. E 65, 31705 (2002)
V. Vorflusev, S. Kumar, Ferroelectrics 213, 117 (1998)
K. Skarp, Ferroelectrics 84, 119 (1988)
K. Skarp, K. Flatishler, S.T. Lagerwall, Ferroelectrics 84, 183 (1988)
L.K.H. Van Beek, In Progress in Dielectrics (J.B. Birks: Heywood, London, 1967)
V. Vorflusev, M. Kosygina, V. Chigrinov, Ferroelectrics 178, 75 (1996)
T. Bellini, N.A. Clark, D.W. Schaefer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2740 (1995)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Received: 5 October 2003, Published online: 5 February 2004
PACS:
61.30.Pq Microconfined liquid crystals: droplets, cylinders, randomly confined liquid crystals, polymer dispersed liquid crystals, and porous systems - 61.30.Hn Surface phenomena: alignment, anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions, and wetting transitions - 77.80.Fm Switching phenomena
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Daoudi, A., Dubois, F., Legrand, C. et al. Static and dynamic electro-optic properties of a SmC* phase in surface stabilized geometry and dispersed in the polymer matrix. Eur. Phys. J. E 12, 573–580 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/e2004-00029-0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/e2004-00029-0