Helical unwinding in polymer‐dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystals

Abstract

Abstract We demonstrate that ferroelectric liquid crystals dispersed in a polymer matrix can form uniaxially aligned elliptical droplets. The alignment is controlled by mechanical shear during the polymerization of a UV‐curable adhesive. The possibility of prealignment makes polymer‐dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystals suitable for application in flexible electro‐optical displays. In contrast to surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal displays, the electro‐optical effect in our system is due to the deformed‐helix ferroelectric (DHF) effect.