Dynamics of Surface-Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals at the Alignment Layer Surface Studied by Total-Reflection Ellipsometry

The reorientation dynamics of surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals (SSFLCs) at the substrate surface have been studied by time-resolved spectroellipsometry (TRSE). The results of total-reflection TRSE indicate that the surface motion of SSFLC molecules is hindered by a strong anchoring system. The observed dependence of the ellipsometric parameter Ψ on the orienting layer material is discussed in terms of the competitive effects of the surface tilt angle and the strength of the surface anchoring effect. It is also demonstrated that TRSE can analyze the mode of motion of SSFLC molecules in three-dimensional space and can therefore characterize the hysteresis properties of the SSFLC cell in terms of its structural changes.