Effect of electric field treatment on the properties of thin ferroelectric liquid crystal cells

The zig-zag defects in a rubbed polyimide aligned surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cell may be eliminated by applying a alternating electric field of suitable frequency in the SmC* phase. Electric field treatment process and effects on the electro-optic properties are investigated in detail. The contrast ratio, bistability and memory effect on the cell can be improved by the electric field treatment. The electric field treated cell shows uniform contrast, fast response, and good bistability and memory effect. For a typical cell aligned by this treatment, the contrast ratio is 150 - 200:1, the response time is less than 200 microsecond(s) and the bistability is excellent.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.