Effect of azimuthal anchoring strength on stability in a bistable chiral splay nematic liquid crystal device

Abstract

The stabilization of the metastable 180 degrees twist state in a bistable chiral splay nematic liquid crystal device is studied. The stability of the metastable 180 degrees twist state is explained using the azimuthal anchoring strength, which is a function of the twist elastic constant and the cell gap. A stable 180 degrees twist state as well as the permanent retention time can be obtained by increasing the anchoring energy above a certain threshold.