Switching chevron interfaces

Figure 96. (a) At the chevron interface the local polarization P is discontinuous, making a jump in direction. (b) When switching from the down to the up state, P rotates everywhere anticlockwise above and clockwise below the chevron interface (time axis to the right). The director is locked in the chevron plane and can move between n and nj. 

So far we have described the switching concentrating on the chevron interface, completely disregarding what could happen at the two bounding (electrode) surfaces. In fact, if the anchoring condition on the surfaces is very strong, switching between up and down states of polarization will only... 

It should be pointed out that the uniqueness of director rotation during the switching process is not a feature related to the chevron per se, but only to the fact that the chevron creates a certain P-tilt at the chevron interface. If the boundary conditions of the glass surfaces involved a similar P-tilt, this will have the same effect. 

Figure 109. Effective switching angle in a C2 structure as a function of the amplitude Vj of the applied data pulses for the so-called Malvern-3 scheme. The switching pulse amplitude is 30 V. Vd=0 corresponds to the memorized states as latched by the chevron interface. The value of the material is 4.4 nC/cm (after 171).

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