Ferroelectric liquid crystal device with AC electric field pretreatment for bistability

摘要

A ferroelectric liquid crystal device is constituted by a pair of oppositely spaced substrates each having an electrode thereon, and a layer of ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between the substrates. The ferroelectric liquid crystal is disposed in a thickness sufficiently large to retain its helical structure in its as-injected state but is placed in a non-helical structure showing bistability by application of an AC electric field to the liquid crystal layer prior to a routine drive for normal optical modulation by application of external drive voltage signals.