Field-Induced Cholesteric—Nematic Transition and Optical Bistability

Abstract

The hystereis of the field induced cholesteric (-) nematic transition of chiral compounds with nematics of positive dielectric anisotropy has been examined. The results show that the initial orientation of the sample is important and indicate that in those applications where a strong contrast is not essential, an initial homeotropic alignment gives a faster response and a better stability.