Stabilization ferroelectrics

Rieker T P, Clark N A, Smith G S, Parmar D S, Sirota E B and Safinya C R 1987 Chevron local layer structure in surface-stabilized ferroelectric smectic-C cells Phys.Rev.Lett 59 2658-61... 

To produce novel LC phase behavior and properties, a variety of polymer/LC composites have been developed. These include systems which employ liquid crystal polymers (5), phase separation of LC droplets in polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) (4), incorporating both nematic (5,6) and ferroelectric liquid crystals (6-10). Polymer/LC gels have also been studied which are formed by the polymerization of small amounts of monomer solutes in a liquid crystalline solvent (11). The polymer/LC gel systems are of particular interest, rendering bistable chiral nematic devices (12) and polymer stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (PSFLCs) (1,13), which combine fast electro-optic response (14) with the increased mechanical stabilization imparted by the polymer (75). 

Surface Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals (SSFLC)116 Here all three vectors of spontaneous polarization (Fs) are initially aligned by surface effects in thin cells (ca 2 pm). The switchability is due to 180° rotation of the Fs vectors on a cone. 

Many ferroelectric materials were found in the past. However, there is a limited number of structures that are adopted by the majority of the commercially important ferroelectric materials. In each of these structures, the ferroelectricity is tied to distortion of the coordination polyhedra of one or more of the cations in the structure. One example is the perovskite structure. Cations that seem to be especially susceptible to forming such distorted polyhedra include Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, and Hf. All of these ions lie near crossover points between the stability of different electronic orbitals, and so may be likely to form distorted coordination polyhedra [5], Polarizable cations such as Pb and Bi are also common to many ferroelectric materials. In this case, it has been suggested that the lone pair electrons may play an important role in stabilizing ferroelectric structures. Thus the ferroelectric transition temperature and spontaneous distortion of PbTiC>3 is much larger than that of BaTiC>3. 

In a chiral smectic (Sc ) phase, the tilt angle is the same within a layer, but the tilt direction processes and traces a helical path through a stack of layers (Figure 43). It has been demonstrated that when such a helix is completely unwound, as in a surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cell, then changing the tilt of the molecules fi om +0 to —0 by alternating the direction of an applied field results in a substantial electro-optic effect, which has the features of veiy fast switching (%1 - lOps), high contrast and bistability [87]. The smectic A phase of chiral molecules may also exhibit an electro-optic effect, this arises due to molecular tilt fluctuations which transition is approached, which are combined with a... 

The backbone affects the dynamic behavior of the ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymer. Sandwiching the two kinds of ferroelectric liquid crystals between two ITO-coated glass plates of 1.5 microns gap respectively, one constructs a SSFLC (surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal) cell. The switch time between two optical states r is determined by... 

Wu, Y., Yuan, B., Zhao, J.-G. Ozaki, Y. (2003). Hybrid Two-Dimensional Correlation and Parallel Factor Studies on the Switching Dynamics of a Surface-stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 107, No. 31, pp. 7706-7715... 

The subject of liquid crystals has now grown to become an exciting interdisciplinary field of research with important practical applications. This book presents a systematic and self-contained treatment of the physics of the different types of thermotropic liquid crystals - the three classical types, nematic, cholesteric and smectic, composed of rod-shaped molecules, and the newly discovered discotic type composed of disc-shaped molecules. The coverage includes a description of the structures of these four main types and their polymorphic modifications, their thermodynamical, optical and mechanical properties and their behaviour under external fields. The basic principles underlying the major applications of liquid crystals in display technology (for example, the twisted and supertwisted nematic devices, the surface stabilized ferroelectric device, etc.) and in thermography are also discussed. 

J.Y. Huang, L.S. Li, and M.C. Chen, Probing molecular binding effect from zinc oxide nanocrystal doping in surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal with two-dimensional infrared correlation technique, J. Phys. Chem. C, 112, 5410-5415 (2008). 

It is our belief that block copolymers containing LC segments are materials with novel and unencountered properties which will offer great opportunities for developing high performance materials. Here we would like to give two examples. One example is a microphase stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (MSFLC) [109] for potential flat panel display applications, while the other is a material for stable, low surface energy [110] application. 

Microphase Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Displays... 

Figure 15. Concept of microphase stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (MSFLC). The black domain represents the coil block. Only lamellar microdomain morphology is shown in the figure. The FLC supramolecular pitch is unwound by the block microdomain [109, 130],...

Fig. 5.2 Helical structure of SmC phase (a) and surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (SSFLC) (b and c)...

Surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal Splay-twist Supertwisted nematic Transmission electron microscopy Twisted nematic Thin film transistor Uniform lying helix Ultraviolet... 

The main objective of this chapter is to review and outline the research studies and perspectives on liquid crystalline elastomers and LC anisotropic networks, with emphasis on recent interesting innovations on network-stabilized ferroelectric LC (FLC) gels, discotic columnar networks, and self-assembly hydrogen-bonded LC network. We will also present hybrid networks based on ladderlike polysiloxanes that have been developed in our group as advanced functional film materials. 

Figure 4.9 Schematic diagram of the bookshelf cell structure of the surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal display, (a) The director is along the direction Ai when the applied field is up. (b) The director is along the direction Ai when the applied field is down, (c) Directions of the polarizer and analyzer.

This problem is overcome by Clark and Lagcrwall in their invention of the surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) device [16], shown in Figure 4.9. The liquid crystal is sandwiched between two parallel substrates with the cell gap, h, thinner than the helical pitch, P, of the liquid crystal. The inner surface of the substrates is coated with alignment layers which promote parallel (to the substrate) anchoring of the liquid crystal on the surface of the substrate. The smectic layers arc perpendicular to the substrate of the cell, while the helical axis is parallel to the substrate. Now the helical twist is suppressed and unwound by the anchoring. 

As discussed in Chapter 4, surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (SSFLCs) have two stable states at zero field. The two states have different planar orientational angles as shown in... 

Clark, N. A., and Lagerwall, S. T., Surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal electro-optics new multistate structures and devices. Ferroelectrics, 59, 25-67 (1984). 

The surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals in the smectic C (SmC ) phase are among the most interesting types of liquid-crystalline systems because of their potential applications in high-resolution flat panel displays and fast electro-optical devices [73-76]. Within this class of compounds, ferroelectric liquid-crystalline polymers (FLCPs) have gained theoretical and practical interest as systems which combine the properties of polymers and ferroelectric liquid crystals. This combination is achieved by attaching the ferroelectric mesogen to a main chain via a flexible spacer... 

---