Electrooptical Studies of Twisted Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal: Alignment and Ionic Charges Influences

We report studies on the influence of the alignment layers and the ionic impurities on the electro-optical behaviours of the twisted SmC* cells. A general expression of the internal electric field in the cell is given. Numerical results show clearly that the widening of the electro-optical response is connected to the alignment layers thicknesses. Dynamical studies of the ionic charges show that contrary to the classical SSFLC cells, ionic charges repartition is initially inhomogeneous in twisted SmC* cells. The azimuthal angle distribution and the transmitted light intensity are strongly affected by the ionic charges distribution. This model explain well the experimental behaviours of twisted SmC* cells.

Keywords:

• Ferroelectrics liquid crystal
• twist
• electrical fields
• V-shape

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Professor Noël Isaert for his useful discussions and advices.