![Sample our Physical Sciences journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110819/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Physical-Sciences.jpg"})
Abstract
We present a theoretical investigation into the effects of polar anchoring in a liquid crystal cell containing an antiferroelectric liquid crystalline material. Our model includes effects due to finite polar and non-polar anchoring, quadrupolar ordering and polarization self interaction. We find that the presence of quadrupolar ordering or weak anchoring means that the cell may be primed into the thresholdless state through a discontinuous transition from an initial antiferroelectric state.