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Modeling The Field Control Of The Surface Electroclinic Effect And Its Impact On Smectic Layer Strain, Kara M. Zappitelli
Modeling The Field Control Of The Surface Electroclinic Effect And Its Impact On Smectic Layer Strain, Kara M. Zappitelli
Physics
Chiral, smectic liquid crystal molecules align in layers and can be controlled by the application of an electric field, yielding a variety of implications for the quality of liquid crystal (LC) displays. Both the bulk electroclinic effect (BECE) and surface electroclinic effect (SECE) impact the angle at which the molecules tilt with respect to the layer normal in different areas of a LC cell due to dipole interactions. Certain LC’s exhibit a continuous Sm-A* to Sm-C* transition, where the angles of the surface and bulk molecules change continuously with electric field strength. Other LC’s exhibit first order transitions where we …