Optical and electro-optical characterization of the electroclinic effect in smectic A liquid crystals

James R. Lindle; A. T. Harter; Steven R. Flom; Filbert J. Bartoli; Ranganathan Shashidhar; Banahalli R. Ratna

doi:10.1117/12.235356

11 March 1996 Optical and electro-optical characterization of the electroclinic effect in smectic A liquid crystals

James R. Lindle, A. T. Harter, Steven R. Flom, Filbert J. Bartoli, Ranganathan Shashidhar, Banahalli R. Ratna

Proceedings Volume 2651, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications IV; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.235356
Event: Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology, 1996, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Recent interest in chiral smectic A liquid crystals is driven in part by their potential for development as fast, analog electro-optic devices. Chiral smectic A liquid crystals exhibit electroclinic behavior, characterized by continuously variable, electrically controllable molecular tilt. Consequently, these materials are suitable for applications where gray-scale capabilities are required. Moreover, new electroclinic liquid crystals have been synthesized which exhibit large tilt angles which may permit fabrication of devices with very good contrast ratios. However, when viewed between crossed polarizers, electroclinic liquid crystals have often been found to exhibit a stripe texture due to a field-dependent deformation of the bookshelf geometry. The degree of deformation appears to increase with the tilt angle and the stripes become more pronounced. X-ray measurements support the picture of a triangular wave deformation of the layers. These observations indicate that the observed stripe deformations may significantly limit the performance, particularly the achievable contrast ratio, that devices made from these materials might attain. In this paper, the optical and electro-optical properties of electroclinic liquid crystals are investigated to gain insight into the structure of stripe domains and to relate these findings to the potential performance of electroclinic liquid crystal devices.

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James R. Lindle, A. T. Harter, Steven R. Flom, Filbert J. Bartoli, Ranganathan Shashidhar, and Banahalli R. Ratna "Optical and electro-optical characterization of the electroclinic effect in smectic A liquid crystals", Proc. SPIE 2651, Liquid Crystal Materials, Devices, and Applications IV, (11 March 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.235356

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KEYWORDS

Liquid crystals

Optical testing

Electro optics

Polarizers

Mineralogy

X-ray optics

X-rays

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