Abstract
The pyroelectric technique, called the laser-intensity-modulation method (LIMM), and a simple model of the surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) structure were used for the investigation of the spatial distribution of the pyroelectric coefficient and the director profile in a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) cell. The pyroelectric current from a cell, illuminated by the intensity-modulated laser beam, was measured as a function of the modulation frequency. The simulated pyroelectric current spectra were obtained from the spatial profiles of the pyroelectric coefficient calculated for SSFLC structures with different boundary conditions. The influence of the space charge of the free ions on the distribution of the azimuthal angle of the FLC director was investigated.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the Enterprise Ireland Basic Research Grant SC/2000/302 to which the authors acknowledge. N.M.S. was partly supported by the RFBR Grant 03-02-17288.