Effect of Surface Pretilt Angle on Optical Properties of Surface-Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals

Abstract

Surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (SSFLC) used with high-pretilt aligning film rubbed in a parallel direction showed three states, C1U, C1T and C2, which exhibited different optical properties. The temperature dependence of the memory angles of these states was measured for eight kinds of SSFLC sample cells which were prepared using two FLC materials and four aligning films. The increase in the surface pretilt angle made the memory angle of the C1U state greater, but did not affect that of the C2 state. The experimental results were quite consistent with the calculated relationships between the memory angle and the surface pretilt angle.