Method of producing a homogeneously aligned chiral smectic C liquid crystal having homeotropic alignment layers

摘要

A method for promoting uniform "bookshelf" textures in light modulators using smectic C* liquid crystal is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of confining smectic C* phase liquid crystal between parallel substrates having inner surfaces treated to promote homeotropic alignment of the liquid crystal near the inner surfaces, generating an electric field normal to the inner surfaces of the substrates and biasing the liquid crystal in a direction parallel to the inner surfaces of the substrates to induce the formation of smectic layers normal to the inner surfaces of the substrate. For example, the perturbation may be carried out by supplying a cyclic shear to one of the substrates or by means of a magnetic field parallel to the substrates. Reversal of the polarity of the electric field switches the material between two stable bookshelf textures. These textures are homogeneous in alignment even near the inner surfaces of the substrates, and the anchoring of the molecules near the substrates changes as the material is switched between bookshelf textures.