Control of molecular orientation in electrostatically stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Oct 24;91(17):175505. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.175505. Epub 2003 Oct 24.

Abstract

The continuously reorientable (XY-like) ferroelectric polarization density of a chiral smectic liquid crystal is shown experimentally to produce nearly complete screening of the applied electric field in an appropriate cell geometry. This screening, combined with the expulsion of polarization charge for large polarization materials, is shown to produce electrostatic control of the orientation of a uniform optic axis or polarization field.