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ABSTRACT
Ferroelectric copolymer of vinylide0ne fluoride and trifluoroethylene (70/30) was used as an alignment layer in nematic liquid crystal cells. The rubbed ferroelectric polymer films produce excellent planar orientation of liquid crystal molecules. We have found that the ferroelectric polymer film at one of LC cell surfaces results in strongly asymmetric electrooptical and electrical response. This fact was qualitatively explained by a model that assumes creating a “p-n” like junction between a liquid crystal and the ferroelectric polymer.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to L. M. Blinov and M. I. Barnik for useful discussions and to V. V. Lazarev for help with measurements of the pretilt angle. The work is supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grants no. 03-02-17288, no. 04-02-16466). S. P. Palto is grateful to Russian Science Support Foundation for the financial support.